Occupational Therapy within County Durham and Darlington helps children and young people to participate as fully as possible in daily activities.
We work with children and young people from birth up to 18 years of age (and to the term before their 19th birthday if in specialist full-time education) who have difficulties or a disability which affects their ability to carry out everyday tasks.
Occupational Therapists (OTs) help children and young people to carry out the things they need or want to do in areas of self-care, school work and play.
If a child or young person has learning, sensory or physical difficulties, their ability to grow, learn, socialise and play can be affected.
We see children and young people within a variety of settings, including nurseries, schools, special schools and their home.
The Occupational Therapy offer for Children and Young People living in County Durham is now available to view.
This guide is intended for use by parents/carers, education staff and practitioners supporting children and/or young people living in County Durham. It outlines the complete offer of Occupational Therapy services and support across the county, irrespective of provider. If you have any doubt about where your provision comes from this can be checked with the local GP in the first instance.
View the Guide
Our staff group is made up of qualified Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants and Therapy Assistant Practitioners working across County Durham and Darlington. All qualified OT's are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and have the required enhanced DBS checks.
For further information on how to refer to our Occupational Therapy Service please go to the referral page.
Following a Referral to Occupational Therapy
The service will provide different levels of intervention dependent on referred need. This can be one of the following:
Universal Intervention - Verbal advice provided during a telephone conversation, with signposting to relevant information and services.
Targeted Intervention - Initial strategies and advice will be given over the telephone or where appropriate either an Occupational Therapist or OT Assistant will be allocated to the child to make contact with the parent or the school to initiate intervention at home or school.
Specialist Intervention - The Occupational Therapist will identify the need for a more detailed assessment and will where necessary provide specialist therapeutic intervention.
There are a number of excellent resources available on the internet and therefore our Occupational Therapy service has brought together some 'Top Tips' for our families and schools. This is continually being developed.
In addition, there are a number of community resources available across the three CCG areas and some of those we feel will be useful to you are included on our Links page.
"I couldn't ask for a better service that my child receives"
Parent
