What is Occupational Therapy (OT)?
Occupational Therapist aim to work together with clients and their families to help individuals achieve independence and success in life.
Occupational Therapists look at the activities the individual want to, need to, or are expected to do. These could be activities such as work and school, self care activities such as showering and dressing, and leisure activities such as playing sport or socialising with friends.
Occupational Therapists help you get back to activities which are meaningful to you!
What can an Occupational Therapist do for my child?
Paediatric Occupational Therapists provide skills to child and their families so they may participate and engage in activities which are meaningful to them.
If you consider “occupation” as anything that ‘occupies time’, your child already has many occupations e.g. eating, sleeping, dressing, playing, learning, drawing, running around, socialising with peers, attending to a task, and the list goes on. For a list of areas occupational therapists can work in, check out our What is OT? page.
We often divide these activities under 7 main areas:
- Self Care Tasks (e.g. toileting, dressing, eating)
- Fine Motor Skills (e.g. handwriting, opening containers and food packets)
- Gross Motor Skills (e.g. running, jumping)
- Executive Functioning (e.g. attention, planning, problem solving)
- Sensory Processing (i.e. how a child responds to the sensory environment)
- Emotional Regulation (i.e. how they control their emotions)
- Play and Social Skills
If your child has difficulty in one of these areas, or across a range of areas, Occupational Therapist may be able to help. If you are unsure whether your child needs Occupational Therapy, feel free to contact us and we can talk through some of your concerns.
How do I know if my child needs Occupational Therapy?
You may have notice some delays in particular areas or your child may demonstrate difficulties in certain tasks. Children develop at different rates but if you are seeing major discrepancies between your child and other peers, this may be an indicator that your child may need additional assistance.
If your child attends childcare or school, it may be a good idea to talk to the educators and teachers about your concerns. They may provide some insight into how your child is at school in those particular tasks.
If you still are unsure, please contact us and we can discuss your concerns. We can also conduct assessments in particular areas to see if your child is typically developing.
Do I need a referral for my child to see an Occupational Therapist?
No. You do not need a referral to see an Occupational Therapist. However, there are some funding models which provide you with some rebates and they may require you to obtain a referral from your General Practitioner (GP). For example, if your child is eligible under the Chronic Disease Management Plan, they are entitled to Medicare rebates. In this instance, they will need a referral from the GP to access these rebates.
What are the benefits of mobile therapy?
Mobile therapy means the therapists travels to your home or your child’s childcare or school.
There are a couple of benefits of mobile therapy:
- Therapists can see the child interact with their own environment. We get to see children in their familiar environment which means they will most likely act in a similar way. This provides us with the most natural assessment of the child.
- Children feel comfortable in their own environment. When a child is comfortable and motivated, they can demonstrate their best abilities. We want to ensure the child is feeling comfortable and safe!
- Therapist can provide practical strategies. When Occupational Therapists travel to your home or your child’s school, we can see the environment and resources that are readily available to your child. We can use the resources that are available to provide practical strategies which can be easily incorporated in your daily lives. We don’t want you to waste money buying additional resources if you already have some alternatives at home/school.
- Less time out of your day. We understand how busy each day can be. Our mobile therapy service means our Occupational Therapists come to your door. We are only there for the duration of the therapy session. You don’t need to travel to us and then head home after a long therapy session.
