What to Expect

For Your Child

You have concerns for your child or your child’s doctor or other health and educational professional suggests that your child maybe presenting with difficulties and requires the expertise of an Occupational Therapist.

For Adults

When you experience some of the following symptoms:

• Difficult to function within your work, home, social or recreational environment Lack of motivation in managing your self cares
• Reduced coping with ordinary occupations at work or home
• Reliance upon drugs to sleep (i.e alcohol, medication, other)
• Delayed sleep onset and/or frequent waking during the night
• Lack of interest towards engaging in usual activities
• More than usual, avoiding catching up with friends and family, preferring to stay at home
• Very difficult to self organise
• Inability to perform usual roles at work and/or home
• Loss of “breadwinner” role due to any of the above
• Feelings of inadequacy and failure

For Children

Based on my previous experience with other children, I believe you as a parent would prefer if I conducted the assessment or treatment in the comfort of your own home or even at your child’s school. I understand that your schedule is busy, and I want to make things easier for you by offering this convenience.

In some cases, when you are in a remote location, I can assess your child’s skills through a video recording. This allows me to observe their engagement in activities and this will provide me with valuable insights on their level of abilities. Alternatively, we can arrange a Zoom session where I can observe their interactions with various activities.

My goal is to ensure that the assessment process is accessible and convenient for you and your child.

For Adults

Firstly providing background information and current treatment (both physical and mental health) will be helpful and necessary in order to assess and understand your current physical and mental health status.

Secondly, I may use standardised mental health assessment tools to understand the levels of motivation for occupation, process and motor skills, volition, habituation, skills, and environment.

Thridly, I may use functional assessment tools, which will look at habits, routines, roles, values, interests, environment, attitudes, motivation, activities of daily living (ADL), family and relationships. This three-part assessment provides the necessary information on your health status and how this impacts your daily life and ability to engage in important tasks and occupations. A rehabilitation program can be developed and implemented.

For Children

To start the process, I will schedule a 15-30 minute consultation with you, either over the phone or via Zoom. This initial session is free of charge and serves as an opportunity for us to discuss your concerns in detail.

At the conclusion of our initial consultation if you wish to continue with the assessment process we can schedule a session. A questionnaire will be sent out for you to complete and return before the assessment session. This questionnaire will allow you to provide additional information and insights that will assist me in better understanding your child’s needs.

During the assessment session, which typically lasts between 1 to 1 ½ hours, I will utilize either standardized and/or non-standardized assessments to gain a comprehensive understanding of your child’s abilities and challenges.

Depending on your choice I can prepare a generalised screening summary or a comprehensive report on the outcome of the assessments. This thorough assessment process will enable me to develop a treatment plan and set therapeutic goals to meet their specific needs.

For Adults

The initial assessment is undertaken at a location negotiated with you (online or face-to-face).

I will use a range of evidence-based assessment tools to determine rehabilitation requirements.

Where appropriate a rehabilitation plan will be formulated and detailed in the Initial Assessment Report.

Depending on your choice I can prepare a generalised screening summary or a comprehensive report.

Assessment

I use assessment tools developed within the Model of Human Occupation Philosophy together with other Model of Health assessment tools. Some but not limited to,  are outlined below:

The Model of Human Occupation Screening tool (MOHOST) is an assessment that addresses the majority of MOHO concepts (volition, habituation, skills, and environment), allowing the therapist to gain an overview of the client’s occupational functioning.

The Worker Role Interview (WRI) was developed to address psychosocial and environmental factors that impact return to work. The information gathered compliments other work/physical capacity assessments to ensure a well rounded picture of the client and their needs that should be addressed to ensure return to work.

Occupational Self Assessment (OSA) reflects the uniqueness of each client’s values and needs, the OSA is a tool that facilitates client-centred therapy. The OSA self report and planning forms assist the client in establishing priorities for change and identifying goals for occupational therapy. The wide range of everyday activities, including handling responsibilities, managing finances, and relaxing, provides a client with the opportunity to identify and address their participation in important and meaningful occupations.

Assessment of motor and process skills (AMPS) – this assessment assesses a range of motor and process skills. Other assessments: to assess Depression, Anxiet, Domestic and Community skills Assessment.

For Children

Based on assessment results, your child may require Occupational Therapy input.

If your child requires occupational therapy services I would be pleased to offer regular treatment sessions for your child.

Each session will be 60 to 90 minutes long and take place once a week. During these sessions, I will provide engaging activities tailored to your child’s needs. We will adjust the activities based on their progress to ensure continued growth and development. The 60-90 minutes session can include but is not limited to sessions and feedback. This could be 45 minutes hands-on treatment session, 15 minutes of parent discussion (if required), and 15 minutes of documentation.

For Adults

After the assessment session, you may choose to work with me to support you with work & productivity skills, life skills, and leisure recreational skills. Upon approval to engage in occupational therapy sessions, regular consultation will be undertaken.

For Children

Based on the number of goals you have and the identified areas of concerns, my treatment sessions typically span 6-8 weeks. I am committed to supporting you and your child throughout this journey and encourage working towards successful outcomes.

Some children may require more ongoing support, this could be due to the speed of acquisition of new skills and the number of goals. As required the assessment tools used in the initial assessment can be reapplied at a later stage, enabling measurement of progress to be re-evaluated. This will determine the need for further occupational therapy input or the rehabilitation cessation.

On your request a new assessment report can be completed.

For Adults

Based on the number of goals you have and the identified areas of concerns, the number of rehabilitation sessions can vary.

You will receive regular sessions from me, every one to two weeks, and I’m committed to supporting you throughout this journey and encourage working towards successful outcomes.

As required the assessment tools used in the initial assessment can be reapplied at a later stage, enabling measurement of progress to be re-evaluated. This will determine the need for further occupational therapy input or rehabilitation cessation.