“I have a daughter who goes to Primary school in Midlothian where we live. Two years ago, I noticed that my daughter was struggling in many aspects of her life that I was concerned about. One area that she really struggled with was separating from myself in the mornings. There were many other factors that suggested to myself that she may be on the Autistic spectrum but was masking. I contacted my doctor who put me in touch with CAMHS for an initial assessment. This assessment ended in them telling me that my daughter just had anxiety. After a while things didn’t get better at home and I contacted the school. The school were really helpful and put Isla forward for art therapy with Home Link Family Support. My daughter had many sessions with the Art Therapist which helped so much with her confidence and explaining what makes her feel anxious. At the end of these sessions it was suggested in that she be referred for family counselling sessions again through Home Link Family Support. 

The systemic family counsellor first came to our house in April 2022. Over time they noticed that my daughter needed extra support and got in touch with the school to arrange a meeting about our concerns, which they also attended to support myself and my husband. This was a very productive meeting ending in the school referring my daughter back to CAMHS. A Helios assessment was done and they decided that she should have an assessment for ASD. 

I cannot thank Home Link Family Support enough for their support, their help, their patience but most of all their listening ears. I didn’t realise how much if an impact this was having on not only my daughter but myself. Not only was she in need of support, I was too and the family counsellor gave me that support when I most needed it. I have a great family support network but having them listen and validate what I have been trying to tell the school, doctor and CAMHS for the last few years was such relief. I felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall at times and they supported us to get my daughter that appointment with Helios and helped put in all the work so that we were more prepared for the appointment in terms of how the difficulties presented at home. The counsellor listened when no-one else would. They were exceptional at including us all to put down all the information on paper to support our worries and I will be forever grateful. Home Link Family Support is a much-needed service.  We would be no further forward without them. This service supports families like ours when they are at breaking point.”

As I approach the end of my time at Home Link and reflect on my experience, I realise the value of Occupational Therapy (OT) embedded within the third sector.

For those of you who don’t know, Occupational Therapy is a unique profession which focuses on providing practical support to people and empowering them to overcome barriers that prevent them from doing activities (or occupations) that they find important.  These occupations could be essential day to day tasks such as self-care, work/school, or leisure/play.

Traditionally, Occupational Therapists have worked mainly within the health and education sector.  However, according to The College of Occupational Therapists, a growing number of OTs are now found in other innovative places – such as children and families charity services.

My time at Home Link has enabled me to see first-hand the value of Occupational Therapists working in these types of settings. As Bergson (a fellow OT) puts it, “We are active problem solvers, dual trained in both physical and mental health, take a strengths-based approach and naturally work across the health, social care, and third sectors.” These traits are all of great importance to clients, who often have complicated backgrounds and multiple barriers preventing them from maintaining their health and wellbeing.

At Home Link I have worked with families who struggle to access community services and feel they are stigmatised by society. They are balancing social and economic disadvantage whilst trying to raise their children to grow and develop into positive and confident adults. Families can become easily overwhelmed by their circumstances which can lead to breakdowns in their family systems and challenges in completing basic living skills.

My role at this organisation has been developing since I started here, but with my Occupational Therapy hat on I have been able to support children and families to develop daily routines, have worked with them to set meaningful and realistic goals, have supported families to access services and resources, and have empowered them to begin to engage and balance all the different occupations in their lives. In its entirety, I have helped families build confidence in themselves and confidence in each other, increasing their wellbeing and quality of life.

My work at Home Link has truly proven that there is a huge role for Occupational Therapy in third sector organisations. Occupational Therapists have core skills which can support the prevention of crisis and positively make a difference to marginalised groups in society. I hope in the future, professionals like myself will continue to seek out roles that are non-traditional in the OT world. In doing so, we can continue to serve the people that are desperately needing active Occupational Therapy support.

Reference

Bergson, K. (2016, February 3).
There’s a place for occupational therapy beyond councils and the NHS.
Retrieved from www.theguardian.com