The Greenwich children’s occupational therapy team works with children and young people
from 0-19 years of age who experience difficulties in carrying out everyday activities.
Occupational therapists call these activities occupations and they include self care, play,
socialising and things children need to do at school and at home such as sitting, writing,
eating and dressing.
Occupational therapy helps children become more independent in these activities.
We work from three main bases in Greenwich: Goldie Leigh Hospital in Abbey Wood, Ferryview
Health Centre in Woolwich, and Wensley Close in Eltham.
We also work within nurseries and schools, including special needs schools and, on occasions,
in families’ homes.
Children are referred to us by paediatricians and other healthcare professionals, and also
by education staff.
After a child has been seen by the service, re-referral can be accepted from parents as
well.
When we first see a child following referral, we carry out an initial assessment in which
the occupational therapist will look at how the child uses their hands to carry out tasks
- how they move, sit and stand and their ability to do a variety of activities.
We will also look at the underlying skills required to do these activities, such as the
child’s visual perception, how they move their body, and how they interpret sensory
information from the environment.
Children’s occupational therapists use a range of assessments and observations as well
as discussion with the child, parents, and where appropriate, the school.
Our early years service for children aged from 0-5 focuses on the basic skills that
a child needs to be able to play, such as positioning, seating, and hand use.
This includes the skills they will require for going into nursery.
We also work with parents to address any difficulties they may have with managing their child’s
daily activities, such as bathing and dressing.
Our mainstream school service works with a wide variety of school aged children.
This could include working with children to help them to access the environment as independently
as possible, for example if they are in a wheelchair, or if they require specialist
seating, to maintain their posture to enable them to concentrate on learning.
It could also include working with children who may have coordination difficulties and
find it difficult to sit still and concentrate, or to use the tools they need to at school
such as pencils, scissors and rulers.
Occupational therapists will work with children to develop the underlying skills needed for
these tasks, such as making sense of the environment, strengthening, range of grasps, and use of
both hands together.
Alternatively we may also look at adaptations to the task, or equipment so that the child
can achieve success.
For example, move and sit cushions, weighted pencils, grips, spring loaded scissors, or
we may liaise with schools about using alternative methods of recording work such as using a
computer.
We work very closely with our children’s therapy colleagues, such as physiotherapists,
speech and language therapists and music therapists to deliver an
integrated service.
Following assessment a child will be given advice if required, or they may be offered
a place in a group, or a short block of individual sessions to work on the difficulties identified.
Children are encouraged to learn skills by practising them on a regular basis within
their daily routine and activities.
We also run regular advice clinics where children who have been discharged and their families
can come when they feel they require further advice or ideas for activities.