What is an OT?

A children's occupational therapist (OT) has specialist training and experience to help children achieve their maximum potential with skills needed for daily life and learning. OTs look at the practical abilities but also the underlying skills needed, such as:

Fine Motor Skills

This describes the co-ordination of the muscles of the arm and small muscles of the hand to perform tasks such as writing and playing with small manipulative toys.

Sensory Skills

These are how your child processes and organises sensory information (e.g. sight, sound, taste, touch, etc) and responds to this input (seen in their emotional reactions and behaviour).

Visual Perception

This describes how your child interprets and organises visual information.

Independence/Self Help Skills

These are personal skills such as dressing and feeding.

We can advise on how to develop a child or young person's underlying skills, use practical techniques to learn tasks and recommend equipment/aids and adaptations to the environment where needed. We work with children in a variety of settings most appropriate to the child's needs, for example at home, school/nursery or at a clinic.

We take a holistic approach to assessing and working with children - considering their physical and psychological wellbeing, strengths as well as needs, social and family involvement. Occupational therapists empower families and carers in learning the best way to help their child's development in every day life in a way that is relevant to them.

Total Children's Therapy's Occupational Therapists

• are all highly experienced in providing assessments and in therapeutic working with babies, children and young people and have routes in the health services.
• work closely with local health, education and social care agencies (for example Consultants, NHS and social care therapists, educational psychologists, and schools).
• must be state registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC) which means they must meet national standards related to training, performance and conduct in order to be fit to practice. www.hpc-uk.org are also members of the College of Occupational Therapists, which sets the Code of Ethics for the profession.

Please feel free to contact TCT for discussion or more information about Occupational Therapy, the therapists and how we can help you and your child.