As children go through life, situations that require problem-solving naturally appear. For some children, problem-solving processes come quickly but for others, they don’t. Problem-solving skills are one of the most important developmental milestones with which the OT therapy Los Angeles professionals at LA Speech Therapy Solutions are trained to help.
No matter your child’s current skill level, our OT therapy Los Angeles team is available to help them become more confident in their problem-solving capabilities so they are better able to handle unexpected life events. Listed below are steps you can take as a parent to facilitate the development of your child’s problem-solving technique.
When a problem comes along…
1. Pause Briefly:
Take a second to survey the situation without jumping in with a solution. Look to see what your child starts to do without your prompting. This is a good way for you to figure out what degree of facilitation your child needs.
2. Frame The Situation:
Using only your words, explain the situation out loud. For example, “Wow, the ball rolled under the chair. You looked frustrated.”
3. Don’t Solve It:
Even though you most likely have a solution for the problem, refrain from offering it to your child. Instead, play dumb and make it look like you’re thinking about a possible solution.
4. Think Verbally:
Seasoned problem-solvers problem-solve in their heads. Modeling the thought process you go through out loud will help your child come up with their own process. For example, “Wow, the ball rolled under the chair. We’re both really frustrated. We need to find a way to get it out. Maybe…”
5. Pause Again:
Take another few seconds to see if the previous prompts have stirred up some action in your child.
6. Repeat:
If not, repeat steps 2 and 4 again. This time, these steps can be accompanied by a more direct question like, “How do you think we can solve this?”
7. Recap:
When you finally do solve the problem, don’t just move on. Recap the situation and solution by saying something like “The ball rolled under the table. We got frustrated and weren’t sure what to do. But we thought about a lot of different ways to solve the problem and finally got the ball out. That was some great problem-solving.”
Repeating this process often will help your child become more proficient and independent in their problem-solving.
About OT Therapy Los Angeles
The pediatric occupational therapy team at LA Speech Therapy Solutions is comprised of trained OT Therapy Los Angeles professionals with years of experience. By working with all important adults in a child’s life, our therapists create a comprehensive, individualized treatment plan for each child. If your child is struggling to meet key developmental milestones, contact LA Speech Therapy Solutions’ OT Therapy Los Angeles team at 323.522.6071 or at www.laspeechtherapysolutions.com.
