Butterflies, a NEW children’s occupational therapy service has opened in North Leeds! Founder Jenny Stephenson explains more about the services she offers.
My name is Jenny Stephenson and l am the owner of Butterflies children’s occupational therapy. I have been qualified for 10 years and have worked within the NHS both in mental health and children’s occupational therapy. I have a young family of my own and started my business to enable me to do what l love best, work closely with families and support them to make change happen. I am very flexible and adaptable to meet the needs of children and their families. I am also very friendly and approachable.
Butterflies is a small and local business offering a bespoke, personalised and fast service to children and their families. We provide 1:1 assessments and treatment for children to enable them to meet their full potential as well as running workshops and group work for children and their families.
Does your child have difficulties with:
- Fine motor skills – difficulties with shoelaces, using cutlery, buttons and zips which is having a negative impact on their daily life?
- Handwriting – such as pain when handwriting, keeping up in class, unclear hand dominance?
- Sensory difficulties impacting on their everyday life?
- Dressing independently?
- Feeding – difficulties with textures / picky eater, using cutlery, sitting at the table for a reasonable amount of time?
- Toileting independently?
- Behaviour and emotional regulation?
- Motor co-ordination difficulties which are impacting on their daily life?
- Anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed?
Does your child need something more specific to meet their current needs at school or at home?
- A handwriting assessment to support them to gain access arrangements in school due to poor handwriting? We use the Detailed assessment of speed handwriting assessment (DASH), non-standardised assessment and observation to write a detailed report which will (if relevant) support your child with access arrangements such as longer time in exams or access to a school laptop.
- A sensory assessment to establish their unique sensory needs so a personalised sensory diet can be created. This would then be used both in school and at home to ensure they meet their full potential and their specific needs are met.
- Movement ABC assessment completed – This will pick up motor function impairment such as development coordination disorder (DCD). This may be impacting on your child’s ability to participate fully in activities of daily living, such as dressing, feedings, handwriting, toileting with success and confidence.
- We offer Movement Analysis Education Strategies (MAES) approach. This is a pioneering approach to treating children with movement and sensory disorders such as cerebral palsy and autism. It aims to modify the environment and focus on developing and building the skills a child needs to achieve better functional outcomes. This is a very exciting movement which we are very proud to be part of, please see my blog for further information! We are currently running a promotion at the moment of 8 sessions of MAES for the price of 4.
- The S.O.S approach to feeding. This approach focuses on increasing a child’s comfort level by exploring and learning about different properties of food. It allows a child to interact with food in a playful, non-stressful way.
- We are trained to deliver the Paws b. mindfulness course to primary aged children. This is 6 week programme promotes well being and resilience, knowledge and skills applicable to a child’s life and can be tailored to meet an individual child’s needs. It teaches children about mindfulness and features lots of tools to enable them to build their own mindfulness practice. They will be able to use these skills throughout their child and adult life.
What will happen during the first appointment and afterwards?
Firstly we will complete an assessment of needs using standardised / non-standardised assessment, observation and discussion then joint goals are set between families and Butterflies. The next step involves therapy sessions (these are pre agreed with family)which consist of activity through play to meet the set goals.
If you feel you can complete the therapy at home by yourself Butterflies can create (following assessment/goal setting) a bespoke programme to achieve goals which we can review based on the needs of your child.
Does my child need an occupational therapist?
As you can see we offer a lot of support to children and their families. If you have concerns and are unsure if your child needs therapy please feel free to contact us and we can discuss these concerns. If you do not want to wait for NHS assessment/intervention we are able to provide a faster and personalised service to meet your child’s needs.
What else can we provide?
We will also be providing parent workshops around emotional regulation and sensory difficulties as well as workshops for children which can be accessed in the school holidays linked to handwriting and much more. Details of these will be on our website and facebook page.
For further information about the above and our blog, please see our website and like our Facebook Page so you don’t miss out.
Look forward to hearing from you soon
Jenny
*Advertorial blog for Butterflies
