An hour meeting where the therapist gets to know the family. This includes an interview with the parents or caregivers who are involved. The child should not to be present at this meeting. This meeting can occur at the clinic or virtually. We like to gather a detailed account of your family's daily routine and the activities that your child both enjoys and has difficulties with. This interview leads us to the most important part of the therapeudic process; setting and prioritizing goals. As guidelines we use:

Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) to interview & set goals

The Sensory Profile questionnaire to gather information on sensory processing.

This can vary depending on the needs of the child, their age, and their family goals. Determined during the parent interview . Often it might consist of 2 hours of testing done in 1-hour blocks over 2 different days

The first hour is where we might informally observe/interact your child in a playful setting. We spend this time playing and getting to know your child based on their interests. We follow their lead and pair our experiences with lots of fun. We would like parents to be involved for part of the session but we also need to see how your child does on their own, as it often changes. This session may be at the clinic or be an observation of your child in their preschool, daycare, or school setting.

The second hour is where we might formally assess your child in a structured setting (if requested/recommended). This is best done in the clinic. Testing provides standardized scores which can be used to measure a child's performance in relation to their peers and monitor their progress over the course of therapy. Tests we can use include:

Peabody Developmental Motor Scale: fine/gross motor skills for preschool

Miller Function and Participation Scale (M-FUN): school-readiness skills

Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT): fine/gross motor skills

Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC): fine/gross motor diagnosis for DCD

Beery test for Visual Motor Integration (VMI): drawing/pre-printing skills

McMaster Handwriting Assessment: school-aged printing observations/skills

Clinical Observation of Motor and Postural Skills: COMPS (5-15 years)

The assessment findings are summarized in a report outlining goals and plans for therapy. This is a formal document to be shared with other professionals (Doctors Teachers, etc.) as it is vital for everyone on your child's team to work together. Depending on the type of assessment and number of tests used. Report writing times can vary. Average times are 1-2 hours, yet the OT will confirm this with the parents.

A parent meeting goes over the results of the assessment, reviews the report to ensure accuracy, and details the parent identified goals and therapy plan of objectives to meet the goals.

If included, the OT will also do an educational presentation to review the sensory profile and discuss how this affects learning and behaviour.