occupational therapy

A paediatric occupational therapist (OT) is a healthcare professional who specializes in working with children to help them develop the skills they need to participate in everyday activities. Occupational therapy for children focuses on developing the skills necessary for play, school, self-care, and other activities that are important to a child's development and well-being.

A paediatric occupational therapist will typically evaluate a child's skills and abilities related to tasks such as dressing, eating, playing, and school activities. Based on the evaluation, the therapist will then work with the child and their family to develop a treatment plan that is tailored to the child's individual needs.

Some of the specific activities that a paediatric occupational therapist might use in treatment include playing games to improve motor skills, using sensory integration techniques to help with sensory processing difficulties, and using adaptive equipment to assist with activities of daily living. The therapist will also provide guidance and education to the child's family and caregivers to help them support the child's progress and carry over therapy goals at home and in other settings.

Shhhhh! We also run the Secret Agent Society:

Emotion regulation and mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and anger frequently impact the well-being of autistic children. 

The families of autistic children seek support from either general mental health or specialist autism services, or both. Having a trusted program like Secret Agent Society, able to be replicated across these service types makes sense. 

Increasing the quality of services, no matter where they, are is what Social Science Translated is all about. 

That's why it's important to measure the effectiveness of socio-emotional interventions, such as the Secret Agent Society Small Group Program in the real world, not just in controlled settings.

Thanks to the Kids Brain Health Network in Canada, Dr. Vivian Lee from Carleton University, Dr. Jonathan Weiss from York University, and their research colleagues and teams recently evaluated the clinical utility of the program in improving emotion regulation and social skills, as well as mental health challenges. Their study had many unique features: 

• Seven autism service providers in the Ontario community (21 SAS Facilitators).
• Completed through telehealth delivery with 77 families across pandemic conditions.
• Approximately half of the families participated in the latest digital edition of SAS Small Group.
• The children were aged 8-13 years old and verbal, and their parents reported social-emotional challenges. 
• Families received a one-time, three-month follow-up booster session.

The Outcomes:

Preliminary results suggest that after participating in the Secret Agent Society Small Group Program, parents reported enhancements in their child’s emotion regulation, social engagement, and reduction in challenges related to anxiety and depression.

Children with more difficulties in emotion reactivity pre-intervention also demonstrated the greatest improvements.

These results were found across families receiving either edition of the SAS Small Group Program (physical resources of the second edition, and the current digital edition platform). 

For more details on SAS and its benefits please click here:

https://www.secretagentsociety.com/about-sas

Call us to book onto our SAS Group Program! Tel: 9833 3363