Paediatric Occupational Therapy
What is Paediatric Occupational Therapy?
Paediatric Occupational Therapy uses specialist clinical skills and approaches to enable your child to achieve their maximum independence. We support children and young people with disabilities aged 0-18 to access and engage with essential facilities within the home environment. We assess your child to determine what activities they are having difficulties with to develop tailored interventions. These activities are what we call occupations and can range from using the toilet, to playing and having dinner with family.
We work closely with the NHS and educational facilities to ensure that there is a multi-disciplinary approach to your child’s care.
Our assessment and review approach
Our assessment usually takes around 45 minutes depending on your child’s diagnosis and needs. It is a requirement that your child be present for the assessment so that we are able to see how your child is functioning both physically and psychologically which enables us to prescribe the most appropriate intervention. Our work is community based, which means we see your child mainly at home but we will also visit schools/colleges or nurseries where appropriate.
How we can help your child
After an Occupational Therapist has assessed or reviewed your child, they will make professional recommendations based on the outcome of the assessment. Examples of what intervention you may receive are:
Equipment
Such as bath and shower chairs, activity chairs, postural management for eating/feeding.
Housing
Sometimes the home you are currently living in is not suitable for your child's needs. We can provide a housing report to support your application for moving home.
DFG / Major Adaptations
As part of our assessment we may find that your home requires a major adaptation to aid your child being able to meet an occupational area (e.g., a wet room so that they are able to access safe washing facilities). The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) can be used to fund major adaptations. This is dependent on your tenure.
Postural Seating
Seating can be an essential piece of equipment for children who have postural difficulties to improve task performance and engagement in daily activities such as feeding and play. We have a selection of pre-loaned chairs in our stores and we work closely with chair reps who will attend an appointment to trial seating for your child. Working alongside the Occupational Therapist’s knowledge of postural management, a suitable chair may then be prescribed. We can adjust your child’s seating to maximise support and accommodate for growth.
Please note we do not provide seating for nursery, school or college. This service is available through NELFT whose contact details are provided below.
Minor Adaptations
We can assess for and provide minor adaptations such as ramps and rails to improve access and mobility in and around the home.
Advice
We can signpost to charities to support funding of equipment and adaptations that do not fall within our remit. We can refer to other professional services such as Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) and Wheelchair services where required.
Reviews
Once the prescribed intervention has been completed, the Paediatric Occupational Therapist’s will review your child’s equipment to ensure suitability. Alternatively, a review can be requested if you feel your child’s need have changed.
What we are unable to help with
Behaviour Assessments
We do not provide assessments or interventions for children expressing dysregulation or physical behaviours which are challenging for adults to manage, as this does not fall within the scope of the Paediatric Occupational Therapy team. Families seeking support for behavioural concerns are encouraged to consider other services available within the Havering SEND Local Offer for further advice and support.
Local Offer | Havering Directory (Opens in new tab)
Safety Items
We do not provide or supply readily available items which are aimed at improving general safety within the home, including door or window locks. Recommendations for such items may be provided during the assessment if deemed appropriate however families will be expected to self-purchase these items. It is anticipated that before receiving an assessment, you will have already taken appropriate steps to ensure your child’s safety within the home.
We have a safety leaflet with advice, products and services to help improve safety within the home which you can download in the section on the main page called safety at home for children.
Sensory Integration Therapy / Sensory Processing Disorder Interventions
We are not commissioned to provide Sensory Integration Therapy. We also do not provide equipment to meet sensory needs.
Wheelchairs/Specialist Buggies
We do not provide wheelchairs or specialist buggies. These are provided by Wheelchair Services whose details can be found here: North East London Wheelchair Services (Opens in new tab)
Car Seats
We do not assess for or provide car seats. Families are signposted to charities who can support with funding specialist car seats and if appropriate, we can provide a supporting letter to aid charity applications.
School Chairs
Our colleagues within NELFT are able to support with provision of school chairs. Their details can be found here: Children's occupational therapy- Havering | NELFT NHS Foundation Trust (Opens in new tab)
Who can refer
- GPs
- Educational staff (Teachers and SENCOs)
- Nurses
- Parent/carer/legal guardian
- Paediatricians
- Physiotherapists
- Other healthcare professionals
How make a referral
To refer to Paediatric Occupational Therapy please either call 01708 433936 or email: paediatricot@havering.gov.uk where a member of staff will provide you with our referral form. Once the referral form has been received, the Occupational Therapists will then triage this.