Psychomotor Therapists (PTs) work with people of all ages by helping them prevent or cope with their injury, disorder, or disability. Their roles include preventing, assessing, treating as well as accommodating the person’s ability to regain skills, perform daily activities, and reach their goals.
They provide support to all individuals with physical, sensory, cognitive, social-emotional, and communication disabilities:
- Physical: this includes working on gross motor skills such as body coordination and balance and fine motor skills such as the ability to perform intricate and precise movements using the small muscles of the hands and wrists.
- Sensory: PTs work on rewiring the brain so that individuals can integrate and respond to sensory input. Problems in this area are usually the result from difficulties at the level of the brain with receiving, organizing and using information received from all 5 senses and the physical environment, all of which are necessary for self-regulation, motor planning, and skill development.
- Cognitive: PTs target issues with memory, attention, problem solving, planning skills, and other intellectual abilities.
- Social-emotional: this includes helping with social interaction and reciprocity such as understanding emotions, solving social problems, and integrating in the community.
- Communication: PTs help promote verbal and nonverbal communication such as eye contact and body posture.