“I split my time between two roles. I work three days a week as an Occupational Therapist (OT) at Ferndene, part of the Trust’s Children and Young People’s Services, and two days a week as a Specialist Occupational Therapist with the Intensive Positive Behaviour Support (IPBS) Team.
No two days are the same in occupational therapy! The job is very varied. I manage my own caseload and do a mixture of face-to-face and joint group sessions with colleagues from different disciplines such as Speech and Language Therapy and Psychology.
I’ve worked at Ferndene for nine years and my specialism is in Learning Disabilities. I’ve been in my secondment role with the IPBS Team for six months. The team works with children and young people aged 4-18 with a learning disability and or autism spectrum disorder.
I trained as an occupational therapist later in life, I was in my 40s when I qualified. I started my career working in neurorehabilitation before gaining a position within the Trust’s eating disorders team and then moving to Ferndene.
Previously I worked in a number of roles, including for social services and respite residential care for children with disabilities. I also have experience in retail, administration and childcare, to name a few!
Occupational therapy wasn’t a career I’d thought about, but I found it after wanting something to suit my interests and skillset that also fitted in with my responsibilities at home.
I really value working directly with young people and their families and carers. We work together to increase participation in the things they need or want to do. It’s about supporting individuals to reach their potential and improve the health, wellbeing and quality of life for themselves and those around them.”