Play Skills
Building Essential Skills Through Guided Play with Occupational Therapy
Play is how children learn about the world around them – it is an important part of childhood that helps form foundational problem solving and social skills. Through play, children develop essential physical, social, emotional, and cognitive abilities. Occupational therapists help children strengthen play skills so they can engage, explore, and grow to their fullest potential.
What Skills are Developed Through Play?
Motor Skills – Play supports children develop their gross and fine motor skills. Ots can recommend specific play equipment to develop hand strength and coordination.
Social interaction –Skills like turn taking, sharing and cooperation skills are developed through play, it’s essential to providing opportunities for children to develop social skills.
Emotional Growth – Play promotes children to express their feelings as they problem solve to navigate challenges.
Cognitive Development – Children learn through trial and error, exploration and navigating challenges through play. It promotes imagination, planning and creativity
We help your child learn how to play with confidence — from simple toys to complex social play.
Occupational therapists can work with children and families to promote age-appropriate play skills. They can assess how a child engages in different types of play and identify what may be limiting their participation. Then, they create fun, purposeful activities to build these skills.
Consider consulting an occupational therapist if your child:
Avoids or has trouble engaging in play
Has difficulty with coordination, grasping, or manipulating toys
Struggles to play with peers or follow simple play rules
Becomes easily frustrated during play
Early intervention through occupational therapy can make a big difference in building lifelong skills for learning, independence, and social connection.
How do we work on Play?
Helping children join in, play more, and feel included — at home, school and in the community
Your child’s occupational therapy journey begins with a conversation about their development, day-to-day routine and goals. We like to assess all components that may contribute to challenges completing a functional skill such as sensory processing, fine motor skills, sequencing, emotional regulation and physical skills. We explain our findings clearly, create a personalised treatment plan with practical strategies for home. We collaborate with your GP or specialists— or provide further referrals when needed—to ensure your child receives the most comprehensive and supportive care.
1. Initial appointment
We start with a chat! We talk about your child’s development to date, any relevant medical history, your goals, what past treatment has worked well or not well, who else is in your medical team and allied health team – we like to know any relevant information so we can best support you.
2. Thorough assessment
We will assess how your child is currently completing activities of daily living to determine how we can best support them. We may complete additional assessments, for example, to determine information such as how they process sensory information.
3. Develop a treatment plan
Once we have assessed your child, we will summarise our findings and discuss a treatment plan. We usually book a parent consult to convey this information as it can be quite content heavy and not very interesting for little people!
4. We collaborate
We like to link in with your GP or specialist to coordinate our treatment approach. We want the best outcome for your baby which requires everyone on the same page.
5. Referral to other therapists
We may need to refer your child to a different service such as to a speech therapist or to an occupational therapist to ensure we are working holistically to support your child.
Questions, Answered with Care
Navigating therapy appointments for children can feel overwhelming. Explore our FAQs to learn what Paediatric Occupational therapy involves, who it can help, what sessions look like, and how we support families every step of the way.
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Please bring any relevant medical summaries or letters – otherwise just you and your child. We do ask that siblings don’t attend where able so we can fully focus on the child attending the appointment.
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You don’t require a referral to see us – Please call our lovely admin team or complete the OT Waitlist Form
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We do work with children who are NDIS funded. To access our service we require children to be self-managed or plan managed.
With the recent funding cuts to the NDIS, we really recommend that families are self-managed if able.
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We require 4 weeks’ notice to write NDIS reports as they do take 2-3 hours on average (sometimes more, sometimes less).
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Our initial appointments are around 1 hour and follow up appointments are around 45 minutes.
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Our therapists need to see your child at an initial appointment to make a recommendation on what treatment plan they think will be most successful moving forward. We’ve found that children who have come to us from other clinics sometimes need more or less therapy than they were previously receiving or may require more land-based vs hydrotherapy than they were previously receiving. We don’t book initial appointments unless we have capacity to see your child ongoing.
Have questions? Go to our FAQs
Help Starts Here!
If you're seeking care for your child's physical development and well-being, we're here to help. We are committed to providing compassionate and effective treatment tailored to your child's unique needs. Whether your child is experiencing difficulties with mobility, balance, coordination, or other physical challenges, we're here to support them on their journey toward improved strength, function, and independence.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment and take the first step toward unlocking your child's full potential.