Developing Skills That Last a Lifetime

Introducing Occupational Therapy Services for wyomissing & ephrata, pa

Individualized Therapy for Children's Developmental Skills

Paragon’s Occupational Therapy (OT) team’s approach to care is very individualized to each client, putting the child’s needs at the center. Therapists’ interventions include fun play-based therapy and motivating activities to improve children’s age-appropriate physical, cognitive and sensory skills. OT’s help children build their developmental skills to improve in functional task performance and succeed in their environment.

Commonly Asked Questions

About Occupational Therapy
  • What is Occupational Therapy?Pediatric occupational therapy (OT) is a service that uses play and motivating activities to develop the foundational skills children need to be independent and successful in their environment.
  • When should a child be evaluated?A child should be evaluated when a parent, teacher or caretaker notice delays or concerns in a child’s development. This may present as a child struggling to keep up with peers (academically, physically or emotionally) and/or having difficulty completing everyday activities (playing with toys, interacting with adults or getting dressed/completing self-care tasks).
  • How does OT help?OT aims to help a child develop skills needed to perform at their highest level and be independent in age-appropriate occupations.
  • What are the problems pediatric OT addresses?OT can address a wide range of challenges, including physical, mental, social, and emotional. Some of the problems might include:

    Fine motor skills: grasp, finger dexterity, hand strength
    Gross motor skills: spatial and body awareness, motor planning
    Visual motor skills: tracking an object, hand-eye coordination, letter formation
    Cognitive skills: problem solving, memory and attention
    Self-care tasks: dressing, self-feeding, brushing teeth
    Social skills: turn taking, listening, following directions
    Sensory Integration: helping with sensitivity to noise, touch/textures, taste and visual stimuli
    Emotional regulation: learning coping skills and de-escalation tools

Meet our Director of Occupational Therapy

Ashton Smith, MS, OTR/L

Ashton joins the Paragon team with nine years of clinical experience working in a multitude of facilities and settings with a vast variety of populations. She is a goal-driven leader who utilizes productivity and motivation to meet high performance standards. As a resourceful team player who excels at building rapport and relationships with her patients and their families, she utilizes innovative problem-solving skills to generate workable solutions.