Children’s Therapy Service – Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists are specially trained to assess and provide advice and intervention, for children with a disability and children who experience difficulties with everyday tasks at home, school and during play.

Occupational therapists assist with:

• Specialist equipment
• Minor and major home adaptations
• Personal care skills
• Splinting for chronic conditions
• Developing coordination and fine motor skills
• Advice for schools to accommodate the child’s needs
• Sensory assessments

Our referral forms and further advice can be found in the document list at the bottom of this page.

On April 1 2017 we redesigned the way we accept occupational therapy referrals from Trafford schools and early years settings. You can find out more about these changes here: FAQ for school and early years setting referrals.

If the referral meets our service criteria, the case is either placed on our waiting list or allocated to an occupational therapist, depending on the level of risk.

After the assessment we will offer programmes, therapy sessions, group sessions, equipment and adaptation provision, guidance to schools and work with other relevant services, as appropriate, to meet the child’s needs.

Occupational therapists are specially trained to assess and provide advice and intervention, for children with a disability and children who experience difficulties with everyday tasks at home, school and during play.

Our specialist occupational therapists have developed these documents to cover a range of functional difficulties your child may be having.

By working through these with your child, you can help to improve their skills in things like handwriting, ball skills, doing/undoing buttons, using cutlery etc.

Please read our introduction to advice sheets to help you make the most of these resources.

Early Years

• Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists – www.apcp.csp.org.uk/parent-leaflets
• Getting ready to look, listen and play
• Getting ready to move, sit and balance
• Getting ready to throw, catch and kick a ball
• Getting ready to write
• Hand skills
• Getting ready to use scissors
• Learning to dress
• Getting ready to use the toilet
• Learning to use a fork
• Learning to use a spoon

Primary

• Getting ready to pay attention
• Getting ready to sit
• Getting ready to work
• Positioning for optimal writing performance
• Getting ready to catch and throw
• Hand skills
• Cutting with scissors
• Cutlery skills
• Dressing skills
• Toileting

Secondary

• Transitioning to secondary school – information for parents
• Transitioning to secondary school – information for young people
• Getting ready to catch and throw
• Getting ready to sit
• Hand skills
• Positioning for optimal writing performance

Visual perceptual skills

• General
• Visual perceptual games
• Stages of visual motor integration
• Improving visual perceptual skills – under 5s
• Improving visual perceptual skills – primary school
• Improving visual perceptual skills – secondary school

General strategies and Information

• Attention and concentration
• Organisation skills

These documents have more information about our service and making a referral:

• Trafford children’s therapies referral form
• Referral criteria for occupational therapy
• Motor skills pre-referral advice for schools
• Sensory processing pre-referral advice
• Pre-school questionnaire – motor coordination assessment