(Newswire.net — September 20, 2019) — What do pediatric occupational therapists do, exactly? Many people get interested in the pediatric occupational therapist jobs because of the benefits, be them material or emotional, and keep aside the exact occupational therapy activities they need to perform and which requires lots of training to accomplish.
What Do Pediatric Occupational Therapists Do
So, if you want to work as an occupational therapist and don’t know how to become a pediatric occupational therapist assistant or even where to start, we recommend you to keep reading so you can get a panoramic idea of what do pediatric occupational therapists do and see if this is the world for you!
Main Tasks
There are many reasons to work as a pediatric occupational therapist. Pediatric occupational therapy focuses on helping children develop the skills they need to grow into functional adults. Be it a physical impairment, ADHD, injury or a mental disability, pediatric OTs are there to help children perform specific life tasks and grow up properly; without these therapies, children might develop irreversible issues in early stages.
Pediatric OTs treat children according to their cognitive skills (remembering letters, numbers, shapes…), fine motor skills (limb dexterity), gross motor skills (body coordination), self-care tasks (getting dressed, bathing, feeding themselves…) and social skills. They teach them how to overcome their personal impairments and become independent adults in their later life stages.
Equipment & Methods
Pediatric OTs rely mostly on games as a means to motivate children and reduce any anxiety and/or fears they might hold towards conventional therapy. Simple games, such as puzzles and exercises, can help children progress and even challenge themselves, thus increasing their self-esteem as they overcome the challenges placed in their way.
Workplace and Training
Pediatric OTs work mostly on hospitals and clinics, but you can also find them on schools, community programs and private pediatric care facilities. However, they can also travel to other therapy facilities, locally or internationally, or simply to the patient homes, if it’s needed. Although they have a 40-hour per week job, pediatric OTs are always on the move!
Occupational therapy is a very well-paid job (the median annual salary for pediatric occupational therapists is $81,910, although it can vary according to the experience and workplace), so anybody interested in working here requires a rigorous training and certification procedure. For example, OTs must hold a master’s degree (which usually includes hands-on therapy training) and pass a national licensure exam in order to start working in the therapy field. Aside of the national licensure, therapists can also pursue a voluntary certification.
So, to sum it up…
What does an occupational therapist do for a child?
Occupational therapy helps children with developmental delays, be them physical or mental, improve their skills and lead a functioning lifestyle. A pediatric OT’s overall goal is to prepare the child for a healthy adulthood and overcome the challenges they face daily due to their impairments.
Is occupational therapy a good career?
Occupational therapy is no different from any other career: it has its good and bad points. As we stated, great salary, personal growth, high employment rates and a great career outlook are perhaps the major perks. However, as this happens in most medical fields, the client centered nature of this job may lead to physical or mental pressure. People unwilling to sacrifice some of their time for might have a hard time dealing with it by the end of the day.
What degree does a pediatric occupational therapist need?
Therapists firstly need a master’s degree with hands-on training and later on obtain a state licensure or certification in order to start working. Only experience with children will help you land bigger jobs, however.
As a conclusion, pediatric occupational therapist jobs are honestly no different than many other jobs in the technical aspect, but they’re nonetheless unique, fulfilling and self-rewarding jobs, which is something rare in many industries today. The occupational therapy activities, particularly those aimed towards children, are as simple as playing, life coaching, and teaching how to perform daily tasks, so people wondering about how to become a pediatric occupational therapist assistant can rest assured that the job, although physically and mentally demanding, is enjoyable and truly satisfying, especially when you start to see their patients grow and develop more skills. So finally, what do pediatric occupational therapists do, exactly? Simply put, they help children improve their lives in the most meaningful way!