Occupational Therapy (OT)
Occupational therapy is about enabling people to do the things that matter to them. For children, those things are playing, learning, making friends, managing a school day, getting dressed in the morning, and feeling at home in their own bodies. When these everyday activities feel difficult or overwhelming, our occupational therapists find out why and work with your child, your family, and their school to change that.
What OT Can Help With
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Sensory processing difficulties: hypersensitivity, hyposensitivity, sensory seeking, or difficulty integrating sensory information
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Fine motor skills: pencil grip, handwriting, cutting, fastening buttons, using cutlery
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Gross motor skills: balance, coordination, physical confidence, PE participation
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Motor planning and praxis: difficulties organising and sequencing movements for new tasks
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Self-care: dressing, feeding, personal hygiene, and independence at home
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Emotional regulation: identifying and managing emotions, coping with transitions and unexpected change
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School participation: attention, organisation, managing the sensory demands of the classroom.
Our Approach
Our occupational therapists are trained to look beyond the surface of a child’s difficulties and identify the underlying factors at play.
We use a Sensory Integration lens, which means we consider how a child’s nervous system is processing the world before recommending any intervention. This gives our work a depth and precision that generic OT cannot always provide. Sessions are child-led and play-based.
We work closely with families and schools, providing practical strategies and written recommendations alongside direct therapy. We do not believe in working in isolation. The most effective OT is the kind that reaches into a child’s whole life, not just the therapy room.
What Sessions Look Like
OT sessions at Hopscotch are one-to-one and last fifty minutes. The environment is designed to be calming and non-threatening: a space where children can explore, take risks, and build new skills without pressure. We have a range of specialist equipment including our Sensory Integration gym, fine motor and handwriting resources, and materials for self-care practice.
Working With Families & Schools
We involve parents and carers as partners throughout the therapy process. After assessments, we share findings clearly and in plain English. During therapy, we give families practical strategies to try at home. We are also happy to liaise directly with schools, write school-based recommendations, and attend meetings when clinically appropriate.