Occupational Therapists help people perform any activities or tasks that they want, need, or are expected to participate in. These tasks or activities are referred to as "occupations".
What this participation looks like depends on the needs, wants and difficulties of each child or young person and their families; often, goals centre on increasing independence. Common "occupations" for children include daily self-care (such as feeding and dressing), participation in school activities (such as fine motor activities and use of the playground) and play.
Goals in Occupational Therapy focus on participation in these "occupations" rather than attempting to "fix" "problems" within a child. Goals and strategies are developed collaboratively between the therapists, children and their families to give children the best chance of achieving them.
Important information for patients with an upcoming NHS appointment.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, some of our services may not be running as usual, in line with government guidelines.
Children and Young People's Occupational Therapy (CYPOT) continue to accept new referrals, however there may be a waiting period for an appointment, whilst normal service gradually resumes.
The CYPOT service may offer virtual appointments (e.g. telephone consultation and/or video consultation) or face to face appointments. There may be COVID-19 specific changes to how you arrive at the clinic and check in for your appointment. The team will communicate these to you in advance.
We will work closely with you to meet your child's and family's needs in the best way possible.
Referral criteria
Merton Children and Young People's Occupational Therapy (CYPOT) works with children and young people from the age of 0 up to their 19th birthday who have a GP within Merton. Referrals are accepted from health professionals. This includes GPs, Paediatricians, Allied Health Professionals, CAMHS and School Nurses.
A referral to CYPOT will be considered when there is a concern regarding the child's ability to participate in the following areas:
- Play/leisure
- Self–care/Independence
- Participation in school life
The 'reason for referral' box on the referral form must identify at least two functional concerns. The definition of function is 'age-appropriate daily activities'. We do not accept referrals for purely handwriting difficulties where no other functional concerns are identified. If there are handwriting concerns but the child has no other difficulties then we would expect a school to provide handwriting intervention.
Referral form
Download our current referral form from the children's and family services section of the CLCH Merton referrals page. We will no longer accept referrals made using previous versions of our referral form.
Where to send completed referral forms
By email: clcht.mertonICNTeam@nhs.net
By post: Integrated Complex Needs Administration, CLCH, Steers Mead Children's Centre, Lavender Park, Steers Mead, Mitcham, CR4 3HL
Referrals for functional health needs
Any referrals that we assess as meeting the criteria for this service (see How to make a referral) are placed onto one of 5 pathways:
- Developmental: Children aged 0-5
- Physical function: Children with physical disabilities
- Coordination: Children with coordination difficulties
- Sensory Motor: Children with motor planning and coordination challenges that originate from sensory processing difficulties
- Sensory: Children who have difficulty processing aspects of their sensory environment
Some further information on our pathways is available to download.
Your assessment will last between 60 and 90 minutes and will be play-based to allow us to make formal and informal observations of your child's fine and gross motor skills and sensory processing. It will often also include a parental interview; you may be asked to complete a questionnaire prior to the appointment.
Please bring with you any relevant reports from other professionals i.e. Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) report and any completed questionnaires.
Further information on our pathways following acceptance of a referral and subsequent assessment is available to download.
We work in partnership with caregivers, families and schools to ensure the best outcomes for children, working together to set goals and empower caregivers to apply specific advice and strategies to all aspects of the child's life and learning environment.
Children are much more likely to achieve their goals if parents and caregivers take an active part in designing and implementing strategies and activities recommended by the therapist. Should you have difficulty with implementing these, please contact your therapist.
Depending on a child's needs, we may offer advice, a series of treatment sessions, parent workshops or group treatment sessions led by our team of therapists and Dieticians, which may include:
Groups:
- Fun with Food (Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy)
- Food lab (Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy)
- Core stability (Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy)
- Coordination (Occupational Therapy)
Parent workshops:
- Sensory Processing (Occupational Therapy)
- Function for Kids (Occupational Therapy)
- Making Mealtimes Manageable (Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Dietetics)
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CLCH Health Matters Children's Services: Tailored information and reliable resources on topics from pregnancy, through childhood and secondary school. The tool provides families and young people with specific resources and information pertaining to the borough, and how to contact the team in the local area.
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Referrals to CLCH Merton Health Services: Links to all the existing referral forms for Merton community services
- Further services available within Merton including a selection of local services and organisations families might find helpful
- National resources and charities that children and families might find helpful and informative
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Duty line
- Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm
- Phone number: 03300539264
- Email: clcht.mertonicnadmin@nhs.net
Important notice: Merton Children and Young People's Services provide health services to children and young people. If you have any questions about education or school-based Occupational Therapy, please contact Karla Finikin at SEN@merton.gov.uk (Head of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Integrated Service).
Cricket Green Polyclinic
Address: Cricket Green Polyclinic, 4 Birches Close, Mitcham CR4 4LQ
Parking: Available on-site
Reception location: Inside main entrance of Polyclinic
Wide Way Medical Centre
Address: Wide Way Medical Centre, 15 Wide Way, Mitcham CR4 1BP
Parking: Some limited parking
Reception location: First floor