Occupational Therapy

The Occupational Therapists (OTs) at the Montreal Children’s Hospital (MCH) provide services to a diverse population of inpatients and outpatients – from pre-term infants to adolescents – who are experiencing developmental, traumatic, congenital, or other acquired conditions. The OTs work collaboratively with families and hospital teams to support each child in developing the skills needed for daily living, play, and independence. The OT Department is committed to empowering children and their families to reach their fullest potential and participate meaningfully in everyday activities.

Services

The OT Department provides a range of assessment and short-term treatment services for children 0 to 17 years old. During the assessment, the OT will evaluate the child’s physical (e.g., range of motion, muscle strength, motor development) and occupational functioning (activities expected for their age, academic functioning, and leisure and play) through a variety of means including interview, questionnaires, observation, standardized evaluation, and task analysis. 

Our OTs evaluate children with different profiles and needs including:

• Prematurity
• Traumatic injuries and burns
• Neurodevelopmental conditions 
• Neuromuscular diseases
• Craniofacial conditions
• Genetic syndromes
• Cardiac conditions
• Rheumatologic conditions
• Wrist and finger fractures
• Coordination difficulties
• Complex feeding and swallowing needs
• Mental health conditions

Working in a tertiary, acute care hospital means that our OTs are used to operating in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. They are responsible for managing complex and urgent cases and thus, are skilled at adapting to changing clinical needs and delivering high quality, patient and family-centred care.

Inpatient services

Our OTs provide a wide range of services on the inpatient units including but not limited to neurodevelopment, feeding and swallowing safety, assessment of independence in basic activities of daily living, burn management and splinting, functional cognition, and discharge planning (including requests for community OT services and equipment needs). They collaborate closely with interdisciplinary team members to deliver timely, coordinated, and patient- and family-centred care. Our OTs provide services across the following hospital units and programs:

• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
• Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
• Advanced Care Unit (ACU)
• Pediatric Ward
• Neurosurgery and Traumatology
• Hematology and Oncology
• Pediatric Psychiatry Care Program

Outpatient (ambulatory) services and Specialty clinics

Our OTs deliver a broad spectrum of outpatient services and play an integral role in a variety of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary clinics. These clinics are composed of members across medical, nursing, and allied health teams and are designed to address a wide range of pediatric health and developmental conditions. The OT’s role is tailored to align with the child’s diagnosis and the clinic’s specific focus, allowing for individualized evaluations, goal setting, treatment, and recommendations.

Developmental and swallowing safety

Our OTs contribute to the diagnostic process by monitoring developmental progress, providing short-term treatment and referring families to appropriate community resources. Their work includes promoting the achievement of developmental milestones (fine motor), evaluating and treating feeding and swallowing difficulties, and promoting the acquisition and maintenance of independence in activities of daily living.

• Neurodevelopmental Evaluations 
• Neonatal Follow-up Clinic
• Complex Care Service
• Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) and Home Oxygen Clinic
• Clinical Feeding Evaluations (*This service is specifically provided for concerns related to swallowing safety)

Hand therapy

The OTs specializing in upper extremity anatomy, function, and fine motor skills evaluate the effect of an injury or condition on the physical and occupational functioning of a child. They provide treatment that may include splinting, stretching exercises, strengthening, pain management, sensory retraining, activity modification, and adaptive tools and techniques.

• Plastic Surgery Clinic
• Rheumatology Clinic

Diagnostic clinics

Alongside the multidisciplinary team, the OT’s role is to evaluate a child’s occupational, motor, and sensory functioning to assist with the child’s diagnostic profile and referral to appropriate community services.

The OTs working within the Brain, Development, and Behaviour Clinics (BDB) assess children with suspected:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
• Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) – Please send referrals directly to the BDB program for concerns about DCD

Complex feeding and swallowing

The role of OT within these multidisciplinary clinics is to evaluate oral motor skill development and support safe, functional, and developmentally appropriate feeding and swallowing skills in infants, children, and adolescents with complex needs.

• Pediatric Feeding Program
• Complex Dysphagia Clinic
• Esophageal Atresia (EA) and Tracheoesophageal Fistula (TEF) Clinic
• Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study (VFSS)

Mental health

Alongside the psychiatrist and nurse on the team, the OT’s role is to coordinate care, establish meaningful goals, monitor progress, and liaise with community partners to optimize children’s functioning and participation.

• First Episode Psychosis Program (FEPP) Clinic

Referrals

All referrals go through the Central Intake of Brain, Development and Behaviour services. Please fill in the form below and send your request to [email protected] or fax it to 514-412-4136.

Admissibility criteria

For community-based physicians

• A referral to OT signed by a medical doctor
• The child must be 0 to 17 years old
• The child must meet the individualized eligibility criteria for the service requested
• Developmental delays must be associated with:
  • A complex medical condition or
  • A complex psychosocial situation that directly impacts the child’s development
  • The child must live in one of the territories part of RUISSS McGill (Réseau universitaire intégré de santé et de services sociaux): Nunavik (region 17), Cree Territory (region 18), Nord du Québec (region 10), Abitibi-Témiscamingue (region 8), Outaouais (region 7), Montérégie west (region 16), West-Central Montreal and the West Island of Montreal (region 6).

Exclusion criteria

• Children who are currently receiving services or with a history of services at a rehabilitation centre, or those enrolled in a specialized school.  
• Difficulties with food texture progression in the absence of a complex medical condition.
• Requests for sensory evaluations that are not part of a multidisciplinary diagnostic assessment.

Videofluroroscopy (VFSS) requests

All VFSS requests must be submitted directly to the Medical Imaging Department and must include a completed medical requisition form. Note: Referrals sent to the OT Department do not place a child on the waitlist for this test and should not be completed for this purpose.   

Professional order and external services

To learn more about OT services or explore private service options, please consult the website of the Ordre des ergothérapeutes du Quebec (OEQ).