Occupational therapy

nellah

Hi to all, 11 year old son has been struggling to walk,lack of balance tripping over weak muscle tone in his legs he’s been diagnosed with flat feet about 3 years ago the last 18months he’s got worse he’s stopped going out just to school and back where he struggles constantly falling over covered in bruises no help/support from school asked the GP to refer him to the occupational therapist to assess him for mobility aid the referral got refused said he didn’t meet the criteria,please could anyone advise me on the next step don’t know what to do or where to turn to anymore 

Ross_Alumni

Hello @nellah

Welcome to the community, it's lovely to see you join us. I'm sorry to hear that your child was refused support, 

I am not sure of what the next step could be for you, but have you asked the doctor about this? Perhaps they might be able to suggest an alternate avenue for him. Furthermore, you could consider contacting IPSEA to discuss how you could potentially approach getting support from his school, they advise on educational needs.

There is also this information on the NHS website:

"You can also pay for it yourself. The Royal College of Occupational Therapists lists qualified and registered occupational therapists.

Find an occupational therapist

You can check an occupational therapist is qualified and registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) using its online register of health and care professionals."

chiarieds

 Hi @nellah - & welcome to the community. May I suggest that you ask your GP to refer him for physiotherapy (a paediatric physio if possible). As a retired physio, I know this may help. A physio would assess his poor balance & weak muscle tone too, & see how he might be helped. There's a little info here:

https://apcp.csp.org.uk/system/files/documents/2020-06/Flat Feet in Children V3.pdf

Kindly let us know how you & your son get on; he deserves some appropriate help.

nellah

Thank you for the info, my son is on the waiting list for physio been 6weeks not heard anything,the orthotics department have given him insoles and some boots to support his ankles he’s been wearing them for a while not made any difference will defo look in to going private thank you once again.

Kristina_PT

Hello Nellah! 

I am a physiotherapist and I advise you to work on the mobility of his foot and try to strengthen the muscles of his feet and legs. There is always something that can be done while waiting, it is unfortunate to hear that you have to wait so much to have a proper physio appointment! It is something that should be available to anyone in need, especially when we talk about children. If you still have any questions I would be happy to help you. Hope you find someone to do appropriate therapy with him. 

Good luck!