Work is child’s play for creative thinker Paula

City Lives – Denise McNamara learns about the work of occupational therapist Paula Newell

Occupational therapists suffer from an image problem. While speech and language therapists do what it says on the tin and physiotherapists have a fairly straight forward role, there is a deficit of knowledge when it comes to OTs

In a survey conducted by the Health Service Executive (HSE), parents said they assumed OTs only worked with older people and engaged in activities such as basket weaving and mosaics. Others believed they worked on hands, while physios concentrated on feet.

The reality is much more complex. Last Monday was world Occupational Therapy Day which has been organised to address that information gap.

Put simply, occupational therapy helps people to do the everyday things that they want to do – and need to do – when faced with illness, injury, disability or a challenging life event.

They concentrate of the skills involved in dressing, feeding and self-care. They help people to work, enable them to engage in leisure activities. For kids they focus on the skills they need to go to school.

In other words, the OT gives the skills or strategies to say ‘I can’, explains Paula Newell, senior paediatric occupational therapist working in City West Early Intervention Services.

“We aim to promote independent living skills through participating in activities of daily living. We help with the simple everyday things that are meaningful to the child and family. A child’s job is to play,” she says.

“Achievements in everyday activities such as dressing, eating, handwriting and playing can enhance a child’s self-confidence, self-worth, independence and can enable and promote future participation in new learning, social and leisure activities.”

Because Paula works with children – aged from newborns to six-year-olds– she bases herself mainly in a room full of toys.

When a child first comes to the centre in Newcastle to be assessed, Paula will carefully watch how they interact with those toys.

Paula herself resembles a child as she happily demonstrates all the things she will look out for when they play.

“I love things that pop up. Do they know it pops up? Do they smile? What hand do they use? I’m looking at their reaction. Kids who have cerebral palsy, I watch to see if they reach for something, can they touch a button? Do they want to listen to the noise? What is their eye contact, hand functions?

“We use a lot of interactive story books. Are they interested in what is behind the flap? Can they pull something off the Velcro? I just love things with Velcro!”

While parents might think the therapist is merely playing with the child, she is in fact breaking down the task and giving them the skills and strategies to achieve various tasks.

The process must have a beginning and an end, so they can understand they have completed the job.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.