Rising Horizons: Empowering Every Child

Welcome to Rising Horizons, where we believe in unlocking every child's full potential. Discover how our dedicated paediatric occupational therapy services can make a difference in the lives of children and young people, both in schools and at home. We are committed to quality and providing exceptional support to help children thrive.

What is Occupational Therapy ?

Occupational therapy is an essential health service dedicated to helping people achieve independence, meaning, and satisfaction in all aspects of their lives. Whether it is in the home, nursery, community, school, or private practice, occupational therapists are available to help (CJOT, 2012).

The term ‘occupation’ refers to children and adults doing activities during their everyday course. Occupational therapists help children and adults throughout the lifespan participate in activities they want to and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities.

Occupational therapists look at the whole person, not just their condition. They consider physical skills, thinking and understanding, emotions, and the environment around the person, such as home or school. They then provide practical support, which may include teaching new skills, adapting activities, recommending equipment, or changing the environment to better suit the person’s needs.

The main aim of occupational therapy is to help people become as independent, confident, and involved in their daily lives as possible. For children and young people, this might mean supporting their development, helping them access education, and enabling them to participate fully in play and social activities.

What do Paediatric Occupational Therapists do?

Paediatric Occupational Therapist uses everyday activities as a foundation for supporting health as well as well-being through self-care, productivity and leisure. 

They work with children to improve their quality of lives by engaging them in meaningful tasks. For example, teaching a child to do laces who has difficulties in planning, sequencing and executing actions can be supported by an OT who could assess and create person-centred OT strategies to support client achieve independence in tying shoelaces within their natural environments.

There can a wide range of difficulties which can make simple everyday tasks overwhelming such as tooth brushing, copying from the blackboard, hyper-responsiveness towards touch, handwriting difficulties, using scissors for cutting and pasting, standing in a queue for lunch.

We use our knowledge of sensory integration into a holistic assessment of child and work collaboratively with children, parents and school. We work to establish strategies to increase the safety of child’s environment and support families to manage child’s needs.

OTs are best known for creativity and modifications of the task which provides the ‘just right’ challenge to a child having difficulties in performing skills. 

They are competent to analyse child’s strengths and limitations and provide activities which are ‘purposeful’ and at the same time PLAYFUL for a child to accomplish.

Final words to describe OT- Learning with Fun!!

How we can help?

Rising Horizons provides Paediatric Occupational Therapy services in Kent. We are a mobile service and provide support within the client’s home, school or nursery. We provide assessment, intervention, training and consultancy services to children and young people and their families, schools and local authorities in Kent and Bexley. 

We support children and young people with various diagnoses, strengths and difficulties such as

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD),

  • Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD)

  • Down Syndrome

  • Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) - previously known as Dyspraxia

  • Handwriting difficulties

  • Global Developmental Delay

  • Sensory Processing Differences

  • Cerebral Palsy

We complete comprehensive Occupational Therapy assessments to analyse how a child completes day to day activities (functional skills) including, dressing , mealtimes & using cutlery, handwriting, bathing or showering, tooth brushing, toileting hygiene and sleep. 

We support children by assessing their gross motor skills, fine motor skills, coordination, posture, attention & focus and sensory differences within the school or home setting which enables us to understand their strengths and areas of difficulties within functional skills and support them accordingly. 

We deliver Occupation-focused interventions to the families and children. 

Dedicated support for every child's journey

At Rising Horizons, we are passionate about helping children develop the skills they need for a fulfilling life. Our personalised approach ensures that each child receives the care and guidance required to overcome challenges and achieve their personal best.