What is occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy can help your child to join in everyday activities (occupations) to help them develop the skills they need to lead a full and healthy life.
Occupational therapy can help you, your child and other adults that support them to improve your child's independence and participation by managing:
- the activity your child needs to do (we call this the occupation)
- the things your child can do and what they find difficult (their skills)
- where the child needs to do the occupation and what is going on around them (the environment)
If these areas are not working well together, your child may struggle to do the everyday things expected of them. We work with you and your child to make changes to help them reach their goals. We support a broad age range of children aged 0 to 19, with or without a disability, diagnosis or health need.
What are children's occupations?
Your child's occupations will depend on their age and developmental level.
Children's occupations are often linked with the occupations of their family and other adults that support them. We call these co-occupations.
Self-care
These are essential activities of daily living, like eating, dressing, bathing and using the toilet.
School-based tasks
These include joining in with classroom activities, handwriting, organisation and time management.
Play and leisure activities
These include playing with toys, playing with other children, and joining in with games and sports.
How we can help
If your child is finding it difficult to do the things they want or need to do, we'll look at their skills, the occupation they want to do and the environment.
Supporting adults include parents and carers, school and nursery staff. We may work alongside these adults to think about how they can support your child's needs. We may also work directly with your child if needed to address a particular difficulty.