Opening Doors

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Opening Doors Occupational Therapy can help with:


  • Fine motor
  • Gross motor
  • Sensory integration
  • Social and emotional development
  • Visual perception
  • Daily living activities
  • Behaviour


    • Fine motor[hand skills]

    Our hands help us manipulate objects in our environment and become independent in caring for ourselves. Our fine motor skills enable us to eat, drink, dress ourselves, play with objects, draw, write and type



    Children with fine motor difficulties may demonstrate:

  • Poor handwriting skills
  • Delayed development of dominant hand
  • Poor strength and control in the hands
  • Poor co-ordination when using both hands together
  • Avoiding drawing and writing
  • Difficulty planning movements efficiently



    • Gross motor[large body movements and control]

    As we grow and develop our bodies learn to coordinate all our muscles in order to hold our body in postures against gravity. We can negotiate obstacles, run, jump, ride a bike and participate in sports.



    Children with gross motor difficulties may demonstrate:

  • Delays in milestones such as crawling and walking
  • Clumsiness
  • Avoiding climbing and park equipment
  • Preferring to sit on the floor to play than move around the environment



    • Sensory integration[how we take information in from our world]

    We all learn by taking information into our bodies through our senses. When this happens we need to place meaning on our sensations in order to react appropriately to our environment.

    Children with difficulties in sensory integration may demonstrate:
  • Over sensitivity to certain sensations
  • Seeking sensation
  • Tactile defensiveness
  • Dyspraxia
  • Difficultly maintaining a calm alert state - modulation



    • Social and emotional development[development of relationships]

    Developing relationships is a complex process. It requires attention, regulation, mutual engagement, ability to adapt, understanding other's cues and problem solving. The DIR®-Floortime model is a researched model founded in the US by Dr Stanley Greenspan and Dr Serena Weider. The model looks at the individual differences of each child and their developmental level. Then, the therapist guides families to help them develop strategies to enhance their relationship with thier child and promote their development.

    Children with difficulties with social / emotional skills may demonstrate:

  • Preferring to play on their own
  • Not reacting to others attempts to communicate and play
  • Inefficient means to communicate needs to others
  • Repetitive behaviours
  • Poor play skills
  • Frequent meltdowns



    • Visual perception [placing meaning on visual information]

    Children with visual perception difficulties may be difficult to diagnose as problems may be subtle yet effects are far reaching. Often these difficulties are not identified until the child reaches preschool or Kindergarten when they being to rely more on their visual skills for learning and organising their environment.


    Children with difficulties in visual perception may demonstrate:

  • Problems with cutting, colouring or construction
  • Difficulties tying shoe laces and handling clothing fasteners
  • Problems in reading, spelling and handwriting
  • Reading from the blackboard
  • Copying eg. reversing letters, missing sections of the picture
  • Poor visual memory



    • Daily living activities[looking after yourself]

    Self care tasks encompass some of the most important skills that children need to learn as they develop. Eating, drinking, grooming, bathing, toileting and dressing independently allow children to function in home, school, community and work environments.



    Children with difficulties with daily living activities may demonstrate:

  • Difficulties toilet training
  • Poor sleep patterns
  • Poor diet or eating routines
  • Difficulties learning to dress self or tie shoe laces
  • Sensitivities to bathing, grooming or oral hygiene



    • Behaviour[attention/concentration/arousal regulation]

    Young children are constantly learning about their world including what the boundaries are and how to react to particular situations. Some children require additional supports to help them learn to behave appropriately in their environment. It is important to look at each child as an individual with strengths and interests when working on behaviour and to recognise that all of our "behaviours" are communicating something to others. In therapy we will work closely with all people involved with your child to determine areas of need and develop specific strategies to assist.

    All Occupational Therapy programs are tailored to your child's individual needs and will reflect your family's goals and priorities. Therapists use traditional Occupational Therapy models to frame their practice with particular emphasis on sensory processing and the DIR®-Floortime model.