![OT page cropped (1) A boy with glasses and drinking straw in his mouth.](https://knp82a.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/OT-page-cropped-1-300x237.jpg)
![OT (1) A group of people sitting around a table.](https://knp82a.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/OT-1-300x276.jpg)
Occupational therapy is the use of purposeful activity to maximize the independence and health of an individual who is limited by a physical injury or illness, cognitive impairment, psychosocial dysfunction, mental illness, developmental or learning disability, or an adverse environmental condition.
For a child, purposeful activities include swinging, climbing, jumping, buttoning, drawing, eating and other activities that are included in a child’s daily life.  In essence, pediatric occupational therapists teach children to play, interact with others and their environment at an age appropriate level.