Impact of Disability
In this section I will address how this disability may affect your baby's life from sleeping to eating to playing and everything in between.
We will look at the disability from an Occupational Therapy point of view, discussing development and motor delay within Area’s of Occupation, Performance Skills, Performance Patterns and Client Factors (see definitions below).
Area’s of Occupation include various kinds of life activities (www.aota.org) in which your infant will engage in, for example rolling over, laying on her stomach while lifting her head, and playing peek-a-boo.
Performance Skills include motor, process and communication skills (www.aota.org), such as how your baby moves, understands and interacts with you.
Performance Patterns are patterns of behavior related to your baby's daily life activities that are habitual or routine (www.aota.org), such as when he sleeps, eats and plays.
Client Factors include body functions and structures that may effect performance in areas of occupation (www.aota.org), such as low tone or a heart defect.
Performance patterns: Your infant will engage in much the same types of activities as any other newborn. Babies want to be held, cuddled, kissed, dressed, diapered, talked to, played with and loved. Your main concerns as a parent will be with the health and growth of your baby. The two main developmental area’s (performance skills) to look at and encourage in your baby are the motor milestones and social interactions (www.ds-health.com).
Much of an infants motor movements will be learned through play at this stage of life; they pick up and release toys of difference shapes and sizes, they stack and build, they open and close things, they manipulate knobs and buttons, they experiment with crayons and so on. Your child may experience more challenges in relation to fine motor skills due to low muscle tone and/or decreased strength.(www.ds-health.com)
Most of your baby's social interaction will be with you. Research has shown that a supportive environment is critical for optimum child development. The conditions that have been identified to support wellness and health of a child are: a need for a stable and loving relationship with a limited number of adults who provide a safe and predicable environment, encouragement for exploration, responsive and reciprocal interaction, and transmission of cultural values (http://www.scribd.com/doc/26446930/Evidence-Based-Practice-in-Infant-and-Early-Childhood-Psychology).
Client Factors: Low tone (hypotonicity - floppy muscle tone), strength and positioning issue’s: You may notice delayed trunk stability (sitting up), positioning of body and arms for use efficiently (facing and reaching for mom/dad/toys), grasp and release of a toy or finger, fluid movement, strength to push/pull/drag/lift an object with appropriate force and speed, grips/pinches toy, crayon, spoon, etc. (fine motor skills) and trunk control (body alignment and balance).
How can Occupational Therapy Help:
OT's can:
In this section I will address how this disability may affect your baby's life from sleeping to eating to playing and everything in between.
We will look at the disability from an Occupational Therapy point of view, discussing development and motor delay within Area’s of Occupation, Performance Skills, Performance Patterns and Client Factors (see definitions below).
Area’s of Occupation include various kinds of life activities (www.aota.org) in which your infant will engage in, for example rolling over, laying on her stomach while lifting her head, and playing peek-a-boo.
Performance Skills include motor, process and communication skills (www.aota.org), such as how your baby moves, understands and interacts with you.
Performance Patterns are patterns of behavior related to your baby's daily life activities that are habitual or routine (www.aota.org), such as when he sleeps, eats and plays.
Client Factors include body functions and structures that may effect performance in areas of occupation (www.aota.org), such as low tone or a heart defect.
Performance patterns: Your infant will engage in much the same types of activities as any other newborn. Babies want to be held, cuddled, kissed, dressed, diapered, talked to, played with and loved. Your main concerns as a parent will be with the health and growth of your baby. The two main developmental area’s (performance skills) to look at and encourage in your baby are the motor milestones and social interactions (www.ds-health.com).
Much of an infants motor movements will be learned through play at this stage of life; they pick up and release toys of difference shapes and sizes, they stack and build, they open and close things, they manipulate knobs and buttons, they experiment with crayons and so on. Your child may experience more challenges in relation to fine motor skills due to low muscle tone and/or decreased strength.(www.ds-health.com)
Most of your baby's social interaction will be with you. Research has shown that a supportive environment is critical for optimum child development. The conditions that have been identified to support wellness and health of a child are: a need for a stable and loving relationship with a limited number of adults who provide a safe and predicable environment, encouragement for exploration, responsive and reciprocal interaction, and transmission of cultural values (http://www.scribd.com/doc/26446930/Evidence-Based-Practice-in-Infant-and-Early-Childhood-Psychology).
Client Factors: Low tone (hypotonicity - floppy muscle tone), strength and positioning issue’s: You may notice delayed trunk stability (sitting up), positioning of body and arms for use efficiently (facing and reaching for mom/dad/toys), grasp and release of a toy or finger, fluid movement, strength to push/pull/drag/lift an object with appropriate force and speed, grips/pinches toy, crayon, spoon, etc. (fine motor skills) and trunk control (body alignment and balance).
How can Occupational Therapy Help:
OT's can:
- break down the skills for parents so that expectations are appropriate for the childs age.
- suggest adaptations, activities and positioning for your child to be more independent.
- utilize techniques to facilitate fine and gross movement and increase muscle tone
- assistance with feeding and sensory processing issue's (www.aota.org)