Occupational Therapy

An occupational therapy (OT) evaluation is recommended when there are concerns regarding an individual's motor and functional abilities. The OT evaluation focuses on the assessment of motor abilities and how these impact daily functioning and overall development in the following areas:
  • Gross motor play and exercise. 
  • Upper extremity growth and coordination. 
  • Fine motor tasks including hand function and visual-motor coordination. 
  • Visual-perceptual skills needed to successfully play with toys and puzzles, as well as to read and write. 
  • Self-care abilities. 
  • Sensory processing which influence an individual's motor and behavioral responses to specific social and environmental stimuli
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Craig Ciuk
Occupational therapy may be recommended to promote optimal motor skill acquisition. Treatment may address gross motor and sensory-motor development, eye-hand coordination, appropriate interaction with toys, training in handwriting, visual-perceptual skills required for playing and reading, self-care abilities, and sensory processing.

Standardized tests and screening tools are used to develop your child's profile of strengths and weaknesses, as well as to determine the treatment direction in the motor and functional realm. A comprehensive OT evaluation could include the following standardized tests:

  • Peabody Developmental Motor Scales 
  • Bruininks- Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency 
  • Evaluation Tool of Children’s Handwriting 
  • Sensory Profile 
  • Test of Visual Perceptual Skills 
  • Motor-Free Visual Perception Test 
  • Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration 
  • Beery Developmental Test of Motor Coordination 
  • Beery Developmental Test of Visual Perception 
  • WOLD Sentence Copy Test 

A more specialized test, such as the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT) may be necessary. In occupational therapy the SIPT is completed by a certified SIPT Professional. It is one of the most sophisticated standardized tools to evaluate sensory integration disorders. The occupational therapists are professionally trained and certified in Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests to administer this battery of complex tests. 

Who would benefit from SIPT testing? 
  • SIPT is appropriate from children aged from 4 years to 8 years, eleven months. 
  • It may be used with children with sensory integrative disorders, high functioning autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Nonverbal Learning Disorder, or children that are experiencing difficulty with sensory processing. 

What is the SIPT? 
  • It is a standardized test developed to measure the sensory integration processes that underlie learning and behavior by showing how children organize and respond to sensory input. 
  • The SIPT helps pinpoint specific problems associated with learning disabilities, emotional disorders, and minimal brain dysfunction. 
  • It specifically measures visual, tactile, kinesthetic perception and motor performance, utilizing a neurobiological model. 

How is testing completed? 
  • Testing is completed in approximately 2 to 4 hours, which can be broken down into two separate sessions. 

Click here to view biographies of our occupational therapists