What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapists help children and young people to achieve or maintain their independence at home, nursery or school. They assess and support the development of the skills children and young people need to carry out daily activities. These are called functional skills. Functional skill difficulties can significantly impact on a child’s ability to perform everyday activities. These difficulties can be due to physical, developmental or sensory difficulties.
We support children and young people to participate in everyday life in a number of ways:
Click here to view the Royal College of Occupational Therapy Children and Young People Leaflet
How is the children’s occupational therapy service delivered?
We recognise the importance of working in partnership with children’s parents and carers to maximise a child’s physical abilities and independence. Parents and carers can help their child by encouraging them to regularly carry out any activity programme that the service recommends or practice their exercises. Advice may include, examples of how to change everyday tasks so that they are easier for your child to do and suggestions of equipment that may make it easier for the child or young person to do something.
Universal service
This is the first stage of support. Families and professionals are able to access our advice packs and video series via our webpage. Please see our ‘resource’ on our webpage for more details.
Targeted service
Targeted interventions prevent difficulties from escalating and may reduce the need for more intense, specialist support in the future. Occupational therapists use targeted interventions, often delivered in partnership with others (such as BHISS, early years or schools) to optimise the development, health and wellbeing of children and young people. Targeted interventions include groups or workshops for young people, families, and professionals.
Specialist service
Families will require a referral to our service to access specialist support, this can be within the home, clinic or school setting. Please see ‘referrals’ for more details.
Click here to view more information on universal, targeted and specialist services.
Resources
The below resources and video series are designed to provide support and advice for problems a child may be facing with functional participation in their everyday tasks. The resources should be used as a pre-referral problem solving tool to ensure that all strategies have been tried before a referral to Occupational Therapy is made.
This resources packs and video series are intended as a guide only, and the Occupational Therapy service should always be consulted if:
By providing advice and strategies at a universal level, a more specialised and targeted service can be provided for children who are presenting with complex difficulties.
Click here to download the Occupational Therapy Resource Pack for Primary Schools
Click here to download the Sensory Resource Booklet
Sensory videos
Please find below our sensory video series, made by our team, covering a range of practical advice.
There are 18 short videos on different topics:
We recommend that the videos are watched in sequence. In total, it should take around an hour and a half to watch all the videos.
Referrals
We accept referrals from healthcare and education professionals. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept referrals from parents and carers.
Families and Education should have accessed and implemented universal strategies prior to a referral, these can be found in our ‘resources’ section on our webpage. Evidence of input of strategies used should be detailed clearly on the referral form.
Once the universal support or advice has been accessed and there are still ongoing difficulties for the child or young person, a referral can be completed. These difficulties will be impacting significantly on their performance in at least three areas of daily activities.
If you are considering a re-referral into our service, please ensure you detail previous advice that has been implemented, or if this is a new concern or difficulty for the child or young person.
Please click here for referral form.
We accept referrals for the following
We are unable to accept referrals for the following:
Support for Children & Young People (CYP) — Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service
Front Door for Families (brighton-hove.gov.uk)
Brighton & Hove Inclusion Support Service (BHISS) (brighton-hove.gov.uk)
Social Care OT
If you child needs an assessment for changes to be made at home to help them be safe and more independent, as well as to organise equipment, this is delivered by a different service. They need to be referred to the social care occupational therapy service for children.
What if we need an interpreter?
We may be able to arrange an individual telephone consultation with an interpreter. Please contact the OT office to discuss.
Contact your GP or health visitor to discuss any concerns you have. If your child is at school, you could discuss your concerns with the SENCO. Any health or education professional can refer a child or young person to our service. All referrals go to the Seaside View Child Development Centre referrals panel. We aim to see children within 18 weeks.
Seaside View Child Development Centre
Tel: 01273 265806
Email: SC-TR.OTSeasideview@nhs.net
Monday – Friday 09.00 - 17.00
Seaside View Child Development Centre
Brighton General Hospital
Elm Grove
Brighton
BN2 3EW
Car parking: Car parking charges will apply at Brighton General Hospital. Please use the patient/visitor car park on your right as you enter. Free parking is available on surrounding streets however restricted for permit holders between 11 - 12am and 6 - 7pm. There are disabled parking bays outside Seaside View if you are a Blue Badge holder.
Buses for Brighton General Hospital: There are bus stops located nearby and around the Brighton General site. Buses: 2, 21, 22, 22A, 23, 37B
Other information: Seaside View Child Development Service is wheelchair accessible. We have disabled toilets and baby changing facilities. We have a water cooler in Reception and there are refreshments available from mobile coffee shop in the Patient and Visitor car park (8am - 3pm). If you have any additional needs please contact us to see if these can be accommodated.