Being an occupational therapist these past 20 years, it’s so much a part of me that I sometimes forget how much of this profession is still unknown. This is especially true with certain colleagues of mine who work in mental health, with the elderly, etc. It’s easy to lose track. Today, I’m proposing a little tour into my universe so that you can better understand my profession. The occupational therapist focuses on a person’s independence. This is the common thread of our interventions no matter who the clientele is; the occupational therapist restores an elderly person’s independence to take a bath or to go shopping. The occupational therapist can help a person who has stopped working to regain their capacity to do workrelated tasks, providing independence in the workplace.

But what about independence for a child?

The independent child at school is able to:

• form meaningful connections and resolve small conflicts
• have fun in a variety of situations (at the library, on the playground, at a party, or while relaxing) and can adapt to stimulating situations as well as calm ones
• maintain organization during transitions, movement, or special activities. The child can cope with new things.
• manipulate tools effectively: sticks, scissors, pencils, insert sheets of paper into an envelope, hold and fasten clothing
• be creative for their own amusement or with others
• finish work in a reasonable amount of time

We can draw the same parallel to the nursery/ daycare where the child is considered independent if his development corresponds to his age level and if his behavior is similar to other children of the same age in different contexts of his life.

How can the occupational therapist help a child to become more independent?

The occupational therapist will evaluate why the child is not gaining independence. The reason may be because of sensory processing (my other articles have touched on this subject) or again, certain developmental steps may be lacking. For example, not enough arm strength has been developed to be able to hold a pencil.

The objective will be to foster harmonious development in order to gain independence.

A child who engages in occupational therapy can be compared to a house where the foundation (sensory system) or the walls (fine and gross motor skills) have faults that must be addressed to allow the roof (behavior, experience, social skills) to fit properly. The occupational therapist solidifies the foundation for the child, accordingly to his age level, to respond appropriately to the demands of the environment.

This is generally the reason why an occupa