Occupational therapy practitioners ask ‘What matters to you?' not ‘What’s the matter with you?
Ginny Stoffel, American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) President
Community paediatric occupational therapists work with children who are experiencing difficulties which affect their ability to participate in daily activities.
These difficulties may be due to physical, developmental, sensory or neurological impairments.
Therapists look at what a child wants and needs to do in their day-to-day life, with a focus on the areas of play, self care eg dressing, washing, feeding themselves etc. and school life eg. hand writing, managing tools / equipment etc.
Work is carried out in collaboration with the child’s family, school and any other health or social care professionals involved in their care, with the aim of maximising the child’s potential and ability to function independently.
Support can vary depending on the child’s functional difficulty but includes those with developmental differences, postural management needs, sensory processing and integration differences, and difficulties with fine and gross motor skills.
The community paediatric occupational therapy team see children from 0-19. They work in locality teams, linking in with the community family hubs in their area.
The team also works with local authority education providers to provide school-based occupational therapy.
Contact us
Tel: 0191 282 3452
School-based occupational therapy
In addition to our community work (linked into early year’s settings and mainstream schools) we also have school-based occupational therapists who offer bespoke therapy, most suited to pupils while they are in their educational setting.
Currently, this service includes special provision into Hadrian School, Sir Charles Parsons School and Thomas Bewick School.
