Pediatric Occupational Therapy
(0-5yrs only)

At this time we are only accepting children who are not yet school age: 0-5 years old. If you are looking for support for your school-aged child we can assist you in connecting with the right professional locally or out of town. Give us a call at 604-413-7095 and we can book a free consultation with one of our child development specialists

A child’s job or “occupation” is to grow and learn.  Sometimes, children struggle to participate in daily activities, whether it is playing, getting along with their family and friends, doing routine tasks like eating or bathing, or learning new things at home or at school.

Occupational therapy is a treatment that supports children and their families to overcome whatever challenges they may be experiencing.  It is about helping and empowering children to perform daily tasks to their fullest potential.  Each OT session is planned according to the child’s unique strengths and challenges and will include just the right amount of challenge to boost the child’s self-esteem and sense of accomplishment, while developing and acquiring skills that they can use in their day-to-day life.

•  Individual occupational therapy evaluations in which we will determine what your child’s individual strengths and challenges are to plan how to help and support your child at home, at daycare/school, and in everyday life.
• Individual OT sessions with children whose needs have been identified in an OT assessment.
• Family consultations with parents of children with sensory processing difficulties. After a full OT evaluation, parents can also have OT sessions during which we will explore how you as a family can navigate your child/ren’s specific challenges within your family structure, and where parents will be guided in how to support their child in their daily life.

OT’S CAN HELP BABIES OR TODDLERS WHO:

• • Have difficulty processing sensory information. 

This includes:

• • getting overwhelmed or over-stimulated easily
  • being sensitive to touch, sounds, smells, movement aor new tastes and food textures (over-responsive or defensive)
  • not responding to sensations like touch, sounds, smells, tastes and movement (under-responsive)
  • poor body awareness (being clumsy or having difficulty planning new movements)

• • Have concerning delayed milestones. 

This might include:

• • Delayed sitting, crawling, walking
  • Delayed fine and/or gross motor skills
  •  Delayed interest in books, games, toys, people
  • Difficulty interacting socially (difficulty making eye-contact or reciprocating social cues)

• • Have difficulty regulating their emotions.

This includes:

• • Excessive crying or fussing
  • Difficulty being soothed by caregiver
  • Frequent tantrums or meltdowns, especially when over-stimulated

• Have low muscle toneor poor postural control
  • (If a child only presents with low muscle tone or poor postural control, a physiotherapy referral might be more appropriate)

OT’S CAN HELP PRESCHOOL CHILDREN WHO:

• • Have difficulty processing sensory information

This includes:

• • • getting easily overwhelmed in busy/noisy environments (e.g., shops, playgroups, sports games)
    • being overly sensitive to touch, sounds, smells, movement or new tastes and food textures (over-responsive or “defensive”)
    • not responding to sensations like touch, sounds, smells, tastes and movement (under-responsive)
    • poor body awareness (being clumsy or having difficulty planning new movements)
    • is excessively scared of heights or movement (e.g., swinging, being lifted high, walking over a bridge, climbing on playground equipment)
    • has very little fear and engages in overly risky behaviour
  • • Have various delayed milestones
      This may include:
      • delayed gross motor skills (e.g., hopping, jumping, running, climbing)
      • delayed fine motor skills (e.g., basic drawing/coloring, picking up or placing small objects, building blocks, pressing buttons)
      • delayed perceptual development (e.g., identifying and sorting colours, shapes and body parts, building simple puzzles, playing matching games)
      • delayed interest in books, games, toys, people
      • difficulty interacting socially (e.g., making eye-contact or reciprocating social cues)
    • Have difficulty regulating their emotions

This includes:

• • • • Excessive crying when upset
      • Difficulty being calmed by caregiver
      •  Frequent tantrums or meltdowns, especially when over-stimulated

Have low muscle tone orpoor postural control

(If a child only presents with low muscle tone or poor postural control, a physiotherapy referral might be more appropriate)

OT’S CAN HELP SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN WHO:

• • • Have delayed development of age-appropriate skills.

This may include:

• • • • delayed gross motor skills (e.g., skipping, galloping, running, climbing)
      •  delayed fine motor skills (e.g., holding a pencil, drawing/coloring, writing within the lines, cutting, crafting, lacing with beads, peg boards, tying shoelaces, eating with utensils)
      •  poor motor planning skills (e.g., clumsy, poorly coordinated movements, difficulty learning new things, struggling with letter formations and layout of work)
      •  delayed perceptual development (e.g., being unable to identify and copy shapes, numbers and letters, having difficulty with puzzles or visual-perceptual games)
      •  difficulty interacting socially (difficulty reciprocating social cues)
  • • Have poor organizational skills.

This may include:

• • • • having difficulty performing self-care tasks (e.g., dressing, eating, bathing)
      • having difficulty organizing their toys, backpack or school desk
      • struggling to finish activities tasks within the given time
  • • Have difficulty processing sensory information.
      This may include:
      • getting easily overwhelmed in busy/noisy environments (e.g., classroom, grocery stores, sports games)
      • being overly sensitive to touch, sounds, smells, movement or new tastes and food textures (over-responsive or “defensive”)
      •  not responding to sensations like touch, sounds, smells, tastes and movement (under-responsive)
      •  poor body awareness (being clumsy or having difficulty planning new movements)
      • being excessively scared of heights or movement (e.g., swinging, being lifted, walking over a bridge, climbing on playground equipment)
      •  has very little fear and engages in overly risky behavior (e.g., on the playground)
  • • Have difficulty regulating their emotions
      This may include:
      • getting easily upset and staying upset for longer than most kids
      • difficulty dealing with disappointment
      •  frequent outbursts
      •  difficulty maintaining friendships due to emotional challenges
  • • Have low muscle toneor poor postural control
      This may include:
      • Tiring easily or having difficulty maintaining an upright posture on the mat, at a desk, or at the breakfast table
      •  Poor posture, slouching,

(If a child only presents with low muscle tone or poor postural control, a physiotherapy referral might be more appropriate)