By general definition, occupational therapy assists with increasing independence in tasks that occupy your time daily, regardless of age or ability. In the pediatric population (defined as newborn to teenager- 18 years old), developmental milestones are looked at in every area of life. This is a wide range of years and milestones with multiple layers of people, environments, and influences to consider during this time frame. Milestones, nutrition, and events of good and bad experiences shape the child/teen flow of forward-moving development. Foundational skills build one upon another, and infant milestones and nutrition are the foundation for the higher-level teenage independence skill set and cognitive development. Educating parents during this journey is critical so they may help carry the information into the home regularly and know how best to meet the needs of the developing child or teen. Looking deeper, we see that our bodies are made of cells that flourish best with good nutrition. The base foundations of development are strongest with healthy foods. My Health Mastery Institute Nutrition certification is essential in helping empower the family and child to support the body at a cellular level while working to achieve daily living milestones. Finding the individual approach that best works for that family and child is imperative for optimal participation and outcomes. Some of the areas of focus to help reach these goals are as follows:

• Fine Motor—Fine motor skills include holding a bottle as an infant, coloring buttons, tooth brushing, cooking skills, shoe tying, and so much more. The layers of skills required for these achievements can be easy for some and very difficult and frustrating for others. 

• Gross Motor—Gross motor skills start with significant muscle movements like sitting up, rolling over, crawling, standing, walking to play skills like kicking a ball, stability of the body to get dressed, pulling the string to start a lawn mower, running, and so many more things. Each layer develops a new coordinated skill to build on for the next higher-level skill. They intertwine, with one example being the coordinated specifics of crawling, which builds the muscles needed for fine motor skills in the hands for handwriting.

• Visual Motor- Visual motor skills are much more than seeing clearly and in focus. It looks at the specifics of tracking an object in motion, smooth visual muscle movements, and strength to read a page in a book without losing your place, finding an object in a drawer like “I Spy,” to visual recognition of known people and objects. Visual comfort in social situations is needed to build essential social skills and many other areas of learning about the environment and people.

• Sensory Integration- Sensory Integration has several areas under that umbrella. Humans take in so many sensory pieces at any given moment. Our past experiences dictate how we respond to each moment, starting in the womb. When these responses hinder a child’s ability to do daily tasks, extra help might be suggested. This can also apply to trauma experiences that hinder further development in eating, feeding, and social comfort when triggers arise. Some sensory areas are touch, sight, sound, taste, and smell, awareness of movement, knowing where the body is in space, and the feeling and understanding of the body's internal systems. You might see the kid that doesn’t like seams in their socks, tags on their clothes, textures, and food smells. The baby that can’t progress to higher stages of food because certain textures make them gag. The teen who is in a constant fight or flight mode as a people pleaser or over-exerciser to meet the expectations of the family or social media standards. The kid that can’t stand still or never wants to move their body or is unsafe and somewhere that they are not supposed to be. A teenager with such anxiety that they do not feel comfortable enough to start a conversation with a peer. This is the age for teens when their friend groups are essential to them in learning boundaries, social skills, and who they are and who they want to become.  This and many more examples of things in life that help us figure out who we are, provided that our fight or flight responses support that journey and do not hinder it. Parental unconditional love is essential in this journey of loving guidance and understanding. This allows the sensory system to feel safe with guidance for the child and teen to embark on adventures of learning and development.

• Executive Function Skills- Executive Function Skills are something that children build upon as they are young, and they learn higher-level skills as they acquire more independence. Children start to understand this best when parents allow them to engage in all types of activities to learn and grow from as they fail and retry for success in the areas they find exciting and engaging. For example, starting children young to help in the kitchen to cook, organize, explore, and clean up are all baseline activities that lead to higher-level skills. Skills like time management, planning, organizing, and using their memory to cook, go to the grocery, organize the pantry, and more. These skills will assist the child in developing confidence and feelings of safety as they move through the stages of becoming more independent. A vital role of the parents is to allow unconditionally loving trial-and-error adventures that lead to independence, empowerment, and initiation.

Holistic Health Coaching is a beautiful addition to my already joyful Pediatric OT career. It has shown me that as I help a family strive to find the perfect fit of therapy activities for their child or teen, the family as a whole could benefit from some life-changing nutritional information. This information, combined with my personal experiences, has found how vital learning about nutrition and foundational daily living skills can be to children and teens with eating challenges and disorders. Traumas of many origins can affect the baseline necessity of good nutritional intake. It could stem from social issues, mechanical swallowing issues, anxiety from trauma, and more. No matter the origin of the poor dietary intake, the lack of nutrients through food and supplements will affect the daily living abilities of all ages. Looking at food and the cellular level of our bodies, and what our body needs for optimum functioning, is eye-opening. Basic primitive actions that affect OT focus areas are breathing (internal rhythms) associated with our fight or flight sensory responses and nutritional intake (internal support of all vital systems).

• Internal rhythms of our bodies in a calm state are like home to us. Calm, comforting, safe and peaceful. Breathing can alter your state of arousal as the tempo changes depending on the situation we are allowing ourselves to be in or respond to. Children rely on parents to create that calm environment, so IF that is not provided for the child, then emotional bonds, learning, and coping mechanisms will be based on survival modes of fight or flight experiences. These compensation techniques can lead to unhealthy patterns in life (relationships with people and food). Allowing children to explore feelings through many areas, such as music, instruments, and singing, will assist them in finding their calming techniques and internal rhythms. Singing, yoga, stretching, and exercising naturally induce deeper breaths, activating the calming mechanism. Teaching someone to self-regulate their arousal system through breathing is an infinitely valuable tool. This is an essential area that, through experience and continued education, I am ready and empathetic to help families that need my services.

• Nutritional intake and education of foods that are foundational for a healthy immune system and overall high vibrational living are essential life skills. In a review of common diagnoses and issues like ADD, ADHD, Autism, allergies, sinus, digestion, earaches, etc., nutrition and the GI system are all significant factors in the above developmental delays. Processed foods, sugar, wheat, and dairy are all significant contributors that hinder the body’s systems from working optimally. Feelings of safety with foods and around food situations decrease anxiety and the probability of eating-related issues and disorders. Fueling the body with vibrant fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, beans, and legumes is the best way to eat for healthy living.