Occupational therapy is a health care profession dedicated to helping children develop play, self-care, school and social skills. These skills and abilities provide the platform for a successful transition from childhood to adolescence to adulthood. At blueballoon Health Services, we work to address the core issues that impact a child’s ability to reach his/her full potential. We use a number of well-established approaches and techniques including sensory integration, perceptional motor training and the cognitive-based interventions.
At blueballoon Health Services, our occupational therapists support children to make choices and develop play ideas, using play to develop further skills such as motor planning and sequencing. Although it may appear as though they are simply playing your child, our occupational therapists are working on functional and therapeutic goals through the use of play activities. Therapeutic goals can be achieved in a group setting or one-on-one. Your therapist will work with you to determine the options best suited to your child’s needs.
blueballoon Health Services Occupational Therapy is a team of occupational therapists, all of whom are trained and experienced in the area of paediatrics. We have therapists certified in Sensory Integration Praxis Tests (SIPT) and Therapeutic Listening. As well, our therapists are trained in implementing programs to address attentional and arousal/self-regulation difficulties. Other areas of expertise include Astronaut Training, Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP approach), Oral Placement Therapy (OPT), Alert Program, life skills and Handwriting Without Tears.
When might your child need Occupational therapy?
Occupational Therapy can be used to improve:
• Gross motor skills such as balance and strength
• Fine motor skills such as buttons and zippers
• Oral-motor skills such as feeding and chewing
• Visual-motor skills such as drawing and pouring
• Sensory processing concerns such as over-sensitivity avoiding or seeking touch.
• Environmental adaptation and self-help skills
• Psychosocial play
• Pre-printing, printing and cursive writing
How could an Occupational Therapist help my child?
Paediatric Occupational Therapy is beneficial for any child experiencing difficulties with the routines of daily life. At blueballoon our goal is to improve the quality of life for the child and family through successful and meaningful experiences. This may be accomplished through improving established skills, maintaining strengths and introducing novel skills necessary for the child to participate as independently as possible in meaningful life activities. Such skills include but are not limited to coping skills, fine and oral motor skills, sensory processing, self-help skills, socialization and play skills, visual-motor skills and environmental adaptations.
No doctor referral is necessary. Please complete our Self-Referral Form: Click here.
