Paediatric Occupational Therapy Melbourne — OT for Kids
Clinically reviewed by Tim Angel, AHPRA-registered Occupational Therapist and Director of Ability Rehab — last reviewed June 2026.
About Paediatric Occupational Therapy
Paediatric occupational therapy supports children to develop the everyday skills they need to participate in home, school, and community life. At Ability Rehab in Ivanhoe East, our OT for kids services help children build independence, confidence, and functional skills in a child-centred way.
Our paediatric occupational therapists work with children who experience challenges with fine and gross motor skills, sensory processing, emotional regulation, attention, self-care, or participation in daily activities. Therapy is always tailored to each child's individual needs, goals, and stage of development.
Ability Rehab provides paediatric occupational therapy for children and families anywhere across Melbourne, with particular concentration across the inner-north-east — Ivanhoe East, Heidelberg, Kew, Doncaster, Bundoora, Eltham, Greensborough, and Balwyn. NDIS-funded supports available. Therapy may take place in our Ivanhoe East clinic, via telehealth, at home, in school settings, or within the community.
Wondering if OT could help your child? We're happy to talk it through, no pressure.
Make a ReferralFor adult occupational therapy services, visit our main occupational therapy page.
Three Ways to Access Therapy
We offer three ways to access therapy — whichever works best for you and your family.
What Is Paediatric Occupational Therapy?
Paediatric occupational therapy focuses on supporting children to develop the skills needed for everyday activities that are meaningful to them and their families. These activities may include playing, learning at school, self-care tasks, social interaction, and participation in family routines.
A children's occupational therapist looks at how a child's physical abilities, sensory processing, emotional regulation, and environment impact their ability to take part in daily life. Therapy is practical, goal-based, and designed to support functional outcomes rather than focusing on diagnosis alone.
Paediatric OT may support children across a wide range of developmental stages, from early childhood through to adolescence. Intervention is tailored to each child's strengths and challenges and may involve play-based activities, skill development, environmental adjustments, and collaboration with families, educators, and other health professionals.
What Does a Children's Occupational Therapist Do?
A children's occupational therapist — sometimes called a paediatric OT or OT for kids — helps children build the practical skills they need for everyday life. That includes things like holding a pencil, getting dressed independently, managing sensory input in busy environments, or staying focused in a classroom. The work is hands-on, often play-based — particularly for younger children — and tailored to what's getting in the way for that specific child.
What a children's OT actually does in a session depends on the child's age and goals. For a 4-year-old struggling with fine motor skills, it might look like targeted activities that strengthen hand muscles through play. For an 8-year-old with sensory sensitivities, it might involve teaching coping strategies and adjusting the home or classroom environment. For a teenager on the autism spectrum, it might focus on independence with self-care, organisation, or social participation.
Children's OTs also work alongside parents, teachers, and other professionals to make sure strategies translate into everyday life — not just inside the therapy room. At our Ivanhoe East clinic, sessions are designed around each child's interests so engagement comes naturally and progress carries over to home and school.
How OT for Kids Supports Child Development
Occupational therapy for children focuses on supporting the development of skills needed for everyday activities at home, school, and in the community. OT for kids helps children participate more confidently in daily routines by addressing the underlying skills that support learning, movement, self-care, and emotional regulation.
A paediatric occupational therapist works with children to develop practical skills in a way that is engaging, age-appropriate, and tailored to each child's individual needs. Therapy is often play-based and designed to support functional outcomes that matter to both the child and their family.
OT for kids may support areas such as:
- Developing fine motor skills for tasks like writing, drawing, using cutlery, and dressing
- Improving gross motor skills, coordination, and body awareness
- Supporting sensory processing and helping children manage sensory input
- Building emotional regulation, attention, and coping strategies
- Increasing independence with self-care tasks and daily routines
- Supporting participation in learning and classroom activities
Paediatric occupational therapy is collaborative and family-centred. Therapists work closely with parents, caregivers, educators, and other health professionals to ensure strategies can be supported across different environments, helping children transfer skills into everyday life.
