Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service

What is Paediatric Occupational Therapy?

Occupational Therapy is a health care profession concerned with improving a person’s occupational performance. In a children’s setting, the occupational therapist works with children who have difficulties in daily occupations, i.e. self care, play, school, home activities and social participation.

Who do we help?  Children of ages 0-18 years presenting with following difficulties:

  • Poor sensory regulation and organization.Sarika Kaushik
  • Delayed gross and/or fine motor skills.
  • Poor pre-writing and handwriting skills.
  • Difficulty with motor planning and sequencing activities.
  • Delayed or limited repertoire of play skills.
  • Poor oral-motor control for feeding (sucking, chewing, swallowing).
  • Delayed or limited self-care skills (i.e., managing clothing fastenings, self-feeding, preparing a simple snack, managing money).
  • Limited social skills or behavioral-adaptive skills (i.e., coping skills, establishing friendships, cooperative play with peers)

What services do we provide?

  • We use a variety of approaches towards assessment and treatment planning including sensory integration, neurodevelopmental, behavioural, cognitive, coaching etc. to address the following areas of needs
  • Functional abilities in play, learning and self care.
  • Motor Skills – handwriting skills, dexterity, eye hand co-ordination, gross motor skills, postural abilities.
  • Play skills- co-ordination, game-playing, social
  • Self Help and Social Skills – hygiene, dressing, eating and drinking, shopping and money management.
  • Sensory skills: how the child perceives, processes and organizes sensory information from their body and environment, e.g. visual perceptual skills, sensory integration.
  • Cognitive skills: organization, attention, concentration.
  • Social/emotional functioning

Meet your Paediatric Occupational Therapist

Sarika Kaushik is a fully insured member of Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland. Sarika completed B. Sc. (Hons.) Occupational Therapy in 2001 and 2 years Masters in Occupational Therapy in 2003. After working in a variety of areas and lecturing for 3 years, she has worked in Paediatrics for the past 8 years specialising in sensory processing, Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), dyspraxia, Down’s Syndrome and early intervention services. Sarika has also completed her postgraduate training in Sensory Integration (SI) and is SIPT certified. She is an active member of the Sensory Integration Network (UK and Ireland) and is working on a number of projects with them. Sarika enjoys working in multidisciplinary teams and has specific training to deliver diagnostic testing. She has a special interest and expertise in working with schools to develop programs with the teachers as part of the children’s individualised educational plans. Her areas of interest and speciality include but are not limited to the following:

  • Developmental Coordination Disorder
  • Dyspraxia
  • Down’s Syndrome
  • Autism
  • Asperger’s Syndrome
  • ADHD
  • Tourette’s Syndrome
  • Neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders
  • Dysgraphia (hand-writing problems)
  • Dyslexia (Study Skills)
  • Sensory integration/processing/modulation issues
  • Visual Perceptual Skills
  • School Readiness Skills
  • Transitioning to secondary and tertiary education

How to access the service?

If you feel your child may be experiencing difficulties with any of the above, discuss it with your GP or give us a ring to discuss a referral on 022-52944