The H&F social care occupational therapy service supports Disabled children and young people (0 to 18) to be as independent as possible in their home environment.
As well as providing advice and demonstrating alternative ways of doing things, the occupational therapists (OTs) can help with specialist equipment and making recommendations for adaptations to buildings.
OTs can support families that are still worried about a child’s behaviour, even after getting help from psychologists or behavioural specialists, especially if the behaviour puts the child or someone else at risk.
To make a referral, parents or professionals working with a child can contact the Initial Consultation Team (ICAT):
If another team or professional in children’s services are working with the child, parents can ask them to make an internal referral via Mosaic, an internal system.
Once you get a referral, you might have to wait for the team to review the case and arrange an assessment.
The team has a waiting list and prioritises according to urgency and risk of harm. Examples of highest priority include children in hospital who need occupational therapy support to go home.
Families can also contact Bishop Creighton - Safer Homes for Children. This volunteer organisation carries out home safety assessments and can provide advice and equipment. This can include safety gates, cupboard catches and window restrictors.
The service is free for H&F families on benefits who have a child under the age of 5 or a child with disabilities.
An OT will conduct a home assessment. The aim of this is to see the child or young person’s abilities in all activities of daily living (ADL).
This will include observing how the child or young person:
From the information obtained at the assessment, the OT will work with the child and family to explore ways to address the identified difficulties.
Sometimes children & young people need specialist furniture or equipment to help with every-day activities such as
The OT may recommend these items and the service will provide them for the time the children or young person need to use them and live in the borough. Then, the family needs to return the item.
If the child grows up or something changes, and the item needs replacement the OTs will check the needs every six months. Parents, caregivers, or the young person can also alert the OT if the item needs to change.
Adaptations at home may be considered following an OT assessment ensuring:
There are different adaptation processes depending on the type of property.
Please visit Disabled facilities grant for information about money you could be eligible for to help with your adaptation.
If it is not possible to make adaptations to the property, rehousing may be a more suitable option. The OT can provide information to housing about what a suitable property may need.
For further information about housing please see Finding a home.
If you qualify for council housing visit The housing register.
For young people 18-25 please visit Supporting independence where you can find the resources and services to support you living independently in your own home.