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Sonoma - Napa - Marin
Pediatric Occupational Therapy
Contact Diane
415-810-8283
"Speak to the heart, the mind listens."
“ Many times the child has to travel all the bridges in Bay Area to get to an end point - though it seems only two blocks away..."
xoxot- Diane Orsini Tarkman, OTR/L
What it means to me to be an occupational therapist who specializes in pediatrics.
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1. I feel occupational therapists look at the whole picture of what is going on with a child and support what that child needs at the moment (services, counseling, more family time, free time, play time with friends, a break in services, more language services, a tutor, etc.).
2. I believe that continuing education is a crucial part of being current in my field.
3. I know that the uniqueness of my profession is being able to look at the whole picture and the medical knowledge we have.
4. Occupational therapists are very good at breaking down tasks and being creative with what is available at the moment.
5. We want our clients and parents engaged in the process.
6. We want goals to being meaningful to the child, the child’s occupations throughout their day (son/daughter, sibling, student, play mate, successful at the recreation they pick, promoting health of the child, ability to self sooth in using sensory feedback, etc.) and to the parents. I want parents to know where their child is in the process of reaching that goal. An Analogy I would use: “ Many times the child has to travel all the bridges in the Bay Area before getting to the end point. Even though the end point might seem like it is only two blocks away”. (Steps or peeling the layers of the onion).
7. We know that children are growing physically and mentally (growing brain and nervous system). Children and adults are always laying down new brain connections.
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8. Sessions should be fun as much as possible. It is too easy to get caught up in control. When children and adults are having fun, learning and life is so much easier.
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9. When teaching parents/caregivers about routines and boundaries it is not about having absolute control, It is about helping the parent feel successful raising their child and understanding that their child may have different needs or be of a different temperament. Routines can be calming in this very busy world with so much sensory information going on, A child has to learn to filter to be able to focus better and not being running in over drive or high stress.
10. We see each client as unique. No two humans are the same. We all need different things and have different wishes/dreams/skills/interests.
11. We are all humans and we can learn but we are not always going to do what we have been trained to do. Sometimes we don’t do what might good for us. Sometimes we have to see what would happen if we did something else.
Analogy: Just because you as a person who might love the gym, me as person might love gardening more. Going to the gym may seem like a chore but gardening seems like paradise to me. Going to the gym may seem like paradise to you.
12. I look at foundational skills that may be missing to help children reach their goals. (Strength, endurance, motor planning-“Praxis” difficulties, sensory over responsibility, sensory under responsibly, stress level of the child, etc.) for treatment planning and at each session.
13. To be an Occupational Therapist, we are constantly assessing and evaluating throughout our sessions to determine we are providing the right or most useful strategy for the person to reach their goals.
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