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Parent consultation
We sit down with you to understand your concerns, your child's history, school context, and what you most want to see change.
Paediatric Occupational Therapy in Dubai
What Is Paediatric Occupational Therapy?
At ABLE UK we begin every journey meeting your child “where they are” and pride ourselves on building strong relationships with children and their families. Our experienced therapists use client led/ play based interventions with therapeutic movement, reflex integration, sensory based activities, gross, fine, and visual motor tasks, behavioral and self regulation strategies, and functional self care. At ABLE UK, we know you cannot separate emotional development from the physical development of the body. We support your child’s emotional needs throughout the therapeutic process.
Specialities
We work with children with a variety of challenges including:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Sensory Processing Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders/ Attention Deficit Disorders - Emotion Regulation/ Self Regulation Challenges
- Developmental Delays
- Coordination Disorders/ Dyspraxia
- Fine Motor/ Gross Motor (challenges, concerns, delays)
- Dysgraphia and handwriting remediation
- Learning Disabilities/ Difficulties
- Feeding Difficulties (including picky eaters/ problem feeders)
- Birth Injuries
- Down Syndrome
- Cerebral Palsy
Treatment
- Sensory Integration/ sensory based treatment (i.e. proprioceptive awareness, sensory modulation)
- Developing emotion/ self-regulation skills
- Developing play and social skills
- Developing executive function skills (i.e. attention, organization, judgement, coping strategies, awareness)
- Developing gross motor skills such as motor planning/ praxis, balance, coordination, body awareness, and bilateral coordination
- Developing fine motor skills including handwriting and hand strength
- Developing visual perceptual integration skills
- Developing self-care skills
- Helping with challenging behaviors
- Environmental adaptations for home and school settings
How We Can Help You
Our certified therapists will provide a comprehensive evaluation, tailor made treatment plans, and home programs for therapy techniques. We provide one on one treatment, continual support and guidance for family members and caregivers. We will make recommendations for home and school when requested.
Signs Your Child May Benefit From Occupational Therapy
Most parents arrive at occupational therapy because something feels harder for their child than it should be, at school, at the dinner table, or in everyday moments like getting dressed. You do not need a diagnosis to seek an OT assessment, and you do not need to wait until problems become serious. The earlier we identify the underlying reasons, the more effectively we can intervene.
Below are the patterns we most commonly see in children referred to ABLE UK in Dubai. If your child shows several of these, an occupational therapy assessment is a sensible next step:
- Difficulty with handwriting, pencil grip, or using scissors
- Being overly sensitive to sounds, lights, clothing tags, or food textures — or, conversely, seeking out intense sensory input by crashing, spinning, or chewing
- Struggling with balance, coordination, or appearing clumsy for their age
- Trouble sitting still, focusing in class, or following multi-step instructions
- Meltdowns triggered by small changes in routine
- Delays in self-care skills such as dressing, feeding, or toileting
- Avoiding messy play, certain food textures, or physical activities
- Difficulty making friends or managing emotions in social situations
- Late to reach motor milestones such as crawling, walking, or jumping
- Persistent picky eating that limits family meals and outings
If three or more of these sound familiar, our paediatric occupational therapists can help you understand what’s driving them and what to do next.
Sensory Integration Therapy at ABLE UK
Sensory integration is how the brain organises information from touch, movement, balance, hearing, sight, and body awareness, then uses it to respond appropriately to the world. When this process does not work smoothly, children can become overwhelmed, distracted, or disconnected from what is happening around them. The result is often what looks like challenging behaviour, poor focus, or social withdrawal, but the root cause is sensory.
At ABLE UK, our occupational therapists are trained in Ayres Sensory Integration® (ASI), the most thoroughly researched, evidence-based approach to sensory processing difficulties in children. This is distinct from general sensory play. ASI is delivered by qualified therapists in a purpose-built sensory environment, using specialised equipment, with carefully graded “just-right challenges” tailored to each child’s nervous system.
Our sensory gym at Dubai Healthcare City is fitted with suspended swings, climbing walls, ball pits, crash zones, therapeutic platforms, and a full range of tactile and proprioceptive equipment. Every session is play-based but goal-directed: each activity targets a specific sensory or motor system that needs strengthening, regulating, or integrating.
Children typically respond to sensory integration therapy with calmer behaviour at home, better focus at school, improved sleep, more flexible eating, and greater confidence in physical play.
Conditions We Treat
Our paediatric occupational therapists in Dubai work with children from infancy through to the late teens, across a wide range of developmental and clinical profiles:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). OT supports children on the spectrum with sensory regulation, social participation, daily living skills, and emotional self-regulation, often alongside our speech and language therapy and ABA programmes.
