Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is a big part of pediatric occupational therapy. SPD is when a child has trouble dealing with the sensory stimulation around them and then has trouble integrating the information they get. This affects each child differently depending on the severity and what specific senses are being affected. SPD is broken up into six different subtypes that have been split into three categories: sensory modulation disorder, sensory-based motor disorder, and sensory discrimination disorder, with the most common being sensory modulation disorder. If a child is diagnosed with sensory processing disorder, occupational therapists treat them through sensory integration therapy. As more research has been done about SPD, three senses apart from the typical five senses have been added. These are the internal senses of body awareness or proprioception, movement or vestibular, and knowing what is going on in your body or interoception. While all pediatric occupational therapists know about SPD and believe it is important to diagnose and treat, SPD has been controversial because psychiatrists do not recognize SPD as a real diagnosis. Kids can also be diagnosed with other behavioral disorders along with SPD. When there are two separate diagnoses are present, it is called comorbidity.
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Occupational therapy is a therapy that focuses on helping people with a range of challenges to become more independent and live better lives. It is a very broad field. These therapists work with patients of all ages who face challenges ranging from physical to sensory to cognitive. There are nine different types of occupational therapy: gerontology, mental health, pediatrics, driving and community mobility, physical rehabilitation, environmental modification, feeding, eating, and swallowing, low vision, and school system. Because there is so many different specialties, OTs can work in practically any setting. Children can see occupational therapists for a number of reasons that can be temporary or lifelong. Examples of behavioral disorders that occupational therapists treat are attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), sensory processing disorder (SPD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, learning disorders, and conduct disorders. Children with developmental delays, birth injuries or defects, broken bones, burns, traumatic amputations, and even cancer may also be treated by occupational therapists.
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