Occupational Therapy Services in Belconnen
Occupational Therapy encompasses a broad range of areas and looks at the occupations of those a therapist works with. An occupation can be defined as things that people need to do, want to do or are expected to do within their daily life. Occupational Therapists who work with children can provide guidance on how to facilitate independence in all activities of daily living, which for children is often play, learning and self-care.
Key areas of Occupational Therapy in children include fine motor development, self-care, social skills, sensory and emotional regulation, handwriting skills and the management of disability and lifelong conditions.
Occupational Therapy intervention may include working with and alongside childcare centres and schools to provide staff training, environmental assessment and planning, and written programs or recommendations that can be followed at home or in educational settings.
Our Occupational Therapists use evidence-based practice to empower parents and their children to maximise independence within daily life. At Eat Speak Learn we enjoy working with parents and caregivers to develop strategies to make intervention and home programs enjoyable.
Occupational Therapy Services and Assessments
Standardised developmental assessments are performed to understand how your child’s fine motor skills are going compared to the average child their age.
This assessment is for concerns such as:
- Delayed fine motor skills
- Concern that there may be delayed development
- When help is needed to achieve a particular skill
- When there has been a period of prolonged hospitalisation or illness
Following an assessment, you will receive recommendations on how we can further support your child.
Tasks of self-care can be tricky for children to learn due to a number of reasons. A self-care assessment can identify areas that children are struggling with and provide strategies that can assist a child in developing this skill.
This assessment can include concerns around:
- Being able to dress self and complete age appropriate tasks
- Toileting difficulties and increasing independence at home and in the community
- Washing and grooming
- Feeding
A home visit is likely to be included as part of this assessment. Following assessment, you will receive recommendations on how we can further support your child.
Making and keeping friends is a challenge many children face and may be because your child:
- does not understand the structure of turn-taking
- needs additional time or assistance to respond/react to a variety of situations
- has difficulty understanding other people’s body language or requests
- does not have a solid foundation of self-awareness and self-esteem to build connections with others
Eat Speak Learn therapists can help children develop social communication skills by assessing and treating their skills in the above areas in both 1:1 and within group environments.
Our therapists are trained in working with children with disabilities and life-long conditions. This type of assessment and intervention could include pain and fatigue management strategies and will include assessment of the child’s daily routines. Equipment prescription may be included in this type of therapy.
This assessment is for:
- Children at risk of a disability and likely to receive a diagnosis such as cerebral palsy or ASD
- Children with a diagnosis of disability or life-long condition
- Children with chromosomal or metabolic conditions
- Children with significant hypermobility or bone disorders
The sensory input received in everyday life can be a challenge for some children and this can affect their ability to engage and complete tasks successfully, as well as maintain emotional regulation.
Concerns may include:
- Sensory and emotional regulation Issues
- Difficulty in attending to a task or request
- Difficulty in sitting still, focusing and attending to tasks
- Difficulty in maintaining positive behaviours
Handwriting can be a challenge for some children due to a number of reasons. Handwriting difficulties may be identified by a child’s teacher, with Occupational Therapy intervention recommended.
- May involve standardised assessments, including writing speed
- Pencil-grip assessment
- Letter formation errors or reversals
A fine motor screen will be completed as part of this assessment
For a number of reasons, a student may require special consideration and additional strategies (provisions) to assist them in completing the required school exams. Provisions may be required for final year exams, however, may be required to support overall school participation and successful engagement.
For special consideration to be applied a comprehensive assessment, report and recommendations may be required to be completed by an Occupational Therapist. The school and/or Education Department will then make the final decision of eligibility and the provisions to be given.
Can I access my child's NDIS funding for occupational therapy services?
Can I access my child’s NDIS funding for occupational therapy services?
You can give our friendly team a call or book a consultation with one of our occupational therapists to review your child’s NDIS plan to see if their allocated funding can be used for these services. Occupational therapy services can draw from the following funding areas:
- Capacity Building Early Childhood Interventions Supports (under 7yrs)
- Capacity Building Improved Daily Living
Will this help me access speech pathology services faster?
Yes. If you’re on our waitlist for another allied health service, or need to be added, you will be prioritised by our team for other services when the next suitable practitioner and appointment time arises.