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD). We work on attention, impulse control, organisational skills, fine motor stamina, and the sensory components that often accompany ADHD.
- Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). A core specialism at ABLE UK, treated with Ayres Sensory Integration as described above.
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (Dyspraxia). Targeted intervention for motor planning, balance, bilateral coordination, and praxis.
- Fine and Gross Motor Delays. Including hand strength, grasp patterns, scissor skills, ball skills, climbing, and core stability.
- Dysgraphia and Handwriting Difficulties. Structured remediation programmes covering posture, pencil grip, letter formation, spacing, and writing endurance.
- Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy. Functional skill development, postural support, and adaptive strategies, often delivered in coordination with our physiotherapy team.
- Learning Disabilities and Learning Difficulties. Support for the visual-perceptual, motor, and sensory foundations that underpin classroom learning.
- Emotion Regulation and Self-Regulation Challenges. Practical strategies that help children identify, manage, and recover from big feelings.
- Feeding Difficulties and Picky Eating. Sensory-based feeding work, often co-delivered with our paediatric feeding therapy team.
- Birth Injuries and Early Developmental Concerns. Early intervention from infancy where appropriate.
How we assess your child
Every child at ABLE UK begins with a comprehensive assessment, so we can build an accurate picture before any therapy starts. The process unfolds over four steps.
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Standardised assessment
Our OTs use evidence-based tools matched to your child's age, including the Sensory Profile-2, BOT-2, and Beery VMI.
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Clinical observation
We watch your child engage with sensory, motor, and self-care tasks in our therapy gym, revealing patterns tests alone miss.
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Goal setting and plan
We share findings, agree functional goals, and recommend session frequency. You receive a written report and tailor-made plan.
What Happens in an OT Session at ABLE UK
Sessions are one-to-one, last 45 to 60 minutes, and take place in our dedicated paediatric therapy rooms at Dubai Healthcare City or JLT. While each session is individually planned, most follow a similar shape:
- A warm-up to help your child transition into the session and regulate their nervous system
- Targeted sensory or motor work matched to current goals, for example swing-based vestibular activities, deep-pressure proprioceptive input, fine-motor tasks, or visual-motor games
- A “just-right challenge” that stretches a specific skill without overwhelming your child
- A calming, organising activity to bring the session to a settled close
Parents are welcomed into part of every session for handover and home programme guidance. We provide short, achievable activities for you to weave into your week, because what happens between sessions matters just as much as what happens inside the clinic. Where useful, and with your consent, we also liaise directly with your child’s school or nursery so strategies stay consistent across settings.
Why Choose ABLE UK for Occupational Therapy in Dubai
ABLE UK has provided specialist paediatric services since 2014, drawing on more than 25 years of UK clinical heritage. We were among the first multidisciplinary paediatric therapy centres in Dubai Healthcare City, and we remain one of the few clinics in the UAE where occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, applied behaviour analysis, physiotherapy, paediatric feeding therapy, and psychological assessment all sit under one roof.
What this means for your child:
- Ayres Sensory Integration trained occupational therapists delivering evidence-based, internationally recognised intervention
- DHA and DHCC licensed clinicians, with full clinical governance
- Truly multidisciplinary care. Your OT can collaborate directly with your child’s speech therapist, ABA team, or psychologist, with nothing lost between providers
- Two convenient Dubai locations at Dubai Healthcare City and JLT, both metro-accessible
- Family-centred approach with parent training, regular progress reviews, and structured home programmes
- Transparent reporting. Initial assessment report, three-month progress summary, and treatment summary at discharge
- 115+ Google reviews and an “Excellent” rating from Dubai families
We are proud to support the wider community through our partnership with the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower programme and through regular free training events for parents and educators across the UAE.
Frequently Asked Questions
Book an Occupational Therapy Assessment in Dubai
If you have recognised your child in any of the descriptions above, the most useful next step is an assessment with one of our paediatric occupational therapists. You do not need a referral, and you do not need a diagnosis.
Two ways to book:
📞 Call us on 04 552 0351. Our team will discuss your child’s needs and recommend the right specialist.
✉️ Submit the enquiry form on our contact page. We will respond within one working day.
Our locations:
- Dubai Healthcare City. 2nd Floor, Building 33
- JLT. 1605, 16th Floor, Fortune Executive Tower, Cluster T, DMCC
We work with most major UAE insurance providers. Please have your insurance details to hand when you call so we can confirm coverage before your visit.