The Occupational Therapy Section has had another busy year. We were able to see preschool children as well as school-aged children this year as we were fully staffed. We have seen an increase in referrals; averaging 22 per month with many having complex needs that will continue to require our services until kindergarten entry. We now have a large waitlist for both early intervention and school-aged children. In order to address this ever-increasing need, we have developed and implemented several new groups for children with high needs.
- A pre-kindergarten group for children who required support in pre-school, was started with SLP and SCD. The group worked on following the group plan, sitting at circle time in a school environment, and participating with other children. This group focuses on children exhibiting autistic traits.
- Social thinking groups were run consecutively for all of our children with social difficulties. We also set up social thinking for our school-aged children to assist them as well.
- Our playground group was adapted to assist children with higher needs, to work on their fine and gross motor skills as well as social skills.
- We ran several climbing gym groups at OVERhang, to work on motor planning and general group skills.
With the new UBC Master of Occupational Therapy North Program starting in the fall at UNBC, staff also worked with the university to assist with hiring staff, program planning, and student selection. Our staff are also active in several Northern and Provincial committees that are helping to steer the future of OT in the province. We are proud to be leaders in Occupational Therapy best practice across the province.
It is an honor to work with such skilled and hard-working therapists who are always eager to continue to learn and keep up with the latest, best practice!
See what our other therapy departments and Supported Child Development have been up to this past year: 2022 Kid Connection Newsletter – Child Development Centre PG (cdcpg.org)