The Importance of Carryover: Building Skills Beyond Therapy
By Jessica Jordan, MS. OTR/L
What Is Carryover in Therapy?
Carryover refers to an individual’s ability to apply skills learned in therapy to everyday life across settings, people, and routines. This is where real growth happens.
Therapy might take place in a clinic, a school, or out in nature. But in between those sessions, the individual is living their real life at home, in the car, on the playground, at mealtime. Carryover is what helps those therapy gains stick and show up in the moments that matter most.
It’s also one of the reasons we believe so strongly in working closely with families here at SUNRISE Therapies. When caregivers are included in the process, therapy doesn’t just stay in the session, it becomes part of daily life in a natural, meaningful way.
At SUNRISE Therapies, we deeply believe that family and support systems are key to lasting success.
Why Is Carryover So Important?
Here’s a quick breakdown: let’s say your loved one attends OT once a week for an hour. That’s 4 hours a month. But there are 672 hours in a month! That means therapy only takes up a tiny fraction of your loved one’s time. What happens in all the other moments matters just as much if not more.
When skills are practiced in multiple environments, with different people and contexts, your loved one’s brain has more opportunities to integrate and solidify them. And carryover doesn’t have to look exactly like what we did in the session.
Let’s say your OT used auditory cues during therapy, but an individual seems to respond better to visual support at home. That’s okay! Small tweaks are not only allowed, they’re encouraged. What matters is that you’re supporting the same goal in a way that works for your loved one in your environment.
How to Start Practice Carryover at Home?
Choose a Calm Moment to Practice
It’s hard to learn a new skill when we’re already overwhelmed. One example I often give families is deep breathing. While it’s a great strategy for calming down, it’s not always effective if you wait until your loved one is already dysregulated to introduce it.
Instead, try practicing it together during a quiet, calm moment, maybe after story time or while lying in bed. This helps your loved one feel what calm feels like, so their brain can start to associate the strategy with regulation and safety. In our home, we can practice meditations at bedtime and it has developed into my own children asking for them independently.
Make It Playful and Meaningful
For young kids, especially, play is their primary occupation. It’s how they make sense of the world and how their brain learns best.
So instead of working on toothbrushing in a rushed morning routine, try brushing a doll’s teeth during playtime. Let your child “be the OT” and walk their toy through the steps. This builds confidence, reduces pressure, and makes the skill more engaging.
Start Small and Give Yourself Grace
If a skill has multiple steps, just focus on one part at a time instead of trying to generalize the entire task in a single weekend. If an individual is working on a multi-step routine (like washing hands, packing their backpack, or applying make up), focus on one part first. Master that before expecting the whole sequence to transfer over.
Sometimes we want to see all the progress at once, but true carryover is built slowly, through repetition, encouragement, and real-life opportunities.
And most importantly, give yourself grace as a caregiver or care staff. Any attempt at carryover, no matter how small, is valuable. Every little bit counts toward progress.
Share Your Carryover Strategies
We’d love to hear from you! Drop a comment below to share any carryover strategies that have helped in your home. Your insight might inspire another family 💛
Helpful Links
If you found this post helpful, you’ll love our therapy resources! Whether you’re a parent or therapist, our apraxia and autism courses are here to offer practical tools, compassionate guidance, and real-world strategies you can use every day.
👨👩👧👦 For Parents & Caregivers: Autism Training | Online Course for Parents and Caregivers
🧑🏫 For Therapists: Therapist Course for Apraxia and Autism | Mentorship for OTs and Therapists
🏥 Work With Us: In-Person Occupational Therapy (San Diego & Long Beach Areas) | Virtual Coaching
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