Each child & adolescent Occupational Therapy journey is unique and individualised to meet their needs.

The following explains the general outline of the Occupational Therapy process.

A child or adolescent is typically identified for an occupational therapy assessment by their class teacher, parent or a health care professional. This person may suspect that the child/adolescent has been experiencing difficulties related to sensory integration, postural control, gross motor skills, fine motor development, visual-perceptual skills or self-care. Difficulties in these areas may impact on their behaviour at home, their learning at school or their interaction with their peers.

During an initial interview more background information is obtained regarding medical, birth, developmental and sensorimotor history. We also find out what your, and the teacher’s main concerns are. This may take approximately 30- 45 minutes. It is not necessary for your child/adolescent to attend this meeting. You will also be asked to complete and sign our parent contract. Please note that the person who signs this document is responsible for ensuring that the account is settled.

A comprehensive assessment of your child/adolescent’s strengths and areas of concern will be completed using standardised tests and clinical observations. Even though your child/adolescent may find the assessment to be quite challenging, they typically enjoy the assessment and cannot wait to come back to OT again.  

The assessment looks at your child/adolescents sensory functioning, gross and fine motor development, as well at their visual-perceptual skills.  

The therapist then combines the information gathered from home, school and during the assessment to build a holistic picture of the child/adolescent’s current level of functioning.

A time is scheduled for a detailed verbal feedback after the assessment has been completed. This includes discussing your child’s strengths and areas of concern, as well as making recommendations. You will also receive a written report based on the assessment findings. The feedback takes approximately 45 minutes and it is recommended that both parents attend the feedback meeting. Should your child require occupational therapy, times will be arranged at the feedback meeting.

Therapy is done on a weekly basis with the duration of sessions being either 45-minute or 60-minutes, depending on the specific needs of the child/adolescent. Therapy usually lasts for approximately 6-9 months and progress is continually monitored. As each child/adolescent is unique and develops at a different pace, this period might be longer. A re-assessment is done after 24 sessions. After this re-assessment further recommendations are made. 

Feedback will be given on a regular basis as well as some activities to consolidate new skills at home.

A classroom observation is carried out if indicated and a discussion with the class teacher and other related health care professionals working with your child/adolescent is held, if applicable. The therapist might also be involved in making some adaptations within the classroom environment to help the child/adolescent to function more optimally.