Occupational Therapy

What is Occupational Therapy? Occupational Therapists are trained to provide assessments and treatments to assist children with: • Gross and fine motor skills • Visual perception/visual attention • Handwriting • Planning and organisation • Self-care skills such as dressing and eating • Dyspraxia/Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) • Developmental delay • Sensory processing difficulties including children with Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome • Dyslexia/learning difficulties The Assessment and Treatment Process The basic stages of this process are: Referral Children are often referred to Occupational Therapists by other organisations/health professionals for assessment to evaluate their abilities in comparison to the standard for their age. These professionals include therapists, GPs, Paediatricians, Paediatric Neurologists, Psychologists and Psychiatrists, Schools and Nurseries. Parents can also refer their children directly. Assessment Initial assessments evaluate 3 separate elements of a child’s abilities: • Motor skills • Sensory skills • Visual perception Treatment Following the initial assessment, Rachel will be able to identify where your child may be under-performing compared to their peers. From this information, she is able to formulate an individual treatment plan which will target the areas of difficulty and continue to develop your child’s strength areas. Treatment is normally delivered on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Intensive programmes can be delivered in circumstances where time is limited, if you are visiting from overseas for a short time, or if you need a short holiday programme to bridge between school term sessions. Monitoring and review Measuring the success of a programme to ensure effective progress is vital to all treatments. We undertake reviews on all children after the first 5 sessions, and then at 5 week intervals to monitor their progress and adjust their treatment programmes accordingly. We offer both assessment and treatments in schools and other educational facilities, or in the comfort of your own home. Individual Therapy Therapy sessions are based on individually tailored intervention programmes. The aims and objectives of the sessions are based on therapy goals identified within the initial assessment and subsequent observations, and are therefore centred on the individual child’s needs. Group Therapy Group therapy sessions are highly structured and follow specific skills-based programmes. Within small group settings, children’s skills are developed and consolidated in a more realistic learning and communicative setting, with significantly more opportunities for peer problem-solving and social play. School Programmes These therapy programmes can be designed to include both direct individual occupational therapy and/or indirect therapy programmes to be carried out by learning support assistants or teaching assistants as appropriate following demonstration, regular reviews and training by an occupational therapist.