Top 12 Pediatric Occupational Therapist Skills to Put on Your Resume
A resume that stands out is essential for aspiring pediatric occupational therapists in a crowded field. Showcasing a rich mix of clinical know‑how and warm interpersonal strengths signals readiness to help children grow, play, and meet their milestones with confidence.
Pediatric Occupational Therapist Skills
- Sensory Integration
- Autism Spectrum
- Handwriting Without Tears
- Fine Motor Coordination
- Therapeutic Listening
- DIRFloortime
- Neurodevelopmental Treatment
- Pediatric Assessment (e.g., Peabody Developmental Motor Scales)
- Feeding Therapy
- Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy
- Interactive Metronome
- Kinesio Taping
1. Sensory Integration
Sensory integration is a therapeutic approach that helps children who struggle to interpret and respond to sensory input. By organizing tactile, vestibular, proprioceptive, visual, and auditory information more efficiently, children can build better motor planning, self‑regulation, attention, and participation in daily routines.
Why It's Important
Strong sensory processing underpins smoother participation at home, school, and in the community. When children can modulate and make sense of input, they move with greater coordination, learn more readily, and manage emotions with steadier footing.
How to Improve Sensory Integration Skills
Assessment: Use standardized tools and structured observation to pinpoint sensory needs. Instruments such as the Evaluation in Ayres Sensory Integration (EASI) or Sensory Processing Measure (SPM) can guide clinical reasoning.
Individualized Intervention: Build a plan that blends sensory‑motor play, postural control, and functional goals meaningful to the child and family.
Sensory Diets: Map out daily sensory activities—heavy work, movement breaks, tactile play—woven into routines across settings.
Environmental Modifications: Tweak lighting, noise, seating, and task setup to reduce overload and boost focus.
Caregiver Coaching: Teach strategies, model activities, and align approaches with teachers and parents for consistency.
Play‑Centered Practice: Use joyful, graded challenges—swings, obstacle paths, messy play—to elicit adaptive responses.
Track and Adjust: Reassess regularly, nudge the challenge, and refine targets as the child grows.
How to Display Sensory Integration Skills on Your Resume
2. Autism Spectrum
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) involves differences in communication, social interaction, sensory processing, and behavior patterns. Presentation varies widely, calling for individualized, strengths‑based interventions that support participation and autonomy.
Why It's Important
Understanding the spectrum allows therapists to tailor supports that honor each child’s profile—sensory preferences, communication style, executive skills—so daily life feels more doable and rewarding.
How to Improve Autism Spectrum Skills
Early, Individualized Intervention: Set functional, family‑centered goals. Integrate naturalistic developmental behavioral strategies and visual supports.
Sensory and Regulation Supports: Embed sensory‑motor activities to enhance attention, regulation, and engagement.
Communication Tools: Partner with SLPs; introduce AAC when needed; build routines that invite communication throughout the day.
Social Learning: Use modeling, play‑based coaching, and peer practice to nurture social reciprocity and flexibility.
Caregiver Coaching: Co‑create routines, reinforce strategies at home, and problem‑solve barriers together.
Assistive Technology: Trial timers, visual schedules, and communication apps to reduce load and boost independence.
Team Collaboration: Align goals across OT, SLP, psychology, education, and medicine for cohesive care.
How to Display Autism Spectrum Skills on Your Resume
3. Handwriting Without Tears
Handwriting Without Tears, from Learning Without Tears, is a structured, multisensory handwriting program. It emphasizes efficient grip, developmentally sequenced letter formation, and clear teaching routines—making writing more automatic and less frustrating.
Why It's Important
Handwriting fluency supports academic access and confidence. A consistent, stepwise program helps children organize posture, pencil control, spacing, and legibility without overwhelm.
How to Improve Handwriting Without Tears Skills
Start with a Snapshot: Assess posture, grip, in‑hand manipulation, and baseline formation to target instruction.
Leverage Multisensory Practice: Use slate work, wet‑dry‑try, wood pieces, and big‑to‑small letter practice to cement motor plans.
Coach Efficient Grip: Teach a tripod or adaptive grip; use short writing tools and built‑up supports when needed.
Sequence Letters Thoughtfully: Group by starting points and strokes; reinforce start points and consistent directionality.
Build Fine Motor Foundations: Add putty play, tongs, bead stringing, and bilateral tasks to strengthen precision.
Short, Frequent Sessions: Quick daily practice beats infrequent marathons. Celebrate small wins to keep momentum.
How to Display Handwriting Without Tears Skills on Your Resume
4. Fine Motor Coordination
Fine motor coordination is the precise use of small muscles in the hands and fingers for tasks like grasping, manipulating, buttoning, and writing—cornerstones for independence and school participation.
