Services occupational therapy

The goal for Early Childhood Early Intervention services at Ability Beyond Therapy is to provide client-centred therapy to address the child’s functioning in a variety of settings, so they can achieve their highest level of independence.

Our therapists strive to increase the child’s overall independence across all environments and support families in building routines and roles that allow for children to interact and participate in their environments. 

You know your family best and the therapists at Ability Beyond Therapy want to work together to meet the goals you have for your child and family.

A paediatric music therapist provides research-based ECEI and allied health support in which music is used to actively support children to help with their developmental needs, improve communication, functioning and well-being. 

Music therapy improves speech, communication and social skills

Research has shown that music therapy can improve speech, communication and social skills. It can help:

· Improve verbal and non-verbal communication

· Improve physical speech function

· Increase social communication skills

· Increase social interaction

· Increase independence

· Give positive and new ways to deal with situations.

Music therapy improves body movement, coordination and physical function

Research has shown that music therapy can improve body movement, coordination and physical function. It can help:

· Improve gross motor function and control
Gross motor skills are the larger movements you make with your arms legs, feet, or entire body.

· Improve fine motor function and control
Fine motor skills are the smaller movements you make using your wrists, hands, fingers, feet and toes.

· Improve balance

· Increase physical independence

· Help regulate heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure

· Improve respiratory muscle strength and control

· Improve sleep     

  We are trained in and implement The Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) feeding approach. This approach is a developmental feeding therapy program that allows the child to interact with the food in a playful, non-stressful way. It helps increase the child’s comfort level by exploring different properties of foods, including the color, shape, texture, smell, taste and consistency.   The SOS approach follows a systematic hierarchy to feeding, from tolerating foods in the room, interacting with foods, smelling, touching, tasting and eventually eating the food. Parent education and involvement are an essential part of the SOS approach. Parents can be directly involved in the sessions.   ​ However, every child is different and unique and we find that some may need a slightly different approach which is why we do not follow this approach strictly with every child.  Some children benefit from some aspects of a soft behavioural approach to feeding.  
We custom tailor our approach for each of our children based on a number of factors that we discuss with you at every step of the way.