Paediatric Occupational Therapy Functional Assessment
Tailored to the individual
A Paediatric Occupational Therapy Functional Assessment looks at how a child or young person manages and participates in the everyday activities that are important to them. Rather than focusing on a diagnosis or one area of difficulty in isolation, our Occupational Therapists consider the whole child — their strengths, needs, environment and the demands of the activities they are expected or want to take part in.
The assessment is tailored to the individual child and the reason for referral. It may explore areas such as self-care and independence, dressing, eating and mealtimes, toileting, fine and gross motor skills, handwriting, coordination, motor planning, sensory processing, regulation, attention, executive functioning, play, leisure, school participation and community access.
The assessment typically brings together several sources of information to build a meaningful picture of the child’s everyday functioning. This may include:
- A detailed Occupational Therapy history with the parent/carer and, where appropriate, the young person
- Discussion of the child’s strengths, interests and priorities
- Standardised or non-standardised assessment tools selected according to the child’s needs
- Functional and clinical observations through activities and tasks
- Exploration of motor, sensory, perceptual and organisational skills where relevant
- Assessment of everyday activities such as handwriting, dressing or other self-care skills where these are an identified concern
- Consideration of sensory processing and regulation
- School or education observation, where appropriate, to understand how the child functions within their everyday learning environment
- Liaison with school and other professionals, with appropriate consent
Importantly, we don’t simply look at whether a child can complete an activity. We consider how they complete it, how much effort it requires, what support they need, what may be creating a barrier and how successfully they can participate across different environments.