Occupational Therapy

Comprehensive Assessment and Planning

  • Conduct assessments of daily living skills, sensory needs, gross and fine motor skills, and routines.

  • Use findings to help develop individualized plans with functional goals tailored to each person’s strengths and challenges.

Training and Coaching for Caregivers and Staff

Educate parents, teachers, DSPs, and aides on:

  • How to support daily routines to include sleep, social participation, ADLs (e.g., dressing, feeding, hygiene, sleep) and IADLs (driving/transportation, money management, household chores/activities, meal preparation, shopping, emergency/fire safety plans)

  • How to support individuals in their place of employment

  • Energy conservation strategies to ensure the individual has enough energy to complete the things they want and need to do

  • Strategies for managing sensory or behavioral challenges.

  • Executive functioning strategies to improve organization, time management, task initiation, problem-solving, and self-regulation

  • Ways to promote independence in tasks like organizing belongings or transitioning between activities.

A man in a wheelchair stretching his arm on a garden porch with potted plants and green trees in the background.

Consultation and Collaboration

  • Work with teachers, speech therapists, physical therapists, behavior analysts, and recreation therapists to ensure integrated, holistic care.

  • Offer insight into how sensory or motor needs may affect behavior and learning.

Environmental Modifications

  • Recommend changes to home, school, or community settings to improve accessibility and independence.

    • Examples: grab bars, ramp, widened doorways, specialized locks, alarm systems, stair lifts, adaptive seating, visual schedules, noise reduction, lighting adjustments, and vehicle modifications.

  • Create structured, supportive environments that promote self-regulation and participation.

  • Procure Durable Medical Equipment/Adaptive Equipment: Assistance in working with DME companies to determine the best options for assistive devices/DME and writing the letters of medical necessity for needed equipment, like hospital beds, bed trapeze, shower/bath DME, toileting adaptive equipment, adaptive feeding utensils, etc.

Open notebooks with handwritten notes, a purple clock drawing, and colorful markers on a wooden surface, outlining a daily plan, days of the week, and months of the year.

Developing Visual Supports and Tools

Design customized tools like:

  • Visual schedules

  • First-Then boards

  • Task breakdowns

  • Sensory menus

  • Healthy eating visuals

  • Home exercise programs

  • Trackers with reward systems

Provide staff with these tools and train them on consistent implementation.

Woman in a wheelchair watering plants in a cozy indoor space

Advocacy and System Support

  • Help programs and facilities become more inclusive and accessible.

  • Advocate for adaptive equipment, assistive technology, or additional support services.

  • Contribute to policy and team decisions that impact the individual’s quality of life.

These indirect services help OTs empower others to create environments where individuals with IDD can thrive outside of therapy sessions.