Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy (OT) helps children and young people improve their health and wellbeing. This might be helping them with eating, washing, using the toilet, doing their schoolwork, enjoying hobbies or playing with friends.
Lambeth social care children’s occupational therapists (OTs) work to support children with disabilities and their families within their home. We have a duty to assess the needs of children with disabilities and families under The Children Act 1989/2004 and The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act.
Our children’s occupational therapy team defines disability as ‘a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’ (Equalities Act 2010).
When can a referral be made?
A referral for an occupational therapy assessment can be made when a child or young person’s disability significantly affects their ability to carry out, or have access to, everyday activities and occupations. This might include:
- not being independent with, or having significant difficulties with, age-appropriate activities of daily living
- requiring postural management to access daily living activities/occupations and meet their care need
- being unable to access essential facilities within their home.
Or when a child’s carer is experiencing an abnormal level of demand or strain. This might include carers having significant difficulties maintaining safe moving, handling or care for the child or young person.
Who can make a referral?
Referrals can be made by involved professionals, a carer, or the young person.
How do I make a referral?
Referrals can be made online by completing the adult social care referral form.
Apply for occupational therapy support from adult social care services
Alternatively, you can call 0207 926 5555, select Adults and then select:
- option 1 (for those with no current adult social care service)
- option 2 (for those with an adult social care service)
- option 3 (for safeguarding matters only)
- option 4 (for all other enquiries)
What support can children and young people receive?
Available support includes:
- equipment provision for bathing and toileting
- specialist seating provision
- moving & handling equipment
- home adaptation recommendations
- housing reports (to support a family who have already applied for rehousing and where guidance is required to specify the type of property that will be suitable to meet the child/young person’s needs)
We are not able to accept referrals for:
- home safety modifications and equipment (including door locks, window restrictors, gates) which are commercially available. These are not specialist in nature and do not require a specialist OT assessment. A Home Safety Guide leaflet can be provided for more information & support
- wheelchair / buggy / mobility aids - please contact your GP, wheelchair and specialist seating service, or physiotherapist
- therapeutic treatment - if you would like to request therapeutic treatment, please contact the Mary Sheridan Centre for Child Health on 020 3049 4005
- toys, play or sensory equipment. A grant for these items may be available from the Family Fund
- small feeding and dressing equipment - these are available commercially and via specialist suppliers such as NRS Healthcare, Complete Care Shop
- equipment for use outside of the home (including car seats & safety harnesses)
- housing repairs (for example internal repairs, fences, doors) - please contact your landlord for assistance or self-fund if you are an owner occupier
- transport or vehicles - please contact Motability if you would like to request transport support
- behaviours that challenge where a child has not had prior access to, and engaged with, a behaviour management programme and sensory treatment (provided by appropriate health professionals). This can be accessed through services such as educational settings, Child & Adolescent Neurodevelopmental Service (Lambeth) and the National Autistic Society (NAS)
- difficulties arising from social or environmental factors that are not associated with a disability (for example parenting difficulties, difficulties with siblings, overcrowding)
Occupational therapy advice clinic
Guys and St Thomas’ occupational therapy team run an advice clinic for families in Lambeth who want to know more about OT and seek advice about whether their child requires support.
Occupational therapists offer advice about functional skills, like handwriting and dressing, and sensory needs around sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
The free clinics run on the second Thursday of each month from 9.30am to 12.15pm at the Mary Sheridan Centre, 5 Dugard Way, SE11 4TH.
Sessions last 30 minutes and you will receive advice about how to best meet your child’s needs.
To book a free session, please call 020 3989 1954.
Further information
There is more information about occupational therapy and available support on the Evelina London website.
Speech and language therapy
Guys and St Thomas’ also provide speech and language therapy (SLT) services to children and young people in Lambeth. Their speech and language therapists (SLTs) give specialist advice, and assess children, and young people up to age 19, who have difficulties with communication, like:
- understanding and interacting with others
- attention, listening and memory
- talking, speech sounds and stammering
They also work with babies, children and young people who have eating, drinking and swallowing
They run advice sessions for parents and carers. These help make sure that they can help improve their children’s communication skills. They also advise and train other professionals, like school and nursery staff, social workers and many others working with children and young people.
Parents and carers can see an SLT at a Chattertime session or a monthly drop-in, which are open to all children under five.
Visit the Evelina London website to find out more about speech and language therapy support.