Occupational therapy for teens and young adults
We offer occupational therapy for teens and young adults, supporting them with a range of physical, sensory and behavioural challenges, both at home and in their education setting.
How does occupational therapy work for 16 to 25-year-olds?
Occupational therapy is a collaborative process between the therapist and the young person, with input from parents and their school or college. Therapy is therefore uniquely shaped around the needs of the young person. Our aim is to help them to thrive both at home and in education.
We complete a detailed assessment first, with face-to-face sessions with the young person. This assessment is completed in their education setting or at home, depending on where their biggest area of need is, but always includes input from parents. An EHCP assessment includes visits to both home and school settings.
Depending on their developmental needs, children can choose to have sessions on their own or with a parent present.
For late teens and young adults, therapy is goal focussed. Through the sessions, we work with a young person to identify the needs they have and help them overcome those challenges. We often talk through mental health difficulties and any sensory issues that make life challenging for them.
What do you do during sessions?
Occupational therapy is a collaborative process between the therapist and the young person, with input from parents and their school or college. Therapy is therefore uniquely shaped around the needs of the young person. Our aim is to help them to thrive both at home and in education.
We complete a detailed assessment first, with face-to-face sessions with the young person. This assessment is completed in their education setting or at home, depending on where their biggest area of need is, but always includes input from parents. An EHCP assessment includes visits to both home and school settings.
Depending on their developmental needs, children can choose to have sessions on their own or with a parent present.
For late teens and young adults, therapy is goal focussed. Through the sessions, we work with a young person to identify the needs they have and help them overcome those challenges. We often talk through mental health difficulties and any sensory issues that make life challenging for them.
How do I know if occupational therapy is right for my young person's needs?
Young people benefit from occupational therapy for a variety of reasons. Maybe your young person:
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Has difficulties engaging with their everyday activities
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Struggles with fine motor skills
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Quickly becomes overstimulated or overwhelmed by their environment
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Appears anxious, isolated or withdraws from activities and engaging with others
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Doesn’t notice things around them, seeming detached from what’s happening
Occupational therapy can help them overcome challenges like this. If you’re not sure whether it’s right for your young person, fill in our referral form with as much detail as possible included.
How many therapy sessions will my young person need?
There isn’t one answer to this question: it depends entirely on the specific needs identified in the assessment. Once we have assessed your young person, we will provide a detailed report including some strategies to begin with. We will make a recommendation on whether therapy is needed and how many sessions will be appropriate.
Why is occupational therapy assessment so expensive?
An occupational therapy assessment is a detailed process to understand a person's world. Through the assessment, we formulate a broad picture of your young person and their strengths, as well as the barriers that need to be overcome so that they can fully participate in life.
This includes understanding your young person's history and the family’s history, your young person's physical and emotional development, assessments around sensory processing and motor skills and understanding your young person's mental health.
At the end of the assessment, our report will provide strategies to help your young person at home and in education, as well as suggestions around further therapy.
You might find it useful to read through the outline of our assessment process.
I think my young person is neuro-divergent but haven't got a diagnosis. Can you still see them?
Absolutely. As a team, we are very experienced in working with people who are neurodivergent, including autism, ADHD or sensory processing impairments.
Wherever you are on the diagnosis journey (and even if they are neuro-normative!), our whole assessment and therapy process is built around your young person and their specific needs.
What is sensory processing?
Sensory processing (also known as sensory integration) is about how we make sense of all the information coming from our senses throughout the day. How do we process the things happening around us and inside us? Everyone experiences the world differently, so we all have a unique response to what is happening.
There are many ways in which we receive information from our bodies and the world around us:
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Sight
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Hearing
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Touch - including what we feel on our skin
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Taste
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Smell
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Body awareness - where our body is and how it is moving
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Balance and spatial orientation
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What’s happening inside our bodies - our heart rate, hunger sensations, our temperature, pain, emotional sensations, etc.
Sensory processing is automatic and develops naturally during ordinary childhood activities. However, sometimes children and young people do not understand how to cope with their sensory experiences or struggle to recognise the information coming in.
These sensory regulation issues can affect daily living, academic achievement, behaviour or social participation.
Getting professional support to understand your young person's sensory processing through therapies like occupational therapy can significantly improve their engagement in daily life and give them tools to regulate themselves.
All our occupational therapists are qualified Sensory Integration Practitioners. You can read more about sensory integration on the Sensory Integration Education website.
