Early Intervention · Birth to age 3
What does an Occupational Therapist do in Early Intervention?
An Early Intervention OT helps a family understand and support the everyday activities that matter to their child—such as feeding, play, sleep, movement, connection, dressing, and participation in routines. The work happens through the family’s real life, not only through isolated exercises.
Why this task is more layered than it looks
A visible outcome is built from several smaller demands. These are useful places to look—not a list of diagnoses:
- Participation in family routines
- Sensory-motor development
- Play and learning
- Caregiver-child interaction
What to notice first
Choose a calm, familiar version of the task. Change as little as possible and notice:
- Which routine matters most to your family right now?
- Where within that routine does participation change?
- What already helps your child engage?
Choose one ordinary routine and describe what happens just before, during, and after the difficult moment. That sequence gives an OT useful functional information.
Grade the task from the child’s response
Make it easier: Change one environmental or task demand while preserving the routine’s purpose.
Build from success: Support the child to take one more active role or use the skill in another familiar routine.
The goal is not to force completion. It is to find the level where the child can participate, learn, and begin using a strategy that supports greater independence.