Reviewed on : 11 Oct 2018

Reviewed by : Dr Andy Beaumont

Expires : 11 Oct 2020

If a child or young person has a physical and/or learning disability their ability to learn and develop, socialise and play may be compromised.

OT’s work with children and young people who have an ‘occupational need’. This means that they have difficulty performing everyday activities or ‘occupations’ which are expected for a child or young person:

• Productivity– Learning to explore the world as a baby, attending nursery / school, completing homework, or using a computer.
• Self Care– Being able to feed yourself, being able to dress yourself, make your own lunch, or accessing suitable showering/bathing facilities.
• Play/Leisure– Playing at the park with friends, going to a club or activity out of school or being able to play with toys and games at home.

An open referral service for a child’s occupational therapy needs with conditions such as:

• Autistic Spectrum Disorder
• Developmental Coordination Disorder eg dyspraxia
• Downs Syndrome
• Cerebral palsy
• Learning Disability

How the service is organised

The service is organised into 5 clinical teams which provide specialist clinical pathways aligned to specific populations of children. These are as follows:

• Early Years Team– Premature babies leaving SCBU and pre-school children having any physical and/or learning disability or other developmental disability such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder(ASD) Click here for the resource pack.
• Mainstream School Team– Children and young people who attend a mainstream school. These children may not have a diagnosis. Those who do have a diagnosis often have neurodevelopmental conditions such as Developmental Coordination Disorders, Autistic Spectrum Disorders or a learning difficulty.
• Physical Disability Team– Children and young people who attend a mainstream school who have a significant physical disability such as Cerebral Palsy, Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), Duchene Muscular Dystrophy, and Acquired Brain Injury.
• Special Schools Team– Children and young people who attend a special school who have a physical (see examples above) and/or learning disability.
• Upper Limb Splinting Team– Children and young people who require upper limb splinting to address or prevent contracture/deformity and to promote optimal upper limb function for participation in daily occupations.

Criteria for referral

• Children and young people aged 0-16 and aged 0-19 if they are in full time education.
• Children are responsible and known to a Coventry GP.
• Children have a specific occupational need(s).

How to make a referral

• We have an open referral system which means that anyone can make the referral, including families.
• We have a standard referral form which you can download from this page.
• We would recommend where professionals complete the referral form, that they do this with the family in order to provide detailed and accurate information.
• The content of the referral form is used to prioritise cases and to plan intervention.
• Please feel free to send any additional clinic reports or letters that you may feel are of benefit.

How to contact the service

If you have any queries or wish to discuss a potential or existing referral then please contact the service on (024) 76 961455