How to Use Occupational Therapy to Treat Cerebral Palsy

Occupational therapy is used to help people who have cerebral palsy (CP) become more independent in their everyday lives. While physical therapy often addresses gross motor function, therapists use occupational therapy to treat and improve fine motor skills, such as eating, playing, writing and brushing teeth. Occupational therapists also evaluate their patients to see what type of adaptive equipment they may need to become more self-sufficient.

Things You'll Need

• Occupational therapist
• Adaptive equipment

Show More

Instructions

Use Occupational Therapy to Treat Cerebral Palsy

• 1

  Have an evaluation done by a respected occupational therapist to determine the occupational therapy needs of you or your child. People who have cerebral palsy are not all affected in the same ways and will have different levels of ability.

• 2

  Invite the occupational therapist to your home so he can evaluate your living space. He may have recommendations about what type of adaptive equipment you can install in your home. This can include hardware you can use to make it easier to get in and out of a bathtub or special computers to help a person with very limited mobility turn on a light, speak or open doors.

• 3

  Discuss with the occupational therapist what your expectations and goals are regarding the therapy program. Understanding each other before you start can help to eliminate misunderstandings about the level of progress you are making and identify specific symptoms you want to treat.

• 4

  Observe the therapy sessions, if you are allowed to do so, in order to be able to help your child continue independently at home. The occupational therapist may have her play with toys that have oversize parts or eat with large-handled utensils to better facilitate the process.

• 5

  Share any concerns about your child or his progress with the occupational therapist. The therapist may be able to make needed referrals to other professionals. For example, if your child seems unusually angry and lashes out at the family, he may be referred to a psychologist to address his anger.