Occupational Therapists support children/families to fully participate in everyday activities (occupations) to help them reach goals and learn the skills they will need to function as independently as possible in daily life and be active members of their community. 

We aim to support your child/family to do the things that you love and need to do. We do this by considering you (your unique skills/challenges/interests), the occupation (the activity you wish to do) and the environment. If these three things are not working together then it can be hard to participate and achieve goals.

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We aim to problem solve together with you, to come up with strategies that suit your child/family and ultimately improve your participation and satisfaction. A part of this process is understanding your child’s sensory processes and challenges and generating strategies that cater to their unique sensory needs. 

Occupations are the activities that you need and want to do every day. There are 3 main areas of occupations that we support:

Self-care: Learning to wash, dress, eat and toilet independently are important milestones in a child’s development. Occupational Therapists can assess your child’s self-care skills and provide the education and support to help you gain knowledge to best support your child to acquire these skills. Then we work together to come up with functional strategies that are suitable to your child and family. We review strategies until we find some that are effective. 

Leisure/play:  A child’s main occupation is play. Children learn best through play, and it is a great opportunity to practice new skills. Research indicates that skills practiced in play are acquired and mastered much faster. Occupational Therapists support children to participate in play and by doing so also support them to develop their skills, discover their sense of self, and make social connections.  

Education: Participation in education is very important for children and young people. Occupational Therapists can work together within your child’s educational setting (childcare, kindergarten, school) to help them better understand your child's learning style and needs. We also aim to share knowledge and practical strategies that support your child’s learning and overall experience in the educational setting.  

If your Occupational Therapist is allocated as your Team Link they will support all of your goals across all areas of development. Your Occupational Therapist will be in regular contact with your broader team.