What is Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy enables people to participate in daily life to improve their health and wellbeing. Daily life is made up of many activities (or occupations). Occupations for children or young people may include self-care (getting ready to go out, eating a meal, using the toilet), being productive (going to nursery or school, or volunteering) and leisure – playing with friends or doing hobbies.
https://www.rcot.co.uk/about-occupational-therapy/what-is-occupational-therapy
Why might an Occupational Therapist be of help to you?
If you are a teacher, social worker, youth worker, carer or any other professional who works with children and young people who are experiencing barriers or difficulties in their day to day living, then working with an occupational therapist may be of help to you.
In addition to providing direct assessment and intervention for children and young people Occupational Therapists can also provide some different approaches that may enable you in your role with a child or young person. Lynda Niles OT Associates particularly focuses on those who have neurodevelopmental difficulties and sensory processing issues.
What might the Occupational Therapist do?
Informal consultation / advice giving
- Talking through a situation and identifying if there is a need for direct Occupational Therapy intervention or what other approaches may be recommended. This may lead on to eth sue of some screening tools to help identify potential areas of difficulty and recommendations regarding specific assessment or intervention
Formal consultation – Looking at situations from a different perspective
- This is an opportunity to spend a dedicated session looking at the identified needs of one or two children in your class or service etc and using a sensory integration-based approach to identify alternative ways of approaching the situation.
- The consultation is not intended to replace a specialist assessment but can be undertaken when there is permission from the parents and those participating in the consultation process can supply basic information or even complete screening assessment information.
- This may result in identifying specific sensory strategies that can be carried out in the setting, with the resources and staff available.
- Advice can be given about reasonable adjustments that can be made by the adults working with the child or young person, both in terms of the environment and activities being undertaken.
- Recommendations can be made about what equipment and materials could be purchased to enable and facilitate positive participation and engagement.
- A written summary of agreed actions and recommendations will be provided at the end of a consultation session.
Provide support, advice and guidance
- This may vary in what is required but may build on from a consultation session or be part of a follow up session after an initial assessment has been completed.
Sensory environmental assessment
- A formal review of the environment where a child or young person is living, learning, socialising or playing etc. from a sensory and occupational perspective.
- The report will include recommendations and guidance to making the setting more appropriate or more available to those with sensory processing differences or who are experiencing other occupational limitations.
Supervision and continuing professional development opportunities
- For those working to address independent living skills and occupational engagement with children and young people
- For those working with sensory processing issues
- For occupational therapists and other staff groups.
Training and education
- Bespoke training workshops can be provided around a range of topics, previous sessions have included –
- Introduction to Sensory Processing issues
- Sensory Processing and Learning
- Sensory Processing and ADHD
- Sensory Processing and Dyspraxia
- Sensory Processing and ASD
- Developing Sensory Diets and Sensory Strategies
- Workshops can be delivered as 2-hour twilight session in school or other suitable training settings, as well as all day sessions.
Confidentiality and safeguarding
All occupational therapists are governed by professional standards as laid down by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) LINK https://www.hcpc-uk.org/aboutregistration/standards/ and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Occupational Therapists LINK https://www.rcot.co.uk/practice-resources/rcot-publications/downloads/rcot-standards-and-ethics
Information shared with the occupational therapist will be treated confidentially and information kept safely and securely and only shared as agreed and within local safeguarding policies and procedures.
Costs
Please contact Lynda Niles to discuss the type of support or intervention you may be seeking.
Initial telephone calls and enquiries are always free. A small fee may be charged if it is agreed that a screening assessment is needed to provide some initial additional information.
Costs for consultation, supervision and environmental assessments can be given on request.
Bespoke packages are provided with individual costings depending on number of people involved length of session and materials provided.
Workshop training sessions available for professionals and parents are costed at various prices, please see events section.
