Me and my occupational therapist

Imperial images - me and my occupational therapist When Sandy Martin was a few months old his parents noticed he had trouble feeding. He was referred to St Mary’s Hospital paediatrics department where clinicians discovered he has a developmental delay which affects his ability to communicate and enjoy everyday activities. As well as seeing St Mary’s consultants, Sandy also has a ‘support crew’ of a speech and language therapist, physiotherapist, and an occupational therapist, Sarah Foster, who helps him learn essential play skills.

Fiona McCarthy from Westminster on her son Sandy, two and a half
Sandy had little energy, very low weight gain and an overall lack of responsiveness to us and his environment.
When Sandy first came under child development’s care at eight months, one occupational therapist in particular, Sarah Foster, embraced his challenges with great thoughtfulness and sensitivity, helping to ensure he was receiving the best interactive multi-disciplinary care.
Sarah focused on supporting Sandy’s ability to play. Getting him to hold a toy was no mean feat. She worked on his fine motor and self-help skills as he ran out of energy so fast that even sitting, nestled into someone’s lap, to look at a book was difficult.
And she encouraged his sensory development. Her gift to Sandy of a rainbow-coloured slinky was a major turning point in his interest in the outside world.
Her input into his daily routine has been fundamental. Without her, it is unlikely that Sandy would now be sitting up with the rest of the family at the dinner table and learning to feed himself, banging his xylophone or investigating a toy fire truck with both hands while sitting beautifully upright on the floor.
Most importantly, he would have never discovered his passion for bubbles. Sandy will do almost anything if you promise to blow him some bubbles. The progress Sandy has made in the last year has been remarkable and he would be lost without his ‘support crew’ from St Mary’s Hospital paediatrics team.

Occupational therapist Sarah Foster
I have been working with Sandy for two years now. He has low muscle tone and can be quite floppy which has made it challenging for him to sit independently for long periods, which in turn affects his ability to use his hands for play.
As our hands are an important tool to participate in daily life, occupational therapy focuses on helping Sandy to be able to improve his ability to use both his hands in all activities.
I see him regularly to support his developing skills such as playing, learning, and eating. The focus of my therapy always tries to address Sandy’s parents’ goals. I also liaise closely with the other therapists who work with Sandy.
Sandy loves movement, investigating bright colours and different textures so we work to use these to create ‘stories’ for him which involve fun tasks like finding a toy on the other side of the room. This helps to develop his interest in play and encourages his movement.
He’s a very happy little boy and the two years I have worked with him have gone very quickly. As an occupational therapist it is always enjoyable to work with families and see a child achieve a new skill.