Common questions

Appointments are available for children, adults, parents, and carers. Support may focus on sleep, autism, routines, functional participation, developmental concerns, school-related difficulties, or broader challenges affecting day-to-day life at home or in the community.

Sessions are offered online across the UK and by home visit in Cambridge and surrounding areas. The most appropriate format is discussed from the first evaluation and depends on the nature of the concern, your goals, and what is likely to work best in practice.

The free 15-minute initial call can be booked online. For evaluations, therapy sessions, complementary assessments, and other services, please get in touch directly so the most appropriate appointment can be arranged. Payment details are confirmed at the time of booking.

An initial evaluation explores the concerns bringing you to occupational therapy, the routines and environments involved, what is already working, and what needs support. Sessions may include a structured interview, observation, goal-setting, and agreement on the next steps, such as the need for more in-depth assessments, the likely number of sessions, and the development of a therapeutic plan tailored to you or your child.

For families attending with a child, parents or carers are usually expected to be present during sessions, with some exceptions. My aim is to work in partnership with families and help parents develop therapeutic goals in their real-life contexts. Follow-up sessions focus on progressing therapeutic goals, monitoring change, and adjusting the plan where needed.

No. While paediatric occupational therapy is a core part of the service, appointments are also available for adults, particularly where sleep is the main concern.

If you book a complementary assessment, it includes a written summary with results and recommendations. Additional letters or more detailed reports, for example for schools, referrals, or communication with other professionals, can also be requested at any point and are usually prepared within 48 hours where appropriate.

A standardised assessment is a structured evaluation tool developed and tested on large groups of children, allowing your child's skills to be compared against established age-based norms. It follows a fixed protocol, with the same materials, instructions, and scoring criteria each time, which makes the results objective, clinically meaningful, and widely recognised by schools, local authorities, and other health professionals.

Occupational therapy supports children to participate fully in the activities that matter most to them, whether that means getting dressed independently, holding a pencil, managing a busy classroom, developing play skills, or navigating social situations. By identifying the underlying factors affecting your child's development and day-to-day functioning, occupational therapy helps build the specific skills and strategies needed to thrive at home, at school, and in the community.

Sleep difficulties in children are often connected to routines, regulation, environment, participation, and daytime patterns, all of which fall within the scope of occupational therapy. I look at the factors contributing to sleep difficulties and work with families to develop an individualised plan that supports healthier sleep patterns. For adults, work often focuses on stress management, habit-building, and the role that the daytime routine plays in sleep quality.

No. A formal diagnosis is not required to access occupational therapy. Many families seek support because they are concerned about their child's development, behaviour, daily functioning, or sleep before any diagnosis is in place.

Think about all the things you do from the moment you wake up: brushing your teeth, preparing a meal, getting dressed, going to work, learning, playing, resting, or socialising. If for some reason those activities become difficult, occupational therapy helps identify why and what can support you. Occupational therapy is a regulated health profession focused on enabling people to participate in the activities that are meaningful in their daily lives. For children, this includes self-care, play, learning, and social participation. An occupational therapist works collaboratively with the child and their family to reduce barriers and build practical, evidence-based solutions.

This is decided after the initial evaluation. The number of sessions depends on the nature of the concern, the goals identified, the level of support needed, and whether further assessment is recommended.

A therapeutic plan is an individualised outline of the goals, priorities, strategies, and session focus agreed after an evaluation. It helps guide the work in a structured way and makes it easier to monitor progress over time.

Home visits are available in Cambridge and the surrounding region, and online sessions are available across the UK.

Common areas of support include fine motor development, such as difficulty using scissors or tying shoelaces; attention and learning difficulties; toilet training; sensory processing challenges; social skills; play skills; self-care, including hygiene, feeding, and sleep; school-related difficulties; excessive screen use; and sleep concerns such as frequent night waking, difficulty falling asleep, poor sleep quality, fatigue, and daytime sleepiness.