DOTS for Children
Connecting the DOTS to Support Your Child and Young People in Reaching Their Potential
Welcome to DOTS for Children. My name is Diana Pierags, and I am a clinical specialist in paediatric occupational therapist in London with high levels of experience in providing children and Young people of all backgrounds and ages with a form of the right support that is right for them and meets their occupational therapy needs. Every child is different; they all have their own unique ways of seeing and experiencing the world. Our focus is to provide a form of bespoke and personalised help intervention that empowers the client and their family and carers to support their child or young person in managing participation in meaningful activities. We work with parents, guardians, and educational establishments to come up with a holistic plan that goes to the heart of their issues and enables them to thrive without creating dependency on the therapist.
If you are interested to learn more about how paediatric occupational therapy in London can help your child or young person, please do not hesitate to contact us for an informal chat and we would be glad to help. We are based in Southwark but cover all areas in the city.
My Approach
We take a collaborative approach to paediatric occupational therapy that aims to 'upskill' the people that surround and support the child in their daily life as well as supporting young people to learn the tools to help themselves. Working in this way ensures that those who are close to the child and young person have the knowledge and skills to maximise their autonomy, giving them the resources they need to thrive and become confident, happy adults. We are here to help children, young people and their families become as independent as possible, as meaningful as possible, through result-driven and evidence based occupational therapy. Our goal is to give your child or young person the tools and support they need to Become grounded in themselves and learn the art of 'Doing'.
What is Paediatric Occupational Therapy?
Paediatric occupational therapy applies specialist approaches and techniques to maximise a child's engagement, achievement, and independence in all activities of daily living, including those at school, play, leisure, and self-care skills. We work with babies, children, teenagers, and young adults up to the age of 25. Over the years, we have developed an expert understanding of child development and paediatric conditions, enabling us to analyse why a child may need further assistance to carry out specific tasks ahead of by devising a bespoke intervention plan plan that properly addresses identified needs in a way that is child-centred and within the context of their families and environmental demands.
What Does Our Service Include?
Every new involvement requires a partial or full assessment or evidence of a recent comprehensive occupational therapy assessment with relevant goals set within the relevant timeframe.
We accept assessment reports from other services that are no older than 12 months for children and young people older than five; for five-year-olds and younger children, the assessment report must not be older than six months. We must be provided with clear targets and evidenced baselines to be able to support you effectively.
- Telehealth sessions and virtual assessments
- Home and school visits for treatment and assessment + reports/programme writing
- Training of carers, support/teaching staff and other professionals
- Expert witness services
- Supervision and mentoring for other professionals
- Sensory Integration therapy
- EHCP work/assessments
- Transition support
- Group work/Individual support
Visit my Sessions page to find out more.
Children With Complex Health and educational Needs
If you have a child with complex health and educational needs, we are here to provide the specific assistance they need, whatever it may be within the remit of occupational therapy. This might include upper limb splinting, home adaptations, professional guidance regarding equipment, environmental control systems, seating and postural management, and moving and handling needs. We also support EHCP implementation in schools and at home using evidence-based intervention approaches such as Ayres Sensory Integration, Bobath, CO-OP and other approaches that meet the child’s needs best.
Collaboration
Working with others is such an important part of giving children the right kind of holistic support, which is why we place collaboration at the heart of this service.
We work with schools, paediatric case managers, charities, Social workers, NHS trusts, solicitors, and local education authorities. On top of that we call upon the expertise of other professionals, such as speech language therapists, physiotherapists, play therapists, music therapists, medical staff, and psychologists.
What Does Our Service Include?
Personalised
We are careful to learn about your child – what they respond to, what they don’t like, etc. – to create truly personalised home and school-based intervention plans to ensure that our assessment and advice is relevant to each child’s unique strengths, needs and environment.
Encouraging Independence, Not Dependence
We believe that our role is to equip you and your child or young person with the skills needed to become as autonomous as possible – ultimately independent of, and not dependent upon, the help we provide. Our work will involve developing the skills necessary for your child to carve their own path going forward.
Inclusive
The children/young adults we have worked with in the past have a wide range of complex developmental, physical, emotional, and learning difficulties, so you can rest assured that we know what it takes to give them the right form of support. In terms of pricing, which is often far too high, I provide an all-inclusive cost to ensure that my services are fully transparent from the start.
Staff
Yearning for better work/life balance and a team that supports you all the way? DOTS for Children is recruiting! If you work in paediatric occupational therapy and would like to join our team as an associate, please go to our Staff page and upload your CV. Please do not hesitate to email us under [email protected] for an informal chat. (We will consider sponsorship if you have the right skills for our clients)
Take a look at our Resources page for a series of PDFs and videos that run through the areas we cover in occupational therapy for children.
Want to know more about the specific sessions I provide as a paediatric occupational therapist in London (Southwark)? Head over to my Sessions page to learn more.