Occupational Therapy in Newcastle to help your child thrive
Help your child master everyday skills with trusted occupational therapy (OT) services from The Willow Tree Clinic. Delivered by our specialist team of occupational therapists, we conduct OT assessments and provide effective interventions to build your child’s capacity. This develops vital skills while improving self-esteem, building confidence and increasing independence in everyday life.
Our Occupational Therapy Services
Every child has different needs and challenges. That’s why The Willow Tree Clinic offers multiple Occupational Therapy services that can change and adapt as your child grows.
Our occupational therapists work with children with a variety of needs in our Kotara clinic, at school, home or in the community.
Individualised therapy that builds important skills
Our OT sessions involve a range of activities and interventions tailored to address your child’s specific needs and goals. Each session is also a whole lot of fun for everyone involved! Sessions are developed to be interactive and engaging while building important skills. Therapies can be completed in the clinic, community or school.
What to expect when starting Occupational Therapy
Step 1: Intake Appointment
Your first session with us typically involves a 1-hour intake appointment to discuss current challenges and areas for support. In this session, we get to know you, your child and your concerns to help us move forward with the most appropriate assessment approach.
Step 2: OT Assessment
The occupational therapist will then complete an assessment with the child to assess their current functional capacity across a range of domains. This assessment guides the development of therapy goals (in collaboration with you and your child).
Step 3: Recommended Interventions
We start ongoing occupational therapy sessions to support your therapy goals. These are fun, interactive, interest-led and individualised to meet the needs of each child. At the end of each session, you’ll get an update on progress and ideas for supporting learning at home.
Occupational Therapy FAQs
What is occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy focuses on helping children develop the skills they need to participate in everyday activities or “occupations.” These occupations may include play, self-care (such as eating, dressing, and bathing), general life skills, job readiness, school-related tasks and social interactions.
How can occupational therapy help my child?
Occupational Therapy can help your child by assessing the skills impacting on their ability to do the things they want and need to do. Therapists also assess the environment and the task itself to identify the most appropriate evidence based interventions. This may include working with your child to build their skills, or making modifications to the environment or the task. Occupational Therapy uses play as a way to build skills and confidence in a fun and engaging way.
What conditions or challenges can occupational therapy help?
Our occupational therapists work with children with a range of neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Intellectual Disabilities and Learning Disorders.
We can also help kids struggling with motor skills, social skills, emotional regulation skills, sensory processing challenges, job readiness skills, school readiness skills, and daily living skills (e.g., cooking, transport, personal hygiene, daily routine).
What happens during an occupational therapy session?
Our occupational therapy sessions typically involve a range of interactive activities and interventions tailored to address the specific needs and goals of the child. As an example, your child may play a board game to strengthen visual processing skills, enjoy time in a hammock to work the vestibular system and play a game of tug ‘o war to build core strength in a single session. Every activity is carefully selected to meet the needs profile of your child.
What age groups benefit from occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy can benefit anyone at any age. Here at The Willow Tree Clinic, our OT’s see children aged 2-18 years of age.
What occupational therapy supports do you offer?
Our experienced team can help with:
– Occupational Therapy Assessments
– Home Routines
– Daily Living Skills and Self-Care Skills
– School Supports
– Community Access Training
– Attention and Concentration
– Emotion Regulation
– Social Skills
– Play Skills
– Executive Functioning
– Adaptive Functioning
– Gross and Fine Motor Skills
– Sensory Needs
– Parent and Stakeholder Education
– Individual Therapy and Group Therapy.
Multi-disciplinary services
In addition to Occupational Therapy, The Willow Tree Clinic’s multidisciplinary team offers a range of allied health services for families – all under one roof.
Speech Therapy
Access evidence-based assessments and interventions to improve communication and everyday life for your family.
Psychology
Learn what’s driving behaviour, access targeted support and find ways to build adaptive skills to improve quality of life.
