Our assessment process begins with an informal, play-based ‘meet and greet’ appointment (45 minutes in length) which is the first opportunity a child has to get to know us, see and explore our site, and leave with a desire to return! The OT will always greet your child first, and engage with them directly during this appointment. A psychologist we worked closely with for a few years coined this session as an ‘assessment on the fly’ which definitely has some merit as the OT makes adjustments, moment to moment.
Parents/caregivers, if in attendance, are asked to observe quietly (and turn off their devices) as this gives the best opportunity for the therapist to note the child’s individual abilities and areas for improvement. We expect a shared understanding and recognition of how the parent’s presence usually influences the child’s actions or activity level. A separate parent observation room was built adjacent to the gym in 2017.
QUESTION: How do I learn about your services & share about my child?
Start with our self intake and from there you will have opportunity to meet with an assistant (without your child) for 30 minutes.
2. From there, you can decide our services are not for you (at no charge).
Or, you can book a “meet and greet” which is the first appointment that requires payment ($202.50, based on $135.00 x 1.5 hours).
QUESTION: What does a ‘meet and greet’ LOOK LIKE for my child?
During this first appointment the OT is expected to pull from a wide variety of activities which meet the child ‘where they are at’ (just right challenge) and provide a breadth of insight, based on their knowledge of child development.
All aspects of function (attention, regulation, social responses, coordination, balance, stamina, preferences, ideation, problem solving, adaptive responses to a variety of sensory stimuli) are taken into account.
The session is individualized and quite flexible, and yet tailored to the developmental stage and needs of the child/family. Visual supports and/or text prompts (written schedules) are used as appropriate to support success.
QUESTION: What does a ‘meet and greet’ COST?
The cost of this first appointment is $202.50 which includes:
a) the 45 minutes directly with an OT
b) the intake meeting (30 minutes) with one of our staff,
c) a follow up written communication from the OT to summarize findings informally, these may include interpretations, next steps, suggestions for home practice, and/or impressions of the child’s strengths & needs, and
d) the administrative intake to our team’s intervention services, should continuation be both recommended by the OT and sought by the family
A typical referral might be limited to the $202.50 initial appointment, followed by an intervention plan which takes shape via the initial ‘block’ of 4-6 appointments. Our team places priority on direct intervention time and encourages clients to do the same.
Our goal when we first meet you is to be approachable and create a non-threatening, comfortable place of connection for you and your child. The ‘meet and greet’ session is designed to be both fun AND provide us the baseline information upon which to build our future clinical pathway.
Subsequent assessment and/or intervention services are offered at 135.00/hour. Each session is billed for the direct time the child is scheduled, plus 15 minutes for documentation and planning of the next session.
Email admin@sharpeot.com for an explanation of billing practices. We host ‘service agreement’ meetings (takes at most 10-15 minutes of your time).
QUESTION: What about standardized assessments?
When an OT decides a standardized assessment would be of benefit, they will discuss this option and its associated cost with you. Similarly, when we receive a request for a formal report, our billable hours increase. We recognize not all clients will be able to afford the ‘extra’ costs for:
assessment scoring (up to 60 minutes per assessment conducted)
report writing (4-8 hours, see below for explanation)
As such, we accept a limited number of referrals for a ‘full OT assessment’, the cost of which might range from $600.00 minimum (basic screening report) to $1200.00 and higher, depending on:
the level of complexity of the child/situation
the detail requested or required in written form (results/recommendations).
The number and type of assessments administered during a ‘full assessment’ vary depending on the needs and goals identified by the child, family, and OT together. A combination of standardized assessments, skilled observation and parent interview is used. Parents can review their report before it is finalized, to ensure the report is mutually agreed upon as valid and comprehensive
. Examples of standardized assessments available:
Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT, Jean Ayres)
Beery VMI 6th Edition,
Movement Assessment Battery for Children (mABC-2),
McMaster Handwriting Assessment (K to Gr. 6),
Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)
The Sensory Profile (5-14 yr olds)
Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE)
Upon completion of assessment process, it is the parent or caregiver’s choice whether to pursue further assessment, continue to see us for direct intervention, or move on to independently carry out a ‘home program’ for their child (perhaps ‘checking in’ on a more infrequent basis for updates). A large number of our families choose to ‘stay on’ for intervention services.