Occupational Therapy Service FAQs

Referrals can be made by Coventry health, education and social care professionals. 

This includes, but is not limited to:

• teachers
• special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs)
• school nurses
• physiotherapists
• GPs
• social workers
• family support workers
• portage
• paediatricians
• nursery staff

Please check your letter for specific guidance. 

You may have been signposted to a more appropriate service. If this is the case, you will need to make a referral to that service.

Alternatively, you may have been asked to provide more information. This could include: 

• your child's learning levels (so we can establish if motor skills are in line with their learning)
• how the difficulty affects specific functional activities
• what you have already tried
• which other services are already involved. 

You can provide the information using an existing or new referral form and return it to our department. 

This will then be re-screened by a senior member of the Occupational Therapy Team.  You do not need to call us to discuss this. We will send you another letter to let you know whether the additional information has been accepted.

 

 

We offer 3 parent and carer support sessions including:

• early years: supporting your child's development and increasing independence
• activities of daily living
• sensory processing - understanding sensory needs

You may be invited to these sessions if your child has been referred because of difficulties with activities of daily living and/or sensory processing. 

Parent and carer support sessions are our first level of intervention for these needs. During these sessions we will recommend strategies for you to try with your child for at least 12 weeks.

Research recommends using strategies little and often throughout the day. Therefore parents and carers are well placed to include these strategies in their child's daily routine. 

Using general strategies regularly can benefit many children referred to our service. By using them in your daily routine, they may help your child become more independent and reduce the difficulties your child is experiencing.

Our online parent and carer support sessions are delivered via a system called Attend Anywhere.

If you are invited to a support session, you will receive a link via email the day before  your scheduled session. The link will take you to the Attend Anywhere online waiting room. The therapist delivering the session will give you access when the session starts.

If you need an interpreter for a parent support session, the therapist delivering the session will contact you to arrange an individual session. Our administration team will then arrange for an interpreter to be booked. 

You can access Attend Anywhere using a mobile phone, tablet, or computer. Using Attend Anywhere does require the internet. 

If you cannot access the internet during the session, please call our admin team on 02476 961 455. They can provide further support or ask for a therapist to call you to discuss the information separately.

Other ways to connect to the internet include:

• your local library
• your child's nursery or school
• your local Coventry City Council Family Hub 

The therapist will talk to you and your child and ask questions to understand their occupational therapy needs. 

Please feel free to bring along any recent reports or information that you think may be helpful. 

The therapist will then decide on the most appropriate next steps. This may inclide one or more of the following:

• standardised assessments - these are used to measure factors such as motor skills, cognitive capacity and sensory processing that may affect a child's performance. Assessments differ for every child depending on their abilities and needs.
• clinical observations - a series of exercises that help the therapist gain information about your child's muscle strength, quality of movement and postural control.
• free play -  your child can play in a way they choose with the therapist either observing or joining in their play.
• trial sensory resources and strategies - following information gathering and completion of standardised assessments the therapist may advise on trying sensory resources.

If you know that your child cannot attend their appointment, please contact the administration team as soon as possible on 02476 961455.

The team can then support you with booking another appointment. However, there may be a wait for another appointment. 

If your child does not attend their clinic appointment, the occupational therapist will call you at the appointment time to find out why the appointment was missed. 

You will be sent a letter about your child's missed appointment. You will then have 2 weeks to contact the service to request another appointment. However, there may be a wait for another appointment. 

A therapist may suggest a weighted blanket as a sensory strategy following an occupational therapy assessment. This will be based upon the child's individual needs and whether a weighted blanket is appropriate for them.

Weighted blankets are not suitable for all children and young people.

Your child must be able to remove the blanket independently. There are also health conditions where weighted blankets are not recommended including (but not limited to) cardiac, respiratory, circulatory and skin problems, as well as hypotonia and epilepsy. 

Weighted blankets are widely available but we cannot provide specific advice on which you should purchase for your child. We recommend reading the full resource attached below.

Please see the Royal College of Occupational Therapists Safe Use of Weighted blankets Briefing on the link below.

If the equipment is broken or needs a repair, contact Integrated Community Equipment Stores (ICES) on 02476 785353. 

Their opening times are:

• Monday to Thursday: 8:30am to 5pm
• Friday: 8:30am to 4:30pm

If your child has outgrown their equipment or if it needs adjusting, please contact the Children and Young People's Occupational Therapy Service on 02476 961455. The named therapist will then arrange a review.

If you want to return a piece of equipment, please tell the Occupational Therapy Service. They will advise you about collection.

 

You can return equipment to our Integrated Community Equipment Stores (ICES).  Contact them directly on 024 76 785353 to arrange a collection or return.

Please also contact your child's therapist on 02476 961455 to let them know of the collection or return. 

Please contact the Occupational Therapy team on 024 76 961455 to discuss your child's individual circumstances. 

Please also tell us if you are moving out of area or changing schools so we can update our records and refer to the relevant local services.