Question 1

What makes Real Life Pediatric Occupational Therapy unique?

Accepted Answer

Real Life Pediatric Occupational Therapy is a private occupational therapy practice in Toronto. We focus on tailored assessments and interventions that have the most evidence for making changes in children, youth, and family's everyday lives. We use neurodiversity and disability affirming frameworks and value each young person's and family's unique strengths, talents, self-identity, and goals.

Question 2

What is occupational therapy?

Accepted Answer

Occupational therapy is a regulated healthcare profession that works with people to promote health, wellbeing, belonging, and participation in life through engagement in meaningful day-to-day activities, which are called “occupations”.

Examples of occupations are playing with toys, taking a bath, brushing teeth, printing or typing, organizing a schedule of daily routines,  making friends, riding a trike or bike, making snacks or meals, taking transit, and finding welcoming community activities.

Occupational therapy can help a child, youth, and/or caregiver with learning new skills, building knowledge and confidence, creating meaningful strategies and routines, setting up activities for success, trying equipment, coaching, advocacy, modifying environments to meet individual needs, and more.

Question 3

What types of clients or diagnoses do you see?

Accepted Answer

We see children and youth ages 0-26, and their families.

We have solid experience working with young people who have:
- a history of prematurity
- developmental delays
- fine or gross motor challenges
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)
- ADHD or suspected attention challenges
- neurodiversity and/or autism spectrum disorder
- learning disabilities
- physical disabilities e.g. cerebral palsy, hemiplegia, neuromuscular diagnoses
- Down syndrome
- intellectual and developmental disabilities
- acquired brain injury
- complex communication needs e.g. use AAC
- medical complexity e.g. have a feeding tube or tracheostomy
- genetic conditions
- symptoms of anxiety or depression
- chronic health conditions

Your child does not need to have a formal diagnosis. In general, occupational therapists work with people who have challenges participating in their daily activities, regardless of the underlying cause.

Question 4

What types of goals can my child and family work on?

Accepted Answer

We work on goals that are meaningful and selected by the child and/or family. Examples can include:

Self-Care
- navigating the healthcare system and appointments 
- managing symptoms of chronic conditions during daily activities
- strategies for successful life participation with different sensory processing styles
- having successful morning and evening routines
- feeding, eating meals, and trying new foods
- hygiene e.g. bathing, brushing teeth, using the washroom, shaving, menstruation 
- getting dressed e.g. putting on clothes, buttons, zippers, tying shoe laces
- hair care including strategies for hair washing, haircuts, and styling
- applying makeup, nail polish or other cosmetic products 
- engaging in restful activities and having restorative sleep

Productivity
- activities for kindergarten readiness e.g. drawing shapes, using scissors
- printing, cursive writing, or typing written work 
- advocating for accommodations and supports at daycare and school
- successfully completing homework
- organizing and tidying your room, taking care of important possessions 
- completing chores, helping around the house and yard work
- exploring and engaging in volunteering 
- finding welcoming employment opportunities
- grocery shopping and making snacks or meals
- budgeting, spending money and banking
- laundry and taking care of clothes
- taking public transit and/or applying for specialized transit 
- civic engagement e.g. voting with a disability, joining community committees

Leisure
- movement play (gross motor skills) for babies and toddlers
- fine motor and cognitive play for young children e.g. infant toys, puzzles,  games
- gross motor play for children e.g. swinging, ball skills, skipping rope, playground
- pretend play to learn about daily routines e.g.  dolls, dress up, loose parts play
- messy sensory play e.g. playdough, finger painting, crafts
- going to community activities e.g. library, recreation centre, outings 
- finding and joining leisure groups or clubs
- individual sports e.g. tricycle riding, biking, scootering 
- meeting peers and making friends 
- setting up accessible play rooms 
- setting up sensory spaces at home

Other
- trying and recommending equipment to support participation in daily routines 
- filling out funding and application forms
- advocating for accessibility in the community
- parent coaching
- other creative goals areas that are important to you!

Question 5

What are evidence-informed occupational therapy practices?

Accepted Answer

Evidence-informed occupational therapy methods are backed by current, reliable research. Because people and their situations are unique, part of evidence-informed practice is customizing each assessment and intervention based on a combination of the young person's and family's values and preferences, the clinician's training and expertise, and what we know from the research. So, instead of being a cookie cutter approach, it is actually highly individualized and tailored!

Examples of evidence-informed occupational therapy techniques include:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Adapted sports and recreation
- Assistive technology and devices
- Baby Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (Baby-CIMT)
- Child initiated movement therapies for gross motor development
- Cognitive-based printing programs e.g. Printing Like a Pro, Learning without Tears
- Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP)
- Early intervention incorporated into everyday routines
- Energy conservation and other self-management strategies 
- Environmental adaptations and enrichment 
- Functional attention and memory strategies built into everyday activities 
- Goals-Activity-Motor Enrichment (GAME) for babies
- Hand-Arm Bimanual Intensive Therapy (HABIT)
- Lego Therapy in groups 
- Life skills coaching with practice in everyday environments 
- M.A.T.C.H. for coordination challenges
- Motor Learning interventions
- Neurodiversity affirming social programs
- Oral Sensory Motor and food chaining for mealtimes 
- Peer support within group programs 
- Play-based learning for young children 
- Sensory interventions based on different sensory processing styles that involve personalized strategies and adapting the environment for successful participation
- Solution focused and occupational performance coaching
- Task-specific and goal-directed therapies, whole skill practice

At Real Life Pediatric Occupational Therapy, we keep informed of current and upcoming evidence-based practices by regularly reviewing research literature, following best practice guidelines, going to courses, and keeping connected with the University of Toronto through teaching and taking fieldwork students.

Question 6

Are services covered by OHIP?

Accepted Answer

Real Life Pediatric Occupational Therapy is a private practice and services are not covered by OHIP. Your private insurance may cover occupational therapy services and we can provide you with an official receipt to submit. Some families use alternative funding through Ceridian Cares,  Developmental Services Ontario, Hope for Cerebral Palsy, Jennifer Ashleigh Children's Charity,  the Ontario Autism Program (OAP), or SMILE Canada.

We are an OAP approved provider.

Question 7

Are you an Ontario Autism Program (OAP) approved provider?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Real Life Pediatric Occupational Therapy is an OAP provider.

Question 8

Do I need a doctor's referral?

Accepted Answer

No, occupational therapists in Ontario are independent practitioners. You do not need a doctor's referral to get services at Real Life Pediatric Occupational Therapy. We encourage you to book a free discovery call on our contact page to explore if our services would be a good fit.

Question 9

Is there a cancellation policy?

Accepted Answer

Appointments cancelled at less than 24 hours notice will be charged at the full rate. We also understand that life happens. If you have an unexpected medical emergency or other extenuating circumstance outside of your control, please let us know and we can discuss possible exceptions e.g. for unexpected transportation issues or inclement weather.

Question 10

What if I have other questions?

Accepted Answer

Please reach out by visiting our contact page. We would be happy to answer your questions and discuss our services more!

Frequently Asked Questions