Occupational Therapy

Street address
New Children's Hospital
Stenbäckinkatu 9, Helsinki

Mailing address
PO Box 347
00029 HUS

Contact information
Secretary: 050 427 4932
Rehabilitation Unit, Unit Manager Jaana Saarinen, jaana.t.saarinen@hus.fi

Occupational therapists meet with children who face challenges in their everyday activity and play due to an illness, injury, or an extensive developmental delay. Physicians in child neurology, pediatric surgery and pediatrics can refer patients to an occupational therapist’s assessment.

The occupational therapist will assess the child’s play skills, fine and gross motor skills, visual motor skills, sensory processing, and how the child performs independently in everyday functions. If deemed useful, the assessment may focus on the upper arms and hands and supporting their functional capacity. The occupational therapist can also assess the need for any orthoses and assistive devices, and create individual orthoses if necessary. Assessment utilizes standardized tests and indicators, interviews, and observation of activity and play.

A multi-professional team co-operates with the family to create a rehabilitation plan based on the assessment and then follow-up care is planned. The child may benefit from rehabilitation through occupational therapy where we set rehabilitation goals are together with the child and parents. The aim of children’s occupational therapy is to support the child’s ability to function in whatever challenges arose in the assessment. The occupational therapist can also provide valuable guidance for the parents and the child’s nearest and dearest.