Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy

Our Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Service sees patients for lots of different reasons depending on what illness, disability or condition they may have.

Physiotherapy (PT)

Paediatric physiotherapy is the diagnosis, treatment and management of children in relation to their physical function, ability and wellbeing.

The physiotherapist uses a range of skills and techniques to educate, support, exercise and manipulate recovery from injury or disease and rehabilitate or improve normal development and functional ability.

Occupational therapy (OT)

Paediatric occupational therapy is the diagnosis, treatment and management of children in relation to their occupations i.e. the things that children need to be able to do to live their lives.

Children’s occupational roles include being part of the family, playing and leisure activities, self care, making friends and achieving in school, all of which contribute to their sense of identity and wellbeing.

To support development of these different childhood occupations the occupational therapist uses skills, resources and techniques that address the physical, cognitive, psychological and social needs of the child and family.

Locations

Our services are provided within a number of locations including at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, the Ryegate Children’s Centre, in mainstream and special schools, children’s homes and at the Becton Centre.

Teams

We are divided into a number of teams:

The Early Years and Community Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Team see children and young people aged 0-16 with a range of developmental and neurological disabilities. We help them to develop functional skills and abilities which help better inclusion, integration and participation in every day activities. Therapy takes place at Ryegate Children’s Centre, at home, in schools and in nurseries across Sheffield.

The CAMHS Occupational Therapy Team see children and young adults with a range of complex behavioural and mental health problems and aims to develop independence and self esteem.

The Mainstream Schools Therapy service specialise in supporting children with physical disabilities who are attending mainstream schools across Sheffield. They work together to help children achieve their full physical potential, promote independence, develop life skills and to support their families.

The Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD) team specialise in working with children up to 16 years old who have DCD and other related developmental disorders.

The hospital based Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Team see children and young people with a range of illnesses, conditions or disabilities either as an inpatient or outpatient.They are divided into a number of specialty areas:

• Respiratory Team
• Metabolic Bone and Rheumatology Team
• Neuro-Oncology Team
• Pain Management Team
• Musculoskeletal Team
• Orthopaedic, Limb Reconstruction and Burns and Plastics Team
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Transition

Many young people with long term health conditions remain under the care of the Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Service in their teenage years, and will go on to have physiotherapy and/or occupational therapy needs into adulthood. We aim to give these young people the opportunity for the best possible health outcomes as they get older by making the move to adult services as seamless as possible.

Transition is a process which prepares you and your child for the move to adult services. We are aware that the move to adult services can be a daunting one and we want young people and families to feel well informed and empowered about transition.

If your child is fourteen years or older and has long term health needs for which they require physiotherapy or occupational therapy, it is important to start to think about their transition to adult services now.

As there are a number of specialties and physiotherapy/occupational therapy teams in the Trust, the transition process can vary across the service. Please talk to you child’s therapist about the transition process and encourage your child (if able) to talk to their therapist and express their preferences about their therapy.

We are currently working on a Transition Passport for young people who are under the care of therapists in the Community Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Team. This will help you and your child to gather all of the information you will need about your child’s therapy for their transition to adult services.