The Occupational Therapy process:

In Paediatrics, Occupational therapists work with children with a variety of difficulties including:

• Sensory Integration difficulties
• Neuro-developmental delays
• Gross and fine motor delays including coordination and motor planning difficulties
• Poor Visual Perceptual skills
• Attention and concentration difficulties
• Inability to complete tasks, organise their environment, struggling to follow instructions and poor work ethics
• Difficulties with reading, spelling and writing
• Socio-emotional delays

Often children are referred to Occupational Therapy through their Doctor, Psychologist, other professionals or teachers. Should you be concerned about your child’s growth and development contact your nearest Occupational Therapist directly to ensure that your child gets the help he/she might need.

After the initial contact was made, and interview with the child's parents are arrange to discuss areas of concern. The parents might also be asked to complete questionnaire or profiles for better understand the child's functioning within the home environment. Questionnaires and profile might also be send to school for the teacher to complete , in order to better understand the functioning within the school environment.

An appointment is scheduled to complete an assessment which might include standardised tests, clinical and informal observations. The therapist then combine the information gathered from home, school and during the assessment to build an holistic picture of the child's current level of functioning.

A formal feedback will then be arranged with the parents, and in some cases the teacher, and a report will also be compiled. During the feedback the areas of concern and strength will be discussed, as well as the treatment plan. A decision will be made with regards to therapy sessions, e.g. 1 session per week, and the length of therapy, e.g. 6months with reassessment afterwards. Feedback will be given on a regular basis as well as some activities to consolidate new skills at home. The therapist might also be involved in making some adaptations within the classroom environment to help the child to functioning adequately.

At Nicolet Bedeker Occupational Therapists we cover the following areas within the scope of treatment: