Goally CEO, Sasha Shtern, explores the distinctions and overlaps between occupational therapy and physical therapy with expert Jackie Nitta from Step Therapy Pediatrics.
Key Takeaways:
- Occupational therapy focuses on fine and visual motor skills, helping children process and interact with their environment.
- Physical therapy concentrates on body mechanics, including core strength, balance, and controlled movements.
- Both therapies often work collaboratively to address comprehensive developmental needs in children.
What are the main differences between occupational therapy and physical therapy in pediatrics?
In pediatrics, occupational therapy primarily focuses on fine motor skills and visual motor integration, helping children perform tasks like writing by processing what they see. Physical therapy targets the physical aspects of movement, such as core strength, balance, and muscle function, including corrective practices for issues like toe walking. Both disciplines often overlap and collaborate to provide comprehensive care.
Occupational Therapy vs Physical Therapy
SASHA– What is the difference between occupational therapy and physical therapy?
JACKIE– So guess what? In pediatrics there’s a lot of overlap so when you have a really well formed team to help your child everybody is integrating everything together all the time. Occupational therapy works a lot on the fine motor skills as we talked about and the visual motor skills. Because if you can’t process what you’re seeing you can’t perform higher level tasks like writing. Physical therapists work on how the body works, core strength, balance, control, controlled movements, fluidity of movement. They will see children who are toe walkers to try and train their body to walk with their heel down so they don’t have long term childhood.
SASHA– Can we use that as an example? So toe walking, not uncommon, so if you have a toe-walker what are you doing and what is the PT doing?Â
JACKIE– Yeah good question an occupational therapist would look at this child sensory system. A child with tactile defensiveness is somebody who feels things touching their body in a heightened way. So the occupational therapist may work on activities to desensitize the tactile system so that the child’s foot can come in full contact with the ground whether that’s on carpet, hardwood, grass and it not be problematic for the child it wouldn’t be a noxious type of input. The physical therapist would look at the muscle tone, the flexibility of the joints, and possibly recommend orthotics to help hold the ankle in a more functional position to avoid long term damage to the achilles tendon and joints and muscles.Â
SASHA– Makes total sense. So they’re working more muscle and joint and you’re working on the sensory input maybe just feels really uncomfortable. How do we make it not feel uncomfortable when the heel touches the floor.
- Using Visual & Verbal Instructions: Goally provides children with visual and verbal supports for routines, helping increase independence and reduce parent nagging.
- Reducing Anxiety: Goally helps reduce anxiety through relaxation exercises and coping strategies in video classes, helping children feel more calm and comfortable during their clinic visit.
- Communication: Goally helps facilitate communication between children and parents, allowing parents to better understand and support their child’s needs.
Goally’s distraction-free kid’s tablet can be used as a therapy tool to help teach executive function, language, emotional regulation, finger dexterity skills, and more!
FAQ’s About Occupational Therapy vs Physical Therapy
What is occupational therapy in pediatrics?
Occupational therapy helps children develop the necessary skills for daily activities through fine motor and sensory integration work.
What does physical therapy focus on for children?
Physical therapy aims to improve a child's physical functioning by enhancing strength, balance, and coordination.
How do occupational and physical therapies overlap in pediatric care?
Both therapies often collaborate to ensure comprehensive developmental support, addressing sensory and motor skills collectively.
What specific issues can pediatric occupational therapy address?
Occupational therapy can help with challenges such as difficulty in handwriting, sensory processing issues, and basic self-care tasks.
Why might a child be referred to physical therapy instead of occupational therapy?
A child may be referred to physical therapy for concerns primarily related to physical movement, muscle strength, and joint function.
This post was originally published on 09/23/2021. It was updated on 08/20/2024.
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