The need for this support is growing. The Australian Early Development Census found that in 2024, 23.5% of Australian children — almost one in four — started school developmentally vulnerable in at least one domain, up from 22.0% in 2021, with 12.5% vulnerable in two or more domains, the highest level recorded since the census began in 2009 (AEDC National Report 2024).
How a Children's Occupational Therapist Can Help
A children's occupational therapist supports children who may be finding everyday activities more challenging than expected for their age or stage of development. These challenges can present in different ways and may impact a child's confidence, independence, or participation in daily routines.
Paediatric OT can help children experiencing:
Occupational therapists take a holistic approach, considering the child's strengths, environment, and daily demands. Support may involve skill development, environmental adjustments, and practical strategies that can be used at home, in school, and within the community. Every child's needs are different — therapy goals are developed collaboratively with families and are reviewed regularly to ensure support remains relevant as the child grows and develops.
Research supports acting early: a 2025 review published in Frontiers in Pediatrics found that early intervention has a meaningful impact on children’s motor skills, cognition, language and social-emotional development, with occupational therapy approaches particularly beneficial for building independence and daily living skills (Liu, Zhu, Yi & Zeng., 2025).
NDIS Paediatric Occupational Therapy
Ability Rehab is a registered NDIS provider, offering paediatric occupational therapy supports for children who are NDIS participants. Our occupational therapists work with children and families to support goals that are meaningful, practical, and aligned with each child's NDIS plan.
NDIS-funded paediatric occupational therapy may support children with skill development, participation in daily activities, and building independence across home, school, and community environments. Support is always tailored to the individual child and delivered in a way that respects family priorities and routines.
Our therapists can assist with:
- Initial assessments and ongoing therapy supports
- Functional skill development aligned with NDIS goals
- Recommendations and strategies to support participation in daily life
- Collaboration with families, educators, and support networks
- Therapy delivered in the clinic, at home, school, or in the community where appropriate
We work closely with families to ensure services are explained clearly and that supports are delivered in line with NDIS guidelines. Our team is experienced in working with different types of NDIS plans, including self-managed, plan-managed, and NDIA-managed funding.
Accessing therapy through the NDIS? Visit our NDIS for Families page.
Under the NDIS early childhood approach, children younger than 6 with developmental delay — and children younger than 9 with disability — can access supports, and children under 6 with developmental concerns may receive early supports without a formal diagnosis (ndis.gov.au).
Specialised Training and Approaches
Our paediatric occupational therapy team has invested in training across a range of approaches and frameworks. This depth of training allows us to support children with diverse needs — from straightforward developmental support to children with complex sensory, regulatory, or neurodevelopmental presentations.
Meet Our Paediatric Occupational Therapy Team
Our paediatric occupational therapy team is made up of AHPRA-registered occupational therapists with experience across sensory integration and processing, autism and neurodevelopmental support, school readiness, fine and gross motor development, emotional regulation, NDIS practice, and trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming care. Each child is matched with the therapist best suited to their goals, presentation, and stage of development.
Our therapists work collaboratively with families, educators, and other health professionals to ensure therapy strategies translate into everyday life — at home, at school, and in the community.
Meet our full clinical team → View bios, qualifications, and clinical interests for every Ability Rehab clinician on our Our Clinicians page.
Our Children's Services
Paediatric occupational therapy is one part of our broader children's service offering. Depending on your child's needs, our team can support across:
Paediatric Occupational Therapy Across Melbourne
Our clinic is based in Ivanhoe East, and we work with children and families anywhere across Melbourne via our three service modes — in-clinic, telehealth, and mobile home visits. We have particular concentration of in-home, school, and community-based sessions across Melbourne's north-east, including:
Location-based support helps ensure recommendations are relevant to the child's home, learning environment, and community involvement.
Why Choose Ability Rehab for OT for Kids?
Choosing the right occupational therapist for your child is an important decision. At Ability Rehab, paediatric occupational therapy is delivered with a focus on understanding each child's individual needs, strengths, and environment.
Our therapists take a child-centred and family-focused approach, working collaboratively with parents and caregivers to ensure therapy goals are meaningful and practical. Support is designed to fit naturally into a child's daily life, helping families feel confident in applying strategies beyond therapy sessions.
