What Is Occupational Therapy? A Parent-Friendly Guide
Many parents reach out to us feeling unsure about what Occupational Therapy involves or whether it might be the right support for their child. It’s completely normal to feel a little overwhelmed or confused during the early stages of seeking help. At Grow & Tell, we meet families every day who are looking for clear, simple answers—and our role is to reassure, guide, and help you understand the support available.
So, what is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapy is a play based therapy that helps children build the everyday skills they need for learning, playing, socialising and becoming more independent. When we talk about Occupational Therapy, we mean the skills children need across home, school and community settings. Our focus is to help your child build these skills so they can thrive in their daily life. You can learn more about our occupational therapy services by visiting our Occupational Therapy page.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Occupational Therapy helps children develop the skills they need for everyday tasks and growing independence.
A child’s “occupations” include play, learning, social skills, and self-care.
OTs use fun, play-based activities to support motor skills, sensory processing, emotional regulation, and social development.
Families often seek OT support when noticing challenges with coordination, focus, emotional regulation, or daily routines.
Grow & Tell provides supportive, tailored sessions in the clinic and through mobile therapy.
Understanding a Child’s Occupation
When we meet families for the first time, one of the first things we explain is that a child’s occupation is different from an adult’s. A child’s most important jobs are to play, learn, explore and gradually build independence. These everyday experiences help shape their development and confidence.
We use this idea to help families understand that Occupational Therapy supports a child’s ability to participate in these daily activities. Our goal is to help your child feel capable, confident and ready to take on the world around them.
How We Help Children Thrive with Occupational Therapy
At Grow and Tell, we work with children across a wide range of developmental needs. Every child is unique, so we tailor therapy to their strengths, challenges and interests. Our team focuses on motor skills, sensory processing, social engagement and emotional development, always using play as the foundation. You can explore our full range of Occupational Therapy services on our services page.
Developing Fine and Gross Motor Skills
We use fun and purposeful activities to build both fine and gross motor skills. Fine motor tasks might include drawing activities, threading beads, using tweezers or playing with putty. These activities help strengthen the muscles and coordination needed for self care tasks and handwriting. You can explore more about handwriting readiness through our school readiness groups.
To support gross motor skills, our therapists may set up obstacle courses, balancing activities or movement challenges. These playful tasks build strength, coordination and confidence, helping children keep up with peers during sport, playtime and daily movement.
Improving Sensory Processing and Regulation
Many of the children we support experience sensory overwhelm or sensory seeking behaviour. This may look like avoiding certain noises or textures or constantly looking for movement and touch. Sensory processing plays an important role in how children stay calm, focused and emotionally regulated.
In our sessions, we use activities such as swinging, deep pressure play, movement games and calming strategies to help children understand and respond to sensory input. Over time, families often notice improvements such as smoother transitions, better concentration and greater confidence during community outings.
Enhancing Social Skills and Play
Play is one of the most effective ways for children to learn social and emotional skills. During our sessions, we help children practise turn taking, sharing, flexible thinking and group interaction through engaging play based scenarios. These experiences build the foundation for friendships, school participation and positive social interaction. You can read more about our social skills support on our social skills page.
Signs We Look For and How We Can Help
Parents often come to us because they have noticed small challenges in their child’s day to day life. These are some of the areas we commonly support.
Challenges with handwriting or pencil grip
Difficulty with coordination, balance or motor tasks
Over sensitivity or seeking of sensory input
Challenges with emotional regulation or big feelings
Difficulty keeping up with classroom expectations
Fine motor challenges such as using cutlery or doing up buttons
Social skill development and play confidence
Delays in age appropriate independence
These signs simply highlight areas where Occupational Therapy may help your child build confidence and develop new skills. You can also find more information about our approach on our FAQs page.
A Glimpse into an OT Session at Our Clinic
Families often tell us that they are surprised at how fun and engaging our sessions are. A typical session may include a movement warm up followed by sensory play, fine motor tasks or games that build social and emotional skills. Each activity is carefully chosen to support your child’s developmental goals and interests.
Children can attend therapy in the clinic, where our spaces are designed for play and exploration, or through mobile visits where we support your child at home, preschool, school or in the community. You can learn more about our clinic environment by visiting our clinic page or explore mobile therapy options on our mobile occupational therapy page.
Begin Your Child’s Journey with Grow and Tell
Taking the first step can feel daunting, but it does not need to be. Families can contact us directly to ask questions, discuss concerns or explore whether Occupational Therapy may be the right support for their child. No referral is needed.
We can also guide you through funding options including NDIS Occupational Therapy and provide clear information through our fees page.
Our team is here to support your child’s development with warmth, care and evidence based practice. If you are ready to begin, we would be honoured to support your family on this journey.
