Children's Occupational Therapy Services

Who do we help?

The Occupational Therapy Team supports children and young people aged 0 to 18 years with a permanent and substantial disability that significantly affects daily living tasks and offers help with the transition into Occupational Therapy adult services.

What do we do?

The assessment is collaboration between the child, the child's parent or carer, the Occupational Therapist and or Therapy Assistant and any other relevant people.

Consideration will be given to the child's strengths and how the child manages their individual activities of daily living, any challenges they encounter in the home environment and their family members.

The Occupational Therapist (OT) will observe how the child currently completes these activities, evaluates the risks and challenges involved, and identify solutions to safe and independent living.

These observations may include but are not limited to:

• access to and from the property
• access to the garden and play
• indoors accessibility and use of stairs 
• sit to stand transfers 
• access to and use of bathing and toileting facilities
• ability to independently wash, dress, and feed
• safety whilst sleeping at night
• seating and postural support
• participation in leisure and play and educational activities at home

On completion of the assessment Occupational Therapist may need to gather further information from other professionals to gain a holistic viewpoint of the child's difficulties. Following from the initial assessment the Occupational Therapist may recommend equipment, adaptations to the home environment, further moving and handling and functional assessments, and signpost to other professional services. The OT plan aims to enable the child or young person to reach their full potential in key areas of their life at home.

The OT will review the therapy plan following provision and demonstration of equipment and adaptations to ensure the all provisions within the plan continue to meet their needs.

How to refer your child

A request for an Occupational Therapy Assessment can be made by a parent or carer or another person on their behalf such as a professional already working with you.

This request is made through the Children's Hub who you can contact by calling 01642 130080.

The referrals are screened to ensure that the OT service is an appropriate service for the child's presenting needs. A member of the Occupational Therapy team will contact the parent or carer to arrange a home visit within a reasonable time scale depending on priority of needs.

Information about you

The equipment and adaptations identified to meet assessed needs are free of charge and the OT will coordinate provision of these. For more costly adaptations the OT will apply for funding from The Disabled Facilities Grand on behalf of the child and parents. This grant is administered by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and is not subject to a means test. There is a waiting period for receiving the grant which may vary depending on demands to the service and scale and type of adaptations required.

All members of the team will adhere to Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Confidentiality of Data Protection Act 1998 and will ask permission for sharing of information with other professionals. The information shared with other teams and professionals helps provide the best outcome for your child and is only on a need to know basis.