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Our Occupational Therapy Service

In occupational therapy, occupation refers to everything we do in our day-to-day lives from getting dressed in the morning to playing with friends, concentrating in class, or joining in family routines. For children, their main occupations include learning, playing, participating in school, building relationships, and developing independence.

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Occupational therapy (OT) helps children build the foundational skills they need to do these everyday activities successfully and confidently. This may include supporting development in areas such as:​​

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  • Sensory processing – how a child responds to sounds, touch, movement, and other sensory input

  • Fine motor skills – hand strength, pencil grip, cutting, and using tools

  • Gross motor skills – balance, coordination, and core strength

  • Emotional regulation – recognising, managing, and expressing feelings

  • Attention and executive functioning – focus, organisation, planning, and following routines

  • Self-care and independence – dressing, toileting, feeding, and managing daily tasks

  • Social and play skills – engaging with peers, taking turns, and reading social cues


At Steps OTKids, we partner with families to create meaningful goals and use fun, play-based activities that are tailored to your child’s needs. Therapy is guided by your child’s interests and strengths, and always aimed at helping them take confident steps toward greater independence and participation in the things that matter most.

Child balancing on playground
Young children painting using fine motor and gross motor skills
Occupational Therapy session with a young person
Child focusing on self care tasks and morning routine in natural environment

Support Where It Matters Most

At Steps OTKids, we deliver therapy in your child’s natural environments, like their school, home, or community settings rather than in a clinic.

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This approach means children don’t have to take strategies they've learned in a separate space and try to apply them elsewhere. Instead, we’re right there with them, helping them practice skills where they actually live, learn, and play.

 

By working in familiar environments, we get to see the full picture of the challenges and what supports your child needs. Therapy becomes more relevant, practical, and immediately useful. We can also collaborate closely with teachers, family members, and others in real time.

 

Progress is often more meaningful and long-lasting.

Young girl learning how to grip a pencil

Therapy that fits into your child's world.
Not the other way around.
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01.

Comprehensive Assessment 

At Steps OTKids, we begin with a thorough understanding of your child’s unique strengths and challenges. Assessments may include:

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  • Functional Capacity Assessment – Evaluates everyday skills and identifies areas for support

  • Sensory Processing Profile – Helps us tailor strategies to how your child experiences their environment

  • Fine Motor & Handwriting Evaluation – Examines skill areas like grip, legibility, and endurance

  • Adaptive & Behavioural Assessment – Guides meaningful goals for school, home, and beyond

  • Executive Function & Attention Screening – Identifies strengths and challenges with focus, memory, organisation, and flexible thinking.

  • Self-Care Skills Assessment – Reviews independence in everyday tasks like dressing, eating, and toileting.

  • Play and Social Participation Assessment – Explores how your child engages with peers, imaginative play, and group activities.

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(These assessments can also support applications for funding like NDIS or school-based support.)

02.

Targeted, Real-Life Interventions

Intervention sessions are guided by your child’s interests and may include activities such as:

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  • Play-based therapy to encourage skill development in a natural, enjoyable way

  • Skill practice such as handwriting, scissor use, dressing, or playground skills

  • Sensory-based strategies to help children feel calm, focused, and ready to learn

  • Visual schedules and routines to build independence and organisation

  • Social games to support turn-taking, sharing, and flexible thinking

  • Adapting environments by suggesting simple changes at home or in the classroom, such as seating, lighting, or task set-up, to help children succeed in daily routines

  • Recommending aids and assistive technology (like pencil grips, adapted scissors, or visual checklists) that make learning and self-care tasks easier and more manageable

  • Parent and teacher coaching to embed strategies into everyday life.

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Every strategy is practical and designed so skills can be carried over at home, school, and in the community.

03.

Evidence-Based Approaches

Our team draws on research-backed methods to ensure meaningful outcomes:

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  • Sensory Integration Techniques: Helping regulation and emotional calm

  • Goal-Oriented Strategies to help children plan, problem-solve, and achieve everyday goals.

  • Family-Centred Practice: Partnering with parents and caregivers to strengthen children's social-emotional wellbeing.

  • Motor Learning Principles: Practicing tasks in meaningful, real-life contexts to build lasting skills in areas like handwriting, dressing, and self-care.

  • Neuroaffirming Approach: Celebrating children’s unique ways of thinking, learning, and engaging with the world, while supporting them with strategies that build confidence and independence.

  • Cognitive Skills Approach – Using strategies that enhance attention, problem solving, memory, and organisational skills for school and daily life.

  • ​Strengths-Based and Values-Focused Practice: so therapy is meaningful, motivating, and sustainable.

What We Do

At Steps OTKids, we believe in making your child’s therapy journey clear, collaborative, and meaningful —
one step at a time.

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