occupational therapy

Paediatric Occupational Therapists work alongside families, teachers and healthcare services to:

  • Enable children to develop confidence and independence to perform life skills.
  • Promote development and inspire children to learn and be more meaningfully involved in the world around them.
  • Assist children to develop and strengthen their skills that support learning, play and their relationships at home and at school.

Children’s skill development is much like building a house.

Before erecting the walls and the roof of a house, a solid foundation must first be laid. In the same way a child must first master underlying (hidden) abilities before being able to successfully perform more refined tasks/activities.

Foundation:
The ability to effectively process sensory information (touch, sight, taste, sound and smell) that allows the child to register the world around them, as well as to know how to use their bodies.

Walls:
Physical components such as finger strength, hand dexterity, postural control.

Roof:
Refined skills like bike riding or handwriting, getting dressed, feeding themselves, tying shoelaces, catching a ball, etc.

We are all unique, each one of us has our own strengths and weakness, our own amazing and creative ways of thinking and our own personalities. When we look at all the beautiful “houses” in our village we see that together we create something magical. Here at Building Blocks Therapy we are invited to be a part of a families journey – your village, this is by no means a role we take lightly and we see it as the biggest privilege.

The role of an Occupational Therapists is to ask ‘why is the skill difficult’ (that is, ‘why is the roof so shaky’?) and then to review the underlying foundations and physical abilities (the foundations and walls) to determine where the origin of the challenge is, to then deduce appropriate strategies to support the child and his family.

Who requires Occupational Therapy?

At Building Blocks Therapy we see children with a range of skills and abilities. Below are some of the difficulties your child might be experiencing that we can help with.