Assessment
We learn about your child’s strengths, concerns, and daily routines through conversation, observation, and activities. These insights help us understand where support may be helpful.
Pediatric occupational therapy · Toronto
Support for everyday life
Helping children build the skills and confidence to take part in daily routines, learning, play, and relationships.
About OT
What is Occupational Therapy?
For children, “occupations” are the things they do each day: getting dressed, playing, learning, making friends, and participating at home and school.
Occupational therapy looks at a child’s strengths, the demands of an activity, and the environment around them. Together with the family, we identify what is getting in the way and develop practical strategies to support participation.
How we can help
Areas of Focus
Occupational therapy starts with the activities that matter to your child and family. We look at the skills involved, what makes participation difficult, and practical ways to help.
- Self-regulation & emotional regulationRecognizing body signals and emotions, understanding what affects energy and mood, and practising ways to recover from frustration, worry, or overwhelm. We help children find strategies they can use at home, school, and with peers.
- Executive functioningStarting tasks, staying focused, planning, organizing, remembering steps, managing time, and checking work. Support can also address impulse control, flexible thinking, shifting between activities, and coping when plans change.
- Social skillsJoining conversations and play, reading and understanding social situations, noticing other people’s perspectives, and building friendships. Sessions may include practising communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution in everyday situations.
- Sensory processingUnderstanding how a child responds to sound, touch, movement, visual input, and other sensations. Together we explore supports that make daily routines, learning, and community activities more comfortable and manageable.
- Fine motor skillsBuilding hand strength, coordination, and dexterity for tasks such as using scissors, managing buttons and zippers, tying shoes, and handling classroom materials.
- HandwritingLooking at pencil control, letter formation, spacing, writing endurance, and the motor and organizational demands of written work. Strategies are tailored to the child and the tasks they need to complete.
- Self-help skillsBuilding confidence and independence with dressing, toileting, feeding, and personal care. Support may include managing clothing and fasteners, using utensils, participating in mealtime routines, and developing manageable bathroom and hygiene routines. Strategies are tailored to your child’s abilities, sensory needs, and your family’s priorities.
- Gross motor and motor planningDeveloping balance, coordination, core strength, and body awareness for movement and play. We help children plan, sequence, and coordinate movements for tasks such as jumping, climbing, catching a ball, and learning new physical activities, supporting participation in playground activities, sports, and everyday routines.
Our services
Types of Support
Individual OT sessions
One-to-one sessions use engaging activities and practical strategies to build skills and support participation in everyday routines, learning, play, and relationships.
Parenting Support
Work with your OT to better understand your child’s needs and develop practical strategies for routines, regulation, and challenges at home.
School Consultation
With your permission, your OT can collaborate with school staff to understand classroom demands and suggest strategies that support participation and learning.
Groups
Small-group sessions offer children opportunities to practise skills with peers through guided activities, shared problem-solving, and supported social experiences.
What to expect
How Services Work
Services begin with an understanding of your child’s strengths, needs, and your family’s priorities.
Optional consultation
Book a free 15-minute call to discuss your concerns and determine whether occupational therapy is a good fit.
Initial assessment
Your child meets with your therapist for a 50-minute in-person session in a designated OT space. Through activities, conversation, and clinical observation, your therapist begins to identify areas for support.
Parent meeting and goals
Following the assessment, you’ll meet separately with your therapist for a 50-minute virtual appointment. Together, you’ll review observations, discuss priorities, set goals, and plan next steps.
Ongoing OT sessions
Ongoing sessions are 50 minutes. You and your OT will decide whether weekly, biweekly, or monthly appointments best support your child’s goals. Sessions can be held in person or virtually, depending on the type of support needed.
Meet your therapist
Alana Weinberg
Occupational Therapist · OT Reg. (Ont.)
Alana is a registered occupational therapist and former educator who works with children and their families. Her experience in both occupational therapy and education helps her connect therapy goals with the demands of the classroom and everyday life.
She supports children with difficulties in the areas of self-regulation, executive functioning, sensory processing, social skills, fine motor skills, handwriting, and motor planning. Alana brings a strengths-based and engaging approach to sessions. She has worked with multidisciplinary teams in schools, hospitals, treatment centres, clinics, as well as community settings. She collaborates with families and professionals to help children use their growing skills in daily life.
As a parent of two, Alana brings an additional understanding of the joys and demands of family life. This perspective informs the parenting support she offers: thoughtful, practical strategies that families can use in everyday routines. She begins with each child’s strengths, interests, and goals and works alongside families to find approaches that fit.
Education
- Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, Queen’s University
- Honours Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario
- Graduate Diploma in Education, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Fees
Session Fees
We’ll discuss your child’s needs and set collaborative goals before starting ongoing sessions.
A free 15-minute consultation is available to help you decide whether OT is the right fit.
Fees for report writing, community visits, and travel are discussed with each family on an individual basis before proceeding.
Individual occupational therapy session
$20050 minutes
Receipts are provided for insurance submission. Please check your own plan for coverage.
Get started
Tell us a little about your family.
Choose the next step that feels right for your family.
In-person appointments take place at 559 St Clair Ave W, Toronto (located within Spotlight Academy).
Please do not include medical details or other sensitive information here. A full intake can be completed through a secure process after we connect.
Contact
Get in touch
Location
559 St Clair Ave W, Toronto, Ontario
Located within Spotlight Academy
For questions about occupational therapy services, email info@awot.ca.