You probably think Occupational Therapy works with fine and gross motor skills, helping you eat after a stroke or helping kids learn to crawl. But, oh, there is so much more. One of the areas of life occupational therapists address is that of executive function skills. What are those? Check out this list:
Task Completion
Planning
Prioritizing
Processing Speed
Self-Monitoring
Cognitive Flexibility
Foresight
Hindsight
Problem Solving
Persistence
Shift
(and many more)
Many people struggle in one or more of these areas. They may find it hard to make a decision, to stay on track with an activity, or to plan and prioritize tasks in a project. At Sophia Academy, we work to help students overcome deficits in any of these areas. To that end, we have formed a relationship with the Occupational Therapy department at Temple University. Two graduate students from that program will complete their clinical requirements in our classrooms, helping us with everything from executive function deficits to social and emotional development to fine motor skills. Lauren and Michaela will be a part of our school one day a week until the end of their semester. Welcome, Temple OT!
We have linked some of the executive function areas listed above to articles that provide activities to help grow in those areas. While much of it is written for younger children, any of the activities can be adjusted to meet the needs of any person from three to ninety-three.
