Children's occupational therapy (OT) team
The children’s disability occupational therapy (OT) service provides specialist assessments for disabled children and young people who live in Nottinghamshire and are under the age of 18. The service supports children and young people who have a permanent and significant disability that affects their ability to manage everyday activities at home. The OT team is part of the Disability Family Support Service.
The occupational therapy team helps children and young people develop skills and independence, based on their age and stage of development. It supports them to make the most of their abilities and reach their potential.
Support may include:
- Helping with practical everyday tasks in the home
- Maximising independence where possible
- Supporting parents and carers to care for their child safely
Who can be assessed
To be eligible for an assessment by the children’s occupational therapy team, a child or young person must live in Nottinghamshire, be under the age of 18 and have one or more of the following:
- A severe physical disability
- Complex health needs
- A severe learning disability
- Complex autism
- Deafness, hearing loss, blindness, sight loss, or dual sensory loss
In some cases, more than one assessment may be needed. For example, this could include a seating assessment or a moving and handling assessment.
Occupational therapy services can sometimes be involved for quite a long time if specialist equipment needs reviewing, for example seating and beds.
How to make a referral
Referrals can be made by families, children and young people themselves, or professionals involved in their care by contacting the occupational therapy duty team.
The duty team is available Monday to Friday, 8:45am to 4:30pm, excluding bank holidays. Telephone 0115 804 1273 or email childrenot.duty@nottscc.gov.uk.
Referrals can also be made through our customer services centre, which offers text relay and sign relay services.
What happens next?
After an occupational therapy assessment, we will look at the child’s needs. If support is needed, we will make recommendations to help meet those needs. This may include:
- Advice and guidance information about other services that may help (signposting)
- Referrals to other services
- Equipment or small changes to the home (minor adaptations)
- Recommendations for larger home changes (major adaptations)
- Further assessments by the occupational therapy team
Occupational therapy support will come to an end once the child’s identified needs have been met. Families are welcome to re-refer back to the service at any time if additional support is required.
Linked services
Many of our services work closely together to support children with disabilities and complex needs:
- Children’s Disability Service (CDS)
- Overnight short breaks – please note that a separate social work assessment will need to be completed for overnight short breaks
- Statutory SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), previously known as ‘ICDS’. You can read our one minute guide to the SEND local offer on our website.
- Occupational therapy (OT)
- Education, Health and Care Planning (EHCP) teams
- Short breaks assessment and review team (SBAR)
