Cerebral Palsy - How Occupational Therapy Can Help?

Cerebral palsy and occupational therapy:

In order to recover the skills that are required for leading an independent and satisfying life after an injury or disease, an occupational therapist is required. The word occupation refers to the tasks which one has to perform every day, excluding one’s profession. Muscle and joint coordination issues can be fixed with the help of occupational therapy in case of kids. These include daily activities like eating, brushing and using the toilet. With the help of OT, your cognitive and social abilities and even your motor skills will improve at a very good rate.

How is this beneficial for children with cerebral palsy?

Occupational therapy will be helpful to children who are especially suffering from cerebral palsy. These benefits include:

- Increased chances of making your child more independent.
- Enhanced ability to play as well as learn.
- Increased self-esteem and confidence.
- A sense of accomplishment.
- Improvement in the quality of life.
- Benefits the parents as well. Reduce stress and provides a sense of security.

What to expect?

Occupational therapy is different for different children who have cerebral palsy. It depends on one’s physical, intellectual and social-emotional abilities. The first session is basically done for evaluation where it will be observed how your child responds to touch or any kind of movement. The parents are also interviewed in order to find out about the strengths and the weaknesses of your child. For children with cerebral palsy, a revaluation should be done in every 7-8 months in order to see the progress and change the treatment plan accordingly as per the improvement. The operational therapist will use some specific techniques which will help your child to improve very quickly and reach their destination.

These techniques are:

Paediatric constraint induced Movement therapy: This therapy helps your child to move the weaker parts of the body by restraining the stronger counterpart. If your child has difficulty in moving one of the arms then the stronger arm will be restrained and the weaker arm will be trained in order to gain the strength.

Sensory integration therapy: This type of therapy will help your child to improve the ability to interpret and act on the information and situations that come in your child’s brain with the help of sensory receptors.

Occupational therapy has been a very important part in improving the physical and the mental discomfort faced by your child when he or she is suffering from cerebral palsy. The therapist may even provide your child with some gadgets in order to make his/her daily life easier and more independent. This helps your child to improve and gradually get better at it without any sort of negativity. While you’re looking for an OT, make sure the person has enough experience and knowledge, just to ensure that your child gets the right treatment.