Occupational Therapy Pathway
Occupational Therapy Pathway
What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapists focus on the day-to-day activities that children want or need to do. This often includes developing independence skills such as dressing, participation in mealtimes, self-care, play etc.
What we look at as Occupational Therapists:
- The child’s ability to do these activities.
- Other factors that might impact engagement (such as developmental stage, attention, or regulation)
- The environment in which a child carries out their activities of daily living (ADLs) to assess the impact it has on the child’s participation and engagement.
- We work with children and young people as well as their parents/carers on age-appropriate functional daily activities.
This includes:
- Activities that they need to do (self-care activities such as dressing and feeding themselves)
- Activities that they want to do (play and leisure activities such as playing with toys or riding a bike)
- Activities that they are expected to do (school/college activities such as handwriting, using scissors or using a laptop)
- Our therapy team works with children/young people between the ages of 0-19.
After a referral has been made and accepted by the team, your child will be invited for a face-to-face assessment in a clinic setting. During this time, the therapist will observe and gather information from you and your child and using standardised or non-standardised assessments to identify current skills and concerns.
The therapist will discuss and decide the most appropriate approach for your child’s needs.
Our Occupational therapy treatment approach will always include the following:
- Parent and/or teacher coaching
- Advice and activity program
In addition, based on the Therapists assessment, further input may include:
- 1:1 therapy block with OT/ OT assistant
- Group sessions
- Adaptations in nursery/school and if necessary, equipment provisions
- Joint working with other professionals
- Signposting to other services
If no further input is needed, then your child will be discharged from our service and the relevant professional(s) will be informed. Once discharged a child can always be re-referred in the future if a new concern arises.
Equipment and Adaptations
Our Occupational Therapy service may provide equipment on an assessed and needs led basis to children at school, nursery and certain aspects at home.
The equipment provided is to enable occupations and participation in daily life.
Its main purpose is to increase or maintain functional independence, facilitate safe moving and handling, minimise risks, and postural management.
Some of the areas we may assess for school/nursery equipment provisions include:
- Specialist Seating
- Transfers (hoists and slings)
- Specialist Toileting Equipment
- Access in nursery/school
- Advice on adaptive tools for self-care and school productivity
We only assess and provide the following pieces of equipment for use within the home (based on Therapist’s assessment and clinical reasoning):
- Specialist Cot Beds
- Sleep Systems
If specialist equipment is assessed for and deemed appropriate for the child’s needs, we will work closely with equipment advisors to ensure the equipment supplied is suitable for your child and fits the purpose for which it has been provided. Equipment will be monitored and reviewed with your child’s/young person’s changing needs.
If you have any concerns regarding the equipment that has been provided you must contact the Children’s Occupational Therapy Team for advice.
Referrals
To make a referral to the Children’s Occupational Therapy Service you will need to complete the Children's Single Point of Access (SPA) Referral Form available to the right of this page.
We accept referrals from the following places:
- Early Years Education Setting
- School (Teachers and SENCOs)
- Sixth form College (up to 18 years old)
- Health professionals – Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy, School Nurses, Health Visitors
- Qualified Social Workers
- GPs
- Paediatricians
- Local and inpatient hospitals
Referral Criteria:
The referral form needs to highlight 2 or more areas of concern. These must be functional and impact on their ability to participate in activities of daily living.
For any referring professional, please read our referral criteria below before sending the referral to ensure they will meet our threshold for acceptance to the service.
For referrals related to Home Equipment and/or adaptations:
Any minor or major equipment needs at home, is dealt by the Social Services OT team and the child will need to be referred to the Barking and Dagenham Social Services OT team at LB Barking & Dagenham Social Services - Children and Families, Email address: ChildrensOTref@lbbd.gov.uk .
For referrals regarding wheelchair assessment and reviews:
We do not assess or review wheelchairs. Please send all referrals directly to the wheelchair service. Any professional can make a referral directly to the wheelchair services if a need is identified, however, they have their own criteria which is outlined on the referral form.
We can only make referrals to the wheelchair service if the child is currently being assessed or is already known to our team. The wheelchair services contact email is: northeastlondon@ajmhealthcare.org
It is important to note that this service is not commissioned to provide sensory intervention and therefore we are unable to accept Sensory Integration referrals.
Useful Information:
While we do assess for a wide range of equipment as mentioned above, there may be certain pieces of equipment that you child may need which may have to funded via a charity. Please see the booklet below for more information: