As your child grows, they will take on new roles in their lives including that of a student, a friend, a team-mate, and a community member. Your child will be expected to follow directions, learn new routines, be flexible and adaptable, play with others, and make friends. These roles are important for the development of their own identity and how they see themselves in society.
Does your child have difficulty following rules? Do they play alone most of the time, or have difficulty initiating conversation with others? Maybe they have trouble behaving in a group setting? Have you noticed they have difficulty tolerating changes in routines or visiting new places?
What can we do?
Our Occupational Therapists can address concerns you may have in the following areas:
- Following directions
- Group participation
- Making friends
- Participation in the community
- Tolerating changes in routine
- Social skills
- Emotional Regulation
- Behavioural Challenges
Based on interview, observation and other standardized assessments our Occupational Therapists will help to identify which areas of development your child may require support for. They can help you to understand if there are foundational skills your child needs to acquire, or whether there are specific strategies for each situation. Our Occupational Therapists can identify whether there may be language or communication concerns, and we can connect you with our team of Speech-Language Pathologists.
Treatment may include direct teaching of skills, education for you and your child, sharing of resources, or recommendations for next steps. Approaches are dependent on the skill areas your child needs support for (self-regulation, sensory processing, physical skills, social-emotional development, social thinking). The DIR Floortime Approach is one approach used which encompasses a number of these skills; it is a model used to coach parents in how to connect with their child through play to promote development.
Why Butterfly?
At Butterfly, we believe that every child wants the opportunity to connect with others, to make friends, and to be proud of themselves. We want to help others recognize the strengths that your child has and to be supportive and patient in helping them achieve success in new environments. When children have the opportunity to engage in their communities they see themselves as valued members of our society.
To book an assessment or for more information on School Readiness please email info@butterflytherapy.com or call us at 905-206-0300.