Equipment and Strategies
Before considering a referral to occupational therapy to address functional difficulties, it is important that you have tried general equipment/ strategies which are available on this website.
Children are usually deeply curious – it’s how they learn, grow and develop. They are often curious about the environments surrounding them and how things within them work. Occupational Therapists recognise that this exploration can be very nerve wracking for parents and caregivers; especially those with children with additional needs who often find it difficult to understand risk, danger and personal safety. For many reasons, these children might also struggle to remember rules, understand social norms and control their emotional and behavioural reactions.
Despite such challenges, Occupational Therapists encourage “positive risk taking”. That is, weighing up the risks to your child within the home and managing those risks so that your child can access their home and activities within it, as much as possible, for example: getting steps so your child can access the toilet independently. Although we understand that you might feel the need to stop your child from accessing some environments and activities all together, it is important that all children are supported to develop their understanding of risk and danger in a safely managed way.