Recognizing emotions, communicating needs, navigating social situations, coping with frustration, and developing self-regulation are important skills for everyday life. We help individuals build greater awareness of themselves and others while developing practical strategies for managing emotions and participating in relationships and social environments.

Play is an important part of childhood development. Through play, children explore their world, express themselves, practise communication, develop imagination, learn to problem-solve, and connect with others. We use engaging, developmentally appropriate activities to support play, interaction, communication, and participation.

Fine motor skills involve the small movements of the hands and fingers that are needed for many everyday activities. We can support skills involved in handwriting, drawing, using scissors, manipulating small objects, using utensils, managing buttons and zippers, and completing other self-care and classroom tasks.

Gross motor skills involve larger body movements and contribute to a child’s ability to participate in play and everyday activities. Therapy may support areas such as balance, coordination, body awareness, strength, motor planning, and confidence with movement.

Executive functioning skills help us plan, organize, remember information, manage our time, shift between activities, solve problems, control impulses, and get started on and complete tasks. We support in developing strategies that make everyday routines, schoolwork, responsibilities, and transitions more manageable and successful.

Developing independence in everyday activities is an important part of occupational therapy. We support skills such as dressing, grooming, eating, toileting routines, preparing simple meals, organizing belongings, completing household tasks, and managing daily routines. For older children, teens, and adults, therapy can also focus on building the practical skills needed for greater independence at home, school, work, and in the community.

Occupational therapy assessments help us understand a child’s strengths, identify areas where they may need additional support, and explore how these difficulties may be affecting their participation in everyday activities at home, school and in the community.

Depending on your child’s individual needs, we may use a combination of observation, discussion with parents or caregivers, and standardised assessments. Some of the assessments we offer include:

Beery VMI – Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration

The Beery VMI looks at how well a child can coordinate what they see with their hand movements. These visual-motor integration skills are important for everyday activities such as handwriting, copying from the board, drawing, completing puzzles and other classroom tasks.

The assessment can help identify whether a child is experiencing difficulties with visual-motor integration and may also include additional assessment of visual perception and motor coordination.

Movement ABC-2 – Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition

The Movement ABC-2 is used to assess a child or young person’s motor skills and identify possible movement difficulties. It looks at areas including manual dexterity, aiming and catching, and balance.

This assessment can provide a clearer picture of how a child’s motor abilities compare with those expected for their age and can help identify areas that may benefit from further support or intervention.

Sensory Profile 2

The Sensory Profile 2 helps us understand how a child processes and responds to sensory information in everyday life. This can include responses to sounds, touch, movement, visual information and other sensory experiences.

Questionnaires are completed by a parent, caregiver and/or teacher, depending on the assessment being used. The results help identify patterns in the child’s sensory processing and how these may be influencing their participation, behaviour and ability to manage everyday routines.

What Happens After an Assessment?

Assessment results are considered alongside information from the child, family and, where appropriate, school or other professionals. This helps us build a fuller picture of the child rather than focusing on an assessment score alone.

We can then identify strengths and areas of difficulty and provide recommendations and practical strategies to support participation and independence in everyday activities. Where appropriate, the findings can also help inform individual occupational therapy goals and intervention.

Supporting your child doesn’t stop at the end of an occupational therapy session. We believe that helping the people who spend the most time with your child understand their individual needs is an important part of creating meaningful and lasting change.

We provide education, guidance and practical strategies to parents, caregivers, family members and, where appropriate, the professionals who work closely with your child. This may include teachers, educational assistants, childcare providers or other members of your child’s support team.

Our aim is to help those around your child better understand their strengths and challenges, why certain activities or environments may be more difficult, and what practical strategies can be used to support participation, independence and confidence in everyday life.

Support can be flexible and tailored to your family’s needs. This might include a Zoom consultation, an in-person meeting, collaboration with your child’s school or care team, IEP meetings, or regular monthly check-ins to discuss progress/ challenges and adapt strategies as your child’s needs change.

By working collaboratively with the important people in your child’s life, therapeutic strategies can be carried over into everyday routines and environments — helping your child use their developing skills where they matter most.