My name is Nadia Herb, I am a mum of 2, born and bred in South Africa, with a passion for child development and a good cup of tea. have been a Pediatric OT here in Dubai for almost 12 years and have supported many children and families at JESS for the past 5 years as an external therapy Play Dyspraxia Sensory am thrilled to now be part of the JESS team Therapy is where science, creativity and compassion collide”
~ Jessica Kensky
Occupational Therapy (OT) is available for children who have gaps in their fundamental development which may be impacting their performance in the classroom, their interaction with peers or their ability to carry out day to day tasks independently.
04 | JESS SCHOOL
Children who have difficulties with any of the following may be candidates for OT:
Planning and organization, or focusing on classroom tasks
Fine motor skills like dressing, drawing and handwriting development
Skills like coordination, balance and strength on the playground
Visual perceptual difficulties impacting tasks such as reading and writing
Sensory development (sensory seekers and avoiders)
Play and social skill development
OT for children should feel like a session filled with creativity, play, fun and functional activities. Each session is created to target the specific gaps in development identified for the child. This could be anything from swinging in time to a rhythm calming an overstimulated child, a monkey bar challenge building muscle strength or a slime making activity developing specific hand muscles for handwriting.
Sessions are usually 45minutes in length and would either be one on one or as part of a small group of up to 4 children, depending on the specific need of the children.
The Standard OT service is available for all children and is included as a part of school fees. This will comprise of in classroom support for teachers and students as well as well as preventative and promotive developmental strategies for families.
The Supplementary (paid) service is available for specific children and will either consist of weekly small group OT or weekly one to one OT.
Free of charge, informal school screenings are offered at JESS, if you or your child’s teacher feels that OT may be beneficial. This would consist of the OT being another set of eyes in the classroom and observing your child for 10 15minutes during a task. Your child will not be aware that they are being observed. This aims to give an initial insight into whether further OT evaluation is recommended or if another specialist would be better suited to evaluate the initial concerns for your child.
If an initial OT assessment is recommended for your child, this would likely be done over 2x 45minute OT sessions. OT assessments involve standardised evaluations which measure your child’s Motor, Sensory, Visual perceptual and Social and Play skills based on their age. These allow the OT to measure both your child’s strengths and areas for development in order to formulate specific therapy goals.
~Therapy without effective assessment is like having a set of darts with no dart board~
Following the assessment, you will receive a summary outline of your child’s areas of strength and those for development as well as recommendations for both home and in the classroom. It is recommended that children receiving OT are re evaluated as part of ongoing therapy in order to streamline their OT goals as they develop.
OT sessions form part of the Oasis department at the school. OT goals and strategies are informed by the school’s team around the child, by the parent as well as by the children themselves. OT goals are updated termly and progress meetings are available in line with the parent teacher meeting schedules, or as your child completes a ‘block’ of therapy.
Regular session feedback is shared with both you as a parent as well as with the child’s teachers and any staff that support your child. Following your child’s OT session, a Seesaw update will be sent to the team around your child, as a window into the tools and strategies that worked well within the session. These updates will give an insight into what can be followed up at home as well as what support strategies can be carried out in the classroom.
~Collaborative communication and carryover of therapy goals into the home and classroom setting is invaluable to each child’s progress~
