Paediatric Hand Therapy

 Do you provide Hand Therapy Services to Children?

As qualified occupational therapists we commonly work with infants, children, adolescents and their families following hand injuries using a holistic and child-centred approach.

Children’s Fractures and Finger Dislocations

When a child has a hand, wrist or elbow injury we can fabricate a thermoplastic splint to wear while the injured structure heals and if required provide advice on exercises to help the child regain function. Children heal quickly and usually do not require much follow up.

There are several advantages to a thermoplastic splint over a cast including:

• They can get wet for showering and swimming
• They are removal to review wounds or for skin hygiene
• They are light weight
• They are able to be refitted if swelling reduces or they are causing pressure areas
• They can be made in funky and fun colours

It should be noted that there are some instances where a plaster or fibreglass cast is unavoidable.

Disabilities and Functional Concerns

We can provide assessment, therapy and splinting for children with upper limb disabilities or concerns with or without NDIS funding. Examples of where we can help:

• Assess a child’s strengths and challenges and how their hand function fosters participation or provide barriers to engagement in their world.
• Provide assistance/ advice on how to manage hand hygiene in the case of neurological conditions such as muscular dystrophies.
• Provide assistance/advice for children with cerebral palsy affecting their upper limbs . We offer splinting if required for hypertonicity and we can also arrange for a neurology review for botulinum toxin injections.
• Our splints are customised out of thermoplastic and neoprene.
• Occasionally we will prescribe an off the shelf splint which is fitted by a hand occupational therapist.

Please drop us an email if you’d like more information.