OT SKILLS

Helping children grow and build skills

When To Refer a Preschool/Toddler to Occupational Therapy
Aynsley Carter, Occupational Therapist
Fine Motor
 Immature crayon/marker/pencil grasp
 No hand preference tendencies emerging by age 5
 Difficulty drawing, coloring, copying or cutting (as per expected development)
 Avoids fine motor activities
 Hand tremor
 Difficulty with hand action songs
 Difficulty printing name by age 5
 Easily breaks toys

Visual Motor
 Difficulty coloring within the lines
 Difficulty cutting along lines, around simple shapes
 Unable to copy simple lines or shapes
 Difficulty tracing over lines and shapes

Visual Perceptual
 Difficulty naming or matching colors, shapes, sizes, letters
 Difficulty in completing age-appropriate puzzles

Self-help skills
 Overly fussy eater, consistently avoids certain texture
 Does not assist with or learn to dress/undress
 Does not learn to drink from a cup
 Avoids using a spoon

Senses
 Avoids putting hands/objects into mouth prior to 12 months
 Mouths things excessively after 15 months
 Avoids activities due to messiness (sand, glue, putty, paint)
 Seems overly sensitive to being touched
 Dislikes certain types of clothing, impacting participation in activities
 Overly sensitive to noises or lights
 Has trouble keeping hands to self
 Is often unaware of being bumped or hurt
 Has trouble sitting in circle, standing in line or interacting in close games
 Lacks body awareness (drawing a person, naming body parts, etc.)

Movement
 Avoids activities that challenge balance
 Seeks out movement constantly (spin, bounce, jump, run)
 Stumbles or falls frequently
 Unable to sit still
 Poor coordination in all activities; movements are sloppy, or weak, awkward, stiff
 Avoids playground equipment
 Avoids gross motor games
 Easily fatigued
 Poor use of one side of body vs. the other

Behavior
 Distractible, restless, inattentive
 Poor organization, trouble starting and continuing an activity without an adult
 Short attention, doesn’t finish what is started
 Does not tolerate any change in activities/routines

For more information please contact me at:

Email: aynsleycarter@gmail.com
 OT SKILLS
Helping children grow and build skills
When To Refer to Occupational Therapy – School Age
Aynsley Carter, Occupational Therapist

Fine Motor
 Poor seated posture, falls out of chair, head too close to work
 Immature pencil grasp
 No established hand dominance after age 6
 Difficulty drawing, coloring, copying or cutting
 Does not use two hands together for work and play
Printing/Handwriting
 Difficulty imitating strokes
 Difficulty imitating geometric shapes
 Difficulty printing name
 Difficulty forming upper versus lower case letters
 Difficulty copying from the board
 Poor formation of letters, numbers
 Poor placement of letters on lines, numbers for math problems
 Poor spacing between words, numbers
 Letters are tight, wobbly, too faint, too dark

Visual Motor
 Difficulty coloring within the lines
 Difficulty cutting along lines, around simple shapes
 Unable to copy simple shapes

Visual Perceptual
 Difficulty naming or matching colors, shapes, sizes
 Difficulty in completing puzzles
 Reversals of words, letters or numbers after first grade

Self-help skills
 Has trouble with utensil, containers, cartons
 Has trouble with snaps, zippers, buttons, Velcro
 Has trouble tying laces (after kindergarten)
 Has trouble managing clothing for toileting
 Has trouble managing locker, book bag, lunch bag

Senses
 Avoids activities due to messiness (sand, glue, putty, paint)
 Seems overly sensitive to being touched
 Dislikes certain types of clothing, impacting participation in activities
 Overly sensitive to noise or light
 Has trouble keeping hands to self
 Is often unaware of being bumped or hurt
 Has trouble sitting in circle, standing in line or interacting in close games

Movement
 Avoids activities that challenge balance
 Seeks out movement constantly (spin, bounce, jump)
 Stumbles or falls frequently
 Unable to sit still
 Poor coordination in all activities; movements are sloppy, or weak, awkward, stiff,
 Avoids playground equipment
 Avoids gross motor games
 Easily fatigued
 Poor use of on side of body vs. the other

Behavior
 Distractible, restless, inattentive
 Poor organization
 Short attention, doesn’t finish what is started

For more information please contact me at:

Email: acarter@gmail.com