Why It's Important
With refined dexterity, children manage self‑care, produce legible work, and navigate tools and toys with less effort and more pride.
How to Improve Fine Motor Coordination Skills
Dough and Putty Play: Squeeze, pinch, roll, and cut to build strength and graded control.
Bead Stringing and Lacing: Promote bilateral coordination, visual‑motor integration, and patience.
Scissor Skills: Cut along lines, curves, and shapes for hand control and hand‑hand coordination.
Drawing and Coloring: Encourage short crayons or broken chalk to nudge a mature grasp and steady pressure.
Construction Tasks: Build with small blocks or interlocking bricks for precision, planning, and finger isolation.
Tweezer and Tongs Games: Target pincer strength and in‑hand manipulation with playful challenges.
How to Display Fine Motor Coordination Skills on Your Resume
5. Therapeutic Listening
Therapeutic Listening pairs structured, filtered music with sensory‑motor activities to support auditory processing, attention, and postural organization. It’s most effective when embedded in a comprehensive OT plan and monitored for individual response.
Why It's Important
For some children, better timing and processing of sound correlates with calmer regulation, clearer attention, and improved participation in routines that matter.
How to Improve Therapeutic Listening Skills
Deepen Foundations: Strengthen your sensory integration knowledge and auditory processing framework.
Personalize Protocols: Select music programs and dosing based on careful assessment and goals.
Curate the Environment: Reduce competing noise, set up movement pairings, and ensure comfortable, well‑fitting headphones.
Blend with Function: Pair listening with core strengthening, visual‑motor play, and regulation activities.
Collaborate: Align with caregivers and teachers to integrate carryover and watch for changes across settings.
Measure and Adjust: Track attention, posture, and behavior indicators; taper, pause, or progress as needed.
How to Display Therapeutic Listening Skills on Your Resume
6. DIRFloortime
DIRFloortime is a relationship‑based, developmental approach that grows social‑emotional capacities through play. Instead of isolated skills, it targets engagement, shared attention, problem‑solving, and flexible thinking—meeting the child where they are, then stretching interaction step by step.
Why It's Important
Co‑regulation and joyful connection open the door to communication and learning. This approach helps children relate, communicate, and think more adaptively.
How to Improve DIRFloortime Skills
Study and Practice: Pursue ongoing education and intentionally rehearse strategies that widen circles of communication.
Coach Caregivers: Teach families to follow the child’s lead, join play, and scaffold interactions at home.
Individualize: Anchor sessions to the child’s interests and developmental level; keep challenge just above comfort.
Team Up: Coordinate with SLPs, educators, and psychologists to unify goals and reinforce progress.
Reflect: Review sessions, analyze patterns, and refine your timing, affect, and play themes.
How to Display DIRFloortime Skills on Your Resume
7. Neurodevelopmental Treatment
Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT) is a hands‑on approach that targets postural control, movement quality, and functional motor skills for children with neuromotor challenges. It emphasizes therapeutic handling and task‑specific practice to improve participation.
Why It's Important
By shaping alignment and movement patterns, NDT can unlock more efficient mobility and upper‑limb use—making self‑care, play, and school tasks more achievable.
How to Improve Neurodevelopmental Treatment Skills
Advance Your Training: Seek structured coursework and mentorship to refine handling and clinical reasoning.
Practice with Purpose: Apply principles daily; analyze outcomes; tweak handling, facilitation points, and activity demands.
Learn with Peers: Discuss cases, share videos (with consent), and gather feedback from experienced clinicians.
Stay Evidence‑Aware: Review current literature and integrate goal‑oriented, task‑specific dosing.
Blend Tech and Play: Use adaptive seating, wearable sensors, or gamified tasks to drive repetition and engagement.
How to Display Neurodevelopmental Treatment Skills on Your Resume
8. Pediatric Assessment (e.g., Peabody Developmental Motor Scales)
Pediatric motor assessments help identify strengths and delays, inform goals, and measure progress. The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Third Edition (PDMS‑3), evaluates fine and gross motor skills from birth through early childhood.
Why It's Important
Standardized tools support accurate baselines, clear communication with families and teams, and targeted intervention planning that moves the needle on function.
How to Improve Pediatric Assessment (e.g., Peabody Developmental Motor Scales) Skills
Know the Tools: Stay current on PDMS‑3 administration and scoring. Be familiar with complementary measures like BOT‑2, M‑FUN, Bayley‑4, and DAYC‑2.
Practice Fidelity: Use scripts, criteria, and scoring rules consistently; run mock assessments to sharpen timing and accuracy.
