Paediatric Occupational Therapy
Paediatric occupational therapists work in cohesion with your child to help them fully engage and participate in school and other daily activities by assisting them to improve their skill sets, including motor and cognitive skills. By doing so, our highly skilled and motivated OT’s will help your child to develop their confidence, social skills and self-esteem.
Worldwide research recognises the importance of early intervention, and the positive impact this has on a child’s learning and development in future years.
Referrals
Common referrals received by our therapists have included:
- Messy handwriting
- Constantly moving and can't sit still
- Difficulty copying work from the board
- Difficulty dressing independently
- Slow to learn new motor movements
- Unable to use pencils and scissors effectively
- Avoidance of physical activity
- Difficulty following routines
- Difficulties with following instruction
- Slow to complete work
- Yet to establish a hand preference
- Constantly tripping or bumping into things
- Difficulty regulating sensory information
No referral is required to access this service.
Appointments can be made directly by the child’s parents/carer.
However, referrals are also accepted from GPs and other specialists, health professionals (speech pathologists, physiotherapists, podiatrists) and teachers. Our OT’s work collaboratively with other professionals, teachers and the child’s parents to provide well rounded service.
We also see self managed or plan managed NDIS clients.
Treatment
Individual assessment and therapy
A comprehensive assessment is completed prior to commencing therapy. This provides the therapist the opportunity to get to know your child and to assess the many facets of development, which enable appropriate goal setting.
Our therapists are passionate about working collaboratively with the child, their parents and other key support people (family members, health professionals and teachers) to achieve the most out of the child’s therapy experience. Individual therapy programs are then developed to address your child’s specific therapy goals.
Treatment sessions are conducted onsite at our rooms in Edgewater, and the child’s parents/family members are encouraged to be part of this process to ensure the carryover of learning and to allow the opportunity for educating both the child and their family on the therapy modalities used. School visits can also be arranged if required– please discuss this further with your child’s therapist.
Group Programs
Group programs can be run throughout the school term, with specialised school holiday programs also offered over the school breaks.
These small groups are developed to address skills specific to the children attending, and may focus on areas such as: handwriting, fine motor skills, social skills, or gross motor skill development.
Education and Professional Development
Our therapists are aware of the importance of not only educating the client, but also the child’s family and other key support people (e.g. classroom teacher), as well as other health professionals in the community. If you would like our therapists to run a presentation or workshop on paediatric OT or a specific topic, please contact us.