Assessment and Treatment Locations
The Sunflower Clinic operates a full-time service in its premises in Cork City, which is equipped with a dedicated Sensory Integration treatment room. We also operate a 2-day per week service in our similarly equipped Limerick City and Killarney facilities. In addition, we currently operate a 1 day per week outreach programme in Listowel, where we have access to a comprehensive treatment facility.
Assessment Services
Typically, the first step in determining if your child has Sensory Integration needs is to have your child assessed by a qualified Occupational Therapist. The purpose of the Assessment Process is to establish a baseline of functional performance of the client and to determine their strengths and needs according to a series of standardised tests. These tests have typically been performed on a large population of similarly aged children and provide statistically meaningful comparison results.
The Sunflower Clinic provides a detailed assessment service carried out by a fully trained Occupational Therapist. Please contact the clinic on 021 4321 729 to request an assessment questionnaire pack.
The standardised tests are carried out in accordance to strict protocols in order to assess the comparative performance of each client. The Sunflower Clinic employs over 20 different standardised tests designed to assess performance in the following main areas:
- Movement, both Gross and Fine
- Coordination
- Sensory Integration
- Auditory
- Visual
- Proprioceptive
Selective tests are required for children of different age groups and presenting with different needs. As a starting point, each client’s parents and teachers are required to fill in a Sensory Profile Questionnaire, designed to give the therapist a background of observed functional performance in advance of the assessment session.
This information contributes to the overall assessment process and helps the therapist to produce a comprehensive assessment report for the client with recommendations for treatment/intervention if required.
Standardised tests are so called because they have been developed to test or evaluate the functional performance of the test subject in comparison to a "standard" child of the same age. Typically, the tests have been carried out on a large test population ( usually more than 1,000 children of similar ages and backgrounds) and the score achieved by the test subject is statistically significant i.e. this means that it is extremely likely that the score achieved is accurate when compared to a similar child of the same age with normal functional performance.
The use of standardised tests allows the Therapist to make a conclusion that is based on scientific principles and is widely understood and accepted within the greater medical community.