How OT's help
Whether your child's school has identified that they are struggling with balance and coordination, or you have such noticed difficulties yourself, we can help. When a child is experiencing developmental difficulties, proactive and early intervention will minimise the impact on their confidence and self-esteem.
Childhood development is complex and not all children will move at the same pace, but some of the most common reasons why a parent will contact us include:
- Lack of coordination in gross motor skills during running, jumping and climbing (often demonstrated by not enjoying going to the park or playing outside)
- Difficulties with handwriting, or in using tools like pencils or scissors
- Slow development of skills for more complex tasks such as swimming or riding a bicyle
- Problems at school relating to completing work or participating in sports
- Confidence and self-esteem around physical activity in the playground
Our assessment process allows for a specialist occupational therapist to identify where your child's difficulties lie as well as the reasons for them. Once identified, we can work with you and your child to put in place a plan to address them.
Packages of care
We are flexible around the needs of your child and family, and have a variety of treatment packages to ensure we provide the right solution for you. All of our interventions are oriented towards ensuring that you and your child see measurable improvements.
This might include one or more of the following:
- An eight-week block of one-to-one bespoke treatment sessions delivered to your child at home or school, after which we will review and plan the next steps with you
- An intensive block of treatment delivered over the holidays - this is popular with overseas families, or those with limited weekend or after-school capacity in term time
- A home and school programme providing practical, everyday techniques, with advice and support to ensure that the approach is consistent throughout your child's day
- Attendance at a balance and coordination group at weekends or over the holidays
Common areas we work on
Through our assessment we will identify the specific areas of balance and coordination that your child is struggling with, and the source of these difficulties, allowing us to plan a targeted treatment programme.
Some of the most common areas that we would expect to be working on include:
- Strengthening of the core muscles in the trunk and upper limb
- Development of stamina during physical activity
- Exercises to improve visual perception
- Improving sensory processing, to ensure the body is receiving and interpreting correct information from their muscles about their position, speed and force
- Working with parents and schools to ensure that the right approaches to balance and coordination continue even when the OT is not present