Blend with Observation: Pair standardized scores with naturalistic observation and caregiver interviews for a whole‑child picture.
Use Digital Aids: Employ secure scoring calculators or templates to reduce error and speed reporting.
Communicate Clearly: Translate results into plain language and functional goals families can act on.
Reflect and Refine: Review interrater reliability with colleagues and adjust practices based on discrepancies.
How to Display Pediatric Assessment (e.g., Peabody Developmental Motor Scales) Skills on Your Resume
9. Feeding Therapy
Feeding therapy addresses challenges with eating—oral motor skills, sensory preferences, endurance, and mealtime behavior—to help children eat safely, efficiently, and with less stress.
Why It's Important
Nutrition, growth, and family harmony hinge on safe, positive mealtimes. Thoughtful therapy can expand accepted foods, improve chewing and swallowing skills, and reduce conflict around the table.
How to Improve Feeding Therapy Skills
Thorough Evaluation: Screen medical history, oral structures, postural stability, sensory responses, and mealtime routines. Refer to medical and SLP partners as needed.
Sensory and Oral‑Motor Work: Use graded exposure to textures, temperatures, and tastes alongside oral‑motor strengthening and coordination tasks.
Behavioral and Responsive Strategies: Build predictable routines, use gentle shaping and reinforcement, and honor autonomy to reduce pressure and increase exploration.
Caregiver Coaching: Co‑design menus, pacing, seating, and language at meals. Provide simple tracking tools and troubleshooting tips.
Team‑Based Care: Coordinate with dietitians, SLPs, and pediatricians to cover safety, nutrition, and skill acquisition.
Keep Learning: Study established frameworks (e.g., responsive feeding, SOS‑style graded exposure) and update techniques with current evidence.
How to Display Feeding Therapy Skills on Your Resume
10. Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy
Constraint‑Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) encourages use of an affected upper limb by limiting the stronger side during intensive, play‑based practice. The goal: better movement quality and spontaneous use in daily activities.
Why It's Important
For children with unilateral motor challenges, targeted intensity can drive neuroplastic change and translate to meaningful functional gains.
How to Improve Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy Skills
Individualize Dosage: Calibrate constraint time and task difficulty to tolerance and goals; adjust frequently.
Family Partnership: Train caregivers to support home practice and problem‑solve barriers.
Make It Playful: Use game‑like, task‑specific activities that demand the affected limb—stack, grasp, reach, release.
Leverage Simple Tech: Add timers, feedback counters, or game controllers for motivation and data.
Prioritize Intensity: Repetition matters. Schedule blocks of focused practice, then weave skills into routines.
Peer Sessions: Group practice can spark motivation and model strategies.
Measure Progress: Use functional goals and periodic measures to keep therapy responsive and relevant.
How to Display Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy Skills on Your Resume
11. Interactive Metronome
Interactive Metronome (IM) is a timing‑based training program that uses synchronized motor responses to rhythmic cues. It aims to improve timing, attention, motor planning, and coordination within broader therapy goals.
Why It's Important
Better timing can ripple into steadier attention, smoother movement, and more coordinated task performance.
How to Improve Interactive Metronome Skills
Build Competency: Maintain current training; refresh protocols and parameter settings.
Practice with Variety: Experiment with tasks, tempos, and postures to match individual needs.
Customize: Tailor task demands, session length, and feedback to the child’s profile and goals.
Make It Engaging: Blend movement breaks, visuals, and rewards to sustain effort.
Gather Feedback: Track metrics and observe carryover to classroom or home routines; adjust accordingly.
Connect with Peers: Share case ideas and problem‑solving strategies within professional communities.
How to Display Interactive Metronome Skills on Your Resume
12. Kinesio Taping
Kinesio Taping uses elastic cotton tape to support or cue muscles and joints without restricting movement. In pediatrics, it’s often applied to enhance proprioceptive input, guide alignment, and encourage efficient movement patterns.
Why It's Important
Gentle tactile input can prompt improved posture or muscle activation, sometimes making functional tasks more accessible.
How to Improve Kinesio Taping Skills
Seek Pediatric‑Focused Training: Learn safe tension, direction, and cut styles suited to smaller bodies.
Protect the Skin: Use pediatric or hypoallergenic tape; test first; educate families on skin checks and tape care.
Age‑Appropriate Applications: Match techniques to developmental stage and goals—scapular support, thumb abduction assist, or ankle stability.
Integrate with Therapy: Pair taping with strengthening and motor learning so changes stick beyond the tape.
Keep Practicing: Refine placement through supervised practice and outcome review.
Teach Caregivers: Demonstrate removal, wear time, and what to do if irritation appears.
How to Display Kinesio Taping Skills on Your Resume
