Cheryl Bennie, Occupational Therapist
Children in Johannesburg

I am an occupational therapist who specialises in treating children from birth to approximatley 13 years of age. The most common concerns of parents of the children seen in my occupational therapy practice are learning difficulties, concentration problems, poor handwriting and co-ordination difficulities and ADHD. I have been practicing since 2003 with international experience. occupational therapy intervention is based on a sensory intergration approach and is geared to be a fun learning experience for the child.

We assess and treat children with a variety of difficulties ranging from poor handwriting and concentration to autistic spectrum disorder. In addition to Occupational Therapy services Speech Therapy is also available on site. Has poor body awareness and is clumsy resulting in clumsiness, frequent tripping or bumping into objects. Difficulty with personal organisation or emotional regulation. Struggles with various sensory input and is over or under responsive to sensory input leading to fussy eating, picky about clothes or routines etc. Therapy starts with a comprehensive assessment of your child’s abilities to ascertain his/her areas of strength and weakness. This will allow for us to plan therapy accordingly. Therapy can take place in individual or group sessions according to your child’s needs and your affordability. Hour or half hour sessions with individual attention depending on the child’s age and abilities. Parents are welcome to be involved in the sessions and is often encouraged. Goals and activities are specific to your child’s individual differences and therapy needs. Meetings or consultations with parents, teachers or doctors etc. Home or school programmes to help carry over into other environments including sensory diets. Speech and language are tools that humans use to communicate or share thoughts, ideas, and emotions. Speech and language therapy aims to achieve optimal communication skills in a child. This refers to nonverbal, spoken, pre-literacy and written language skills, which can influence not only communication but also academic achievement, social adjustment and overall development. The therapist aims to empower the child to communicate effectively and to their optimal ability, using different approaches depending on the presenting difficulty. favours collaborative relationships within the multidisciplinary medical and educational team, including the child’s family. pre-literacy, rhyming, identifying sounds in words, sounding out words and blending sounds together) Communication difficulties associated with syndromes and/or special barriers to learning (e.g. Each child has their own tailor-made intervention plan as no two children are the same. The main focus of my work is to help youngsters develop the best possible communication (verbal and/or non-verbal) and language skills they can in light of their difficulties.