Families choose Ability Rehab for OT for kids because we offer:
- Experienced paediatric occupational therapists
- Individualised, goal-focused therapy plans
- A supportive and collaborative approach with families and educators
- Flexible therapy options across clinic, telehealth, home, school, and community settings
- Registered NDIS provider services with clear communication and guidance
Our team values clear communication, consistency, and building positive relationships with children and families. Therapy is paced to support each child's development while respecting family routines and priorities.
Getting Started With Paediatric OT
Getting started with paediatric occupational therapy begins with understanding your child's individual needs and goals. At Ability Rehab, the process is designed to be supportive, clear, and tailored to each family.
The first step typically involves an initial discussion to learn more about your child, followed by an assessment where appropriate. From there, therapy goals are developed collaboratively with families to ensure support is practical, meaningful, and aligned with daily routines.
Our team works with families to explain therapy options, funding pathways, and next steps clearly, including NDIS supports where applicable. Families are encouraged to ask questions and be actively involved throughout the therapy process.
Ready to get started, or want to talk through whether OT is the right fit for your child?
Helpful Reading for Parents
If you're thinking about paediatric occupational therapy for your child, these articles may be useful starting points:
See all our latest articles on children's occupational therapy.
Paediatric Occupational Therapy – Frequently Asked Questions
What is paediatric occupational therapy?
Paediatric occupational therapy helps children develop the skills they need to participate in everyday activities at home, school, and in the community. An occupational therapist assesses how a child's physical abilities, sensory processing, motor skills, and environment affect their daily participation, then works with the child and family to build practical, functional skills through engaging, age-appropriate intervention — often play-based for younger children.
How do I know if my child needs occupational therapy?
Common signs include difficulty with fine motor tasks (handwriting, using cutlery, buttons and zips), trouble with gross motor coordination, sensory sensitivities (to noise, textures, or movement), challenges with self-care routines, strong emotional responses that interfere with daily activities, or struggling to keep up with classroom demands. If you're noticing several of these or your child's development feels out of step with peers, a paediatric OT assessment can help identify underlying factors.
At what age can a child start occupational therapy?
Paediatric occupational therapy supports children from infancy through adolescence. Early intervention — typically from birth to age six — is especially valuable because young children's brains are highly responsive to targeted support. That said, OT can be helpful at any stage of childhood when functional challenges are affecting daily participation.
What does a paediatric OT session look like?
Sessions are often play-based — particularly for younger children — and tailored to each child's goals. A typical session might involve activities that build fine or gross motor skills, sensory-based play, self-care practice, or structured tasks that support attention and regulation. Parents and caregivers are often involved so strategies can be practised at home, and sessions may take place in our clinic, via telehealth, at home, at school, or in the community depending on what supports the child best.
Can paediatric occupational therapy help with handwriting?
Yes. Handwriting challenges are one of the most common reasons children are referred to occupational therapy. Support typically addresses the underlying skills involved — pencil grip, hand strength, visual-motor coordination, and posture — rather than only the handwriting output itself, which helps children build sustainable progress.
How is paediatric occupational therapy funded?
Paediatric OT at Ability Rehab can be accessed through NDIS funding, Medicare's Chronic Disease Management (CDM) plan with a GP referral, private health insurance (depending on your policy), or as a private client. We're a registered NDIS provider and can work with NDIA-managed, plan-managed, and self-managed participants. Visit our NDIS for Families page for more detail.
Do I need a GP referral to see a paediatric occupational therapist?
No referral is required for private clients or NDIS participants. A GP referral is only needed if you're accessing therapy through a Medicare CDM plan. You can make a referral online or contact our team directly.
Where is your paediatric OT clinic located?
Our clinic is located at 1/225 Lower Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe East, VIC 3079, with on-site parking. We see children from anywhere across Melbourne, with particular concentration of work across Melbourne's north-east, including Heidelberg, Kew, Doncaster, Balwyn, Bundoora, Eltham, and Greensborough. Telehealth, home, school, and community-based sessions are also available depending on funding and clinical need.