Occupational therapy is as the word implies: “therapy” to help a person who experiences barriers in whatever they want to, or have to, “occupy” themselves with. For children, this can be anything that affects them at home, school, or socially. Below is a list of some of the challenges children experience that I can help with. It is by no means an extensive list so please get in touch with me to discuss your child’s particular needs.
Completing an occupational therapy assessment is the first step in the process to helping your child. This will allow me to identify the underlying causes for the difficulties your child is having, and to plan a bespoke therapy program for them.
The assessment starts off with us having an initial free 10 minute consultation to determine if working together will be suitable. If we decide to proceed, the assessment process usually follows three phases, with payment required immediately after each session or service provided — in other words, on a pay-as-you-go basis. Below is a summary of the process for a standard assessment, but please contact me for further information if needed.
I will send you an online background information questionnaire to complete. Once this is returned, you book a client information gathering session with me — a 50 minute parent/carer telehealth or in-person consultation, where we discuss your responses further. During this meeting, we will book your child's direct assessment.
I assess your child directly. Depending on what suits you best, this can be completed either in a single appointment (usually 2-3 hours, with adequate breaks to ensure your child remains focussed and able to participate to their fullest ability), or spread across multiple shorter appointments. I may also ask you to complete additional standardised questionnaires regarding your child's sensory processing and motor processing abilities at this stage.
We meet again for a feedback and therapy goal-setting session (50 minutes), where I discuss the assessment results and recommendations for occupational therapy directly with you, and where appropriate, your child may attend. We will agree on the goals to address in therapy at this session.
A written report is not automatically included in the assessment process, but is available on request. Report writing typically takes between 3 to 4 hours and is billed at my standard hourly rate.
* Please note that during Phase 2, it may become necessary for me to carry out an observation of your child in their educational setting. If required, this will incur an additional cost to the standard quoted fee. I will always discuss the value of an environment assessment with you and gain your agreement before proceeding.
