The Ultimate Guide to Occupational Therapy Resources For Kids

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April is Occupational Therapy Awareness month! To celebrate this inspiring field I am part of, I thought it would be fun to share this ultimate guide to Occupational Therapy resources for kids. There is something here for everyone: parents, teacher, and therapists.

What is Occupational Therapy?

This is the most common question those in the Occupational Therapy (OT) profession hear. What is OT? In general, Occupational Therapy is a holistic approach to helping individuals achieve independence in their every day life. We can work with premies and infants all the way to the elderly.

Our scope of practice really covers all parts of life for all ages, which is why I love this profession so much. Since this post is geared towards children, I will just briefly describe what OTs typically do in the pediatric population.

OTs (Occupational Therapists, Masters or Doctorate degree) and COTAs (Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants, Associates degree) often work in early intervention (birth to 3), children's hospitals, pediatric outpatient clinics, or school based settings. We work on a variety of skills from dressing, feeding, and every day life skills, to fine motor, visual motor, and sensory processing concerns with children.

We also work with a variety of diagnoses such as Autism spectrum, developmental delay, cognitive delays, sensory processing disorder, spina bifida, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, childhood cancers etc.

Occupational Therapy Resources by Topic

There are so many great Occupational Therapy activities out there that benefit all children, not just those with special needs. I will be breaking up the activities into common areas that OT often works with.

All of the green links below are clickable and lead you to the topic to read more about or learn how to do that specific activity. I have double checked all of the links to make sure they lead to the correct posts, but if you do happen to find an error, please let me know.

Also please note, the resources in this post are meant for educational purposes. Please seek out the help of your physician and/or a local Occupational Therapy professional for specific advice regarding your child's development and needs. All children are different and need to be evaluated by a professional and receive individualized care.

Developmental Milestones

Developmental Milestones for Fine Motor Skills Ages 0-6 *includes a free Printable

Visual Motor Integration Developmental Milestones – The OT Toolbox

Developmental Milestones and Activities for Kids – The Inspired Treehouse

Developmental Milestones for Getting Dressed – The OT Toolbox

Developmental Milestones Tips and Resources – Mama OT

Is Tummy Time Important? – Therapy Blogger Blog Hop

Child Development: Tricks of the Trade – The Inspired Treehouse

Fine Motor Skills

Fine Motor Activities for Kids – a list of all the fine motor activities I have shared here on the blog

Fine Motor Activities for Ages 0-3 – subscriber freebie printable

Fine Motor Activities for Ages 3-6 – subscriber freebie printable

Scissor Practice Packet – subscriber freebie printable

Fine Motor Play – Sugar Aunts

Tools in Fine Motor Development Skills – Sugar Aunts

10 Creative Fine Motor Activities – The Inspired Treehouse

5 Things to Keep in Mind While Working with Fine Motor Skills – Mama OT

Shoe Tying Tips and Tricks – Therapy Fun Zone

Sensory Processing

Is it Behavior? Or is it Sensory? – a 5 post series

Is it REALLY Sensory? – Follow up to the behavior vs. sensory series

A-Z's of Sensory Play for Kids – 26 activity ideas from moms, therapists, teachers

How to Create a Sensory Room At Home

Reasons Why Your Sensory Child Chews

Is My Child's Chewing an Oral Fixation?

5 Tips to Avoid Sensory Meltdowns Over the Holidays

Dealing with Sensitive Kids and Fireworks

Sensory Activities for Children – All the the sensory posts I have shared here on GRB

Is Sensory Overused? – Therapy Fun Zone

5 Things OTs Want You to Know About Sensory Processing – The Inspired Treehouse

Sensory Integration: Red Flags and When to Get Help – The Inspired Treehouse

Sensory Processing Disorder: Commonly Asked Questions – Mama OT

Turning My Picky Eater Around – Your Kids Table

Handwriting Skills

Pencil Grasp Development in Kids

Pincer Grasp Activity for Toddlers

6 Pre-writing Activities for Preschoolers

12 Fun Ways to Practice Handwriting with Preschoolers

Teaching Handwriting for Preschoolers

Teaching Handwriting for Kindergarteners

Teaching Handwriting for Elementary

5 Tips for Pencil Grasp Development with Preschoolers – Learning 2 Walk

Fine Motor Activities for Improving Pencil Grasp – The OT Toolbox

Pressing Too Hard When Writing Tips – The OT Toolbox

Developing Efficient Pencil Grasp Tips – The Inspired Treehouse

Pencil Grip 101 – The Anonymous OT

When to Fix a Pencil Grasp – The Anonymous OT

Other Occupational Therapy Activities

I didn't want to leave out some of the great OT related activities by other bloggers who aren't therapists.

Frugal Occupational Therapy Inspired Tips for Home – Learning to Let Him Lead

OT At Home Activity Jar – And Next Comes L

DIY Bean Bags – Happy Brown House

Must Haves for Kids with Sensory Needs – The Chaos And the Clutter

The Benefits of Messy Sensory Play – Teach Me Mommy

35 Sensory Aids and Ideas – Kids Activities Blog

Sensory Hacks to Calm an Angry Child – Lemon Lime Adventures

Money Saving Sensory Solutions – The Chaos And the Clutter

Occupational Therapy Blogs to Follow

I am blessed to be in a circle of other pediatric Occupational Therapy bloggers. These amazing therapists not only work at their own clinics or schools, they also take time to share their knowledge with all of you online. Be sure to check each one out and add them to your bookmarks tab. They are always posting amazing content.