Pediatric Occupational Therapy Jobs Pediatric Occupational Therapy jobs are a popular choice for career advancement. The two types of occupational therapy jobs include: Child Guidance and Education (CGE) is a form of developmental disabilities that involves a pediatric occupational therapist working with children with disabilities, usually related to cerebral palsy or cerebral atrophy. These children may be easily distracted, show extreme anxiety, have poor or inappropriate motor skills, or become disoriented. Parents can be concerned about what they may do in difficult situations as these children grow older. Intervention Services (IS) is a form of developmental disabilities where a child shows extraordinary problems with language, coordination, mobility, and social skills. This form of developmental disability can make it difficult for the parents to monitor their child’s activities. They are also concerned about what the effects on their children may be. The trend now is to combine Occupational Therapy with Childhood Developmental Disorders. One form of developmental
disability that combines occupational therapy with CED is cerebral palsy. This is known as CPB. This combination of CED and OT jobs allows parents to keep an eye on their children during their different stages of development. Many of the therapies they perform with the children are designed to help them succeed in both areas of their lives. The first step in getting this combination started is to get a diagnosis of the child at an early age so they can enter the clinical setting before the disorder has manifested itself. Some of the behavioral therapies they use are the Attention-Deficit Disorder Education for Children or AD/HD program. These are used to help the parents understand what is going on with their child. They also use different types of therapies such as the Facial Expression Recognition Training or FER training which can be very effective in teaching motor skills and holding facial expressions. The second step in getting Pediatric Occupational Therapy Jobs is to enroll the child in a developmental disabilities clinic. There the child will meet an occupational therapist who will help him or her through his or her developmental process. They will discuss each stage of the developmental process, what helps or hinders the child with disabilities, and help with every area of their lives, including educational, medical, and social behaviors.
OT is also used to assist the parent in participating in their child’s life and actively participating in school. OT helps the parents with preparing meals, cooking, shopping, cleaning, bathing, and any other activity that involve a lot of action on the part of the parents. A therapist can train the parents in specific occupational skills like bathing, dressing, using the bathroom, feeding, and taking care of the different needs of their child. Specialized education tools and equipment are used by OTs to educate the parents on how to help their child in different areas of life and provide teaching tools that allow the parents to participate more actively in their child’s life. Family therapy is an essential part of the OT curriculum for parents. Training is the key to earning OT jobs. Students who receive training are not limited to what they study in order to become a therapist. OT programs typically allow students to choose how much of the training they receive. Graduates of OT programs who want to earn Pediatric Occupational Therapy Jobs can obtain a master’s degree. It is important for the student to be licensed in their state to work as a Certified Pediatric Occupational Therapist. If a student is not licensed in their state, they must seek accreditation from another state to take the state approved exam for certification.
Any person interested in helping families take advantage of the many benefits of OT should consider the specialized training that is available to advance their career. Working in the field of developmental disabilities has many advantages.