ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING

How do occupational therapists help your child to improve independence in their Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)?

Personal hygiene:

  • Desensitize your child’s face with a washcloth or vibrating brush prior to brushing teeth, to address toothbrush sensitivity

  • Use visual timers to help your child establish healthy hygiene routines (washing hands, brushing teeth)

  • Use raised grip on toothbrush if your child’s grip is delayed or weak

  • Model hygiene tasks on a person or a doll to get your child comfortable with hygiene tasks

Boy and girl in a kitchen, playfully holding oranges over their eyes like glasses

Feeding:

  • Provide education on oral stimulation exercises to improve breast feeding in infants

  • Optimize positioning for feeding time in toddlers and children Increase exposure to different food textures, smells, and colors

  • Introduce adapted eating utensils if fine motor skills are delayed

  • Encourage screen-free dinner meals to avoid distractions

  • Provide education on building healthy mealtime routines such as: introducing changes to meal time one at a time, reinforcing good table behaviors with positive affirmations, not forcing a change in your child’s diet, keeping a log of your child’s preferred/non-preferred foods for future appointments

Dressing:

  • Provide opportunities for practice with grip/grasp with buttons, zippers and laces

  • Create and demonstrate appropriate use of visual schedules for morning/bedtime dressing routines

  • Play dress up on a doll to help a child select appropriate weather clothing

Bathing:

  • Educate and demonstrate to families the use of visual schedules to depict the steps of bath time to establish routines

  • Give the child a sense of independence by letting them choose which toys to play with during bath time

Toileting:

  • Assist with establishing a toileting routine by encouraging regular bathroom breaks throughout the day

  • Include non-regular times (i.e., before a meal, before leaving home for an outing)

  • Provide education to parents and caretakers on good practices during toileting activities such as: allowing your child enough time (20–30 minutes) to get used to sitting on the toilet, using a visual schedule with pictures to help the child learn the steps of a toileting routine, increasing fluid intake by encouraging your child to drink 4–6 ounces of liquid per hour

Functional mobility:

  • Facilitate movement to sit, crawl, or walk with play-based activities - these activities may target balance, core coordination, and gross motor skills

  • Address developmental milestones in your child to assess for any developmental delays