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Paediatric occupational therapists specialise in supporting children and young people to develop the skills they need for everyday life.   

 

SPOT North West can offer assessment, advice and intervention for children experiencing difficulties with any of the following: 

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  • Handwriting

  • Fine motor and/or play skills

  • Self-help skills e.g., personal care, toileting and feeding

  • Sensory processing

  • Sleep

  • Attention and concentration

  • Balance and coordination

  • Planning and organisation

  • Posture e.g., assessing for specialist equipment such as seating

  • Accessing home or education e.g., environmental adaptations or accommodations

A free no obligation 30 minute phone call is available to help you determine if this is the right service for your child and what support is required. 

A children's OT assessment will identify your child's strengths and any underlying difficulties or factors impacting on their functional, participation or independence skills.

 

Prior to the assessment an initial questionnaire will be sent to parents or carers to obtain background information, and a telephone consultation completed to understand and discuss your concerns.

 

All assessments are tailored to individual need and may involve observational and play based assessment, in addition to standardised and/or non-standardised tests.  

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SPOT North West offers a range of assessment packages, including:  

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  • Motor Assessment - This includes a 60-minute assessment using both standardised and non-standardised assessment of your child's motor and functional skills, a parental feedback discussion, detailed report and recommendations. ​

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  • Sensory Assessment - This typically consists of a 45-minute parent/carer discussion around your child's sensory needs, a 60-minute observation based assessment, parental feedback discussion, report detailing your child's sensory needs, recommendations and individualised sensory strategies in the form of a sensory diet or sensory ladder. ​

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  • Full OT Assessment - This combines the above motor and sensory assessment packages. ​

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  • Sensory Integration Assessment - This includes a standardised sensory assessment using the Evaluation in Ayres Sensory Integration (EASI) and a detailed report, recommendations, and individualised sensory strategies. ​

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  • Education Health and Care Plan Assessment - This includes one of the above packages (Motor Assessment, Sensory Assessment, Full OT Assessment, Sensory Integration Assessment) plus goal setting and an additional report detailing EHCP recommendations.​

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  • Handwriting Assessment - This includes a 60 minute handwriting assessment using standardised and non-standardised tests.  It is suitable for children aged 9 and over and includes a feedback discussion, report and recommendations. 

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  • ​OT Screen - This includes a 45 to 60 minute non-standardised (play or observation based) assessment, 30 minute feedback phone call and short summary report.  It is usually suitable where there is only one area of concern e.g., motor skills or handwriting or sensory processing.  It is most appropriate for children under the age of 4, and under the age of 9 if the concerns are around handwriting only.  

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Goal setting and activity programmes can be added to all assessment packages as required. â€‹

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Child Counseling
Playing with Toy Train

Occupational therapy intervention focuses on developing a child's underlying skills and working towards achieving child centred functional goals. 

 

SPOT North West offers a range of interventions including: 

 

  • Goal setting

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  • Provision of a child centred activity programme to be integrated in the home and school environments.

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  • Review or monitoring of your child's progress. ​

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  • Treatment sessions or a therapy block (usually 6 to 12 weeks).

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  • Joint sessions with other health care professionals such as physiotherapy or speech and language therapy. 

 

Treatment and therapy sessions are 45 minutes to 1 hour and include parent feedback in the form of an email, text or telephone call.  Clear functional goals and a plan for review will be set prior to any therapy block.

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Treatment sessions and therapy blocks are usually delivered at home or in school to support integrating activities in your child's environments.  Sessions are usually play based and include time working on both developing underlying skills e.g., fine or gross motor skills, and set functional goals e.g., handwriting, fastening buttons, developing play skills.  

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