Nobody asks this question out of nowhere. Usually something has been bothering you for a while. Mornings keep falling apart, a teacher has made a careful comment, or your child spent another birthday party on the edge of the room. This article is for that stage: what’s worth paying attention to, what usually isn’t, and what asking for help involves.
What occupational therapy covers
A child’s “occupations” are playing, learning and looking after themselves, so paediatric OT covers far more than handwriting. We work on getting dressed, mealtimes, toileting, sleep, making friends, managing big feelings, riding a bike, using scissors, coping with a noisy classroom. If it’s part of your child’s ordinary day and it’s harder than it should be, an OT can help with it. Our guide to occupational therapy for children explains what sessions look like, what they cost and how to start.
Signs worth paying attention to
No single thing on this list means much by itself. What matters is a pattern across a few of them that sticks around for months rather than weeks.
- Dressing, mealtimes or toileting still need hands-on help long after their friends manage alone, and it’s getting harder rather than easier
- They watch play from the edge rather than joining in, flit between toys without settling, or need games to run exactly the same way every time
- Lots of trips and bumps, avoiding playgrounds and bikes, tiring long before everyone else, or steering around anything that involves drawing or cutting
- Hands over ears at the hand dryer, battles over clothing tags and food textures. Or the opposite: constantly crashing, spinning, chewing and squeezing
- Meltdowns that keep their toddler intensity into the school years, or a child who holds it together all day at school and falls apart the moment they’re home
- An educator has said something. Kinder teachers see hundreds of children at each age, and one who gently suggests “getting some ideas from an OT” has usually been thinking about it for a while
The signs that usually aren’t
Development isn’t tidy. A late but steadily improving skill, one quirk in an otherwise content child, or being slower than an older sibling was at the same age: none of these are red flags on their own. Children are allowed to hate mushrooms, prefer drawing to climbing, and need a run-up at new things.
A useful rule of thumb. One tricky area that’s slowly improving is usually just development doing its thing. Several areas at once, getting harder instead of easier, and starting to dent your child’s confidence or shrink what your family can do together? That’s worth a conversation.
You don’t need a referral, or a diagnosis
In Australia you can book an occupational therapist directly. No GP referral, no diagnosis, and no need to wait for things to get worse first. A referral only matters if you want Medicare rebates through a Chronic Disease Management plan, which your GP sets up. NDIS participants who are self-managed or plan-managed can use their funding too. The fees and funding page walks through each option.
What a first appointment looks like
Mostly, it looks like play. A first session is a conversation with you and some carefully chosen play with your child, while we watch how they move, plan, handle frustration and use their hands. They mostly just have a good time. You leave with a clearer picture of what’s going on and a plan. Sometimes the plan is therapy. Sometimes it’s a handful of home strategies and a review in a term, and sometimes the outcome of an assessment is simply reassurance.
If you’re still unsure
Parents are usually right that something is worth a look, even when they can’t name it. We’re a paediatric OT practice in Melbourne’s inner north west, seeing children in the clinic, at home, at school and kinder, and by telehealth. If any of this sounds familiar, get in touch and ask.