KidSkills Pediatric Occupational Therapy, Vancouver ADHD Specialist

KidSkills Pediatric Occupational Therapy, Vancouver ADHD Specialist KidSkills specializes in occupational therapy for children. Serving the Vancouver Lower Ma

Serving the Vancouver Lower Mainland since 2006, KidSkills specializes in occupational therapy assessment and treatment of children between the ages of 3-18. Our guiding philosophy is that adequate and early intervention can be instrumental in providing children the physical and emotional foundation to lead an effective academic and social life. Over the years KidSkills has consistently met and exceeded the expectations of parents seeking to improve their child's quality of life. Unlike other organizations and private practices in the Vancouver Lower Mainland that provide a host of services to a wide array of clients, this clinic exclusively serves children that attend regular preschool and classroom environments but require intervention to help them achieve their potential. The areas typically addressed at KidSkills are:

- Gross Motor skills
- Fine Motor skills
- Visual Motor Coordination
- Visual-Spatial Perception
- Pre-Writing & Handwriting skills
- Organizational skills
- Sensory Processing
- Self-Regulation

Sometimes or often times parents may get frustrated with their kids’ behaviours. I hear it all the time, because parents...
09/08/2025

Sometimes or often times parents may get frustrated with their kids’ behaviours. I hear it all the time, because parents care about their kids and want them to be successful.

However, if parents’ demands of them do not match their abilities, they may get frustrated and discouraged and the parents may get frustrated, constantly repeating their demands, with little or no results.

In this case, parents can ask themselves whether their expectations of their kids have been realistic, and whether their kids’ executive functioning, sensory processing, and self-regulation skills really allow them to carry out the daily tasks parents wished they could do.

If we really look deeper, we may find that many times the reasons behind non-compliance, forgetfulness and meltdowns relate to lagging skills, that need attention and support from us.

Contact us to learn more!

I ran into this old video…Sometimes this happens during the OT treatment 🤓My foot become a foot fidget for my client 😁
09/04/2025

I ran into this old video…
Sometimes this happens during the OT treatment 🤓
My foot become a foot fidget for my client 😁

30-50% of kids with ADHD also have a learning disability. When your child is struggling with some aspects of learning, i...
09/03/2025

30-50% of kids with ADHD also have a learning disability. When your child is struggling with some aspects of learning, it is a good idea to monitor their progress. If it is slow, a psych-ed assessment at the age of eight can indicate whether they have an LD.

Some kids may work hard to mask their LD and by the end of the school day, may feel depleted and their emotional wellbeing may be affected.

It requires caregivers to be vigilant, so that their child can receive just the right challenge at school and can get the validation and emotional support they require.

Some symptoms are:

- Difficulty with spelling, remembering the sounds the letters make, or hearing slight differences between words.

- Challenges with learning the alphabet, rhyming words, or connecting letters to their sounds.

- Difficulty retelling a story in order.

- Having trouble organizing what they want to say ir express their ideas in writing.

- Struggles with understanding what they read.

- Making mistakes when reading loud, and/or repeat and pause.

- Confusing math symbols and misreading numbers.

Each year my past client, a single mom, made sure that all the professionals that had been involved with her child, woul...
09/02/2025

Each year my past client, a single mom, made sure that all the professionals that had been involved with her child, would join in the IEP meeting at her child’s school.

She believed in team work. She strongly believed that her child deserved the best support in order to be and feel successful at school and that his teachers have the best tools and strategies to help him participate and achieve daily goals.
She knew that including all team members is powerful and it makes a high difference.

She did not have much money but she made sure she compensated all the professionals for the time and effort they put into coming to that meeting and giving their professional advice.

From time to time we keep in touch, and that child is doing amazing and constantly making progress, achieving his goals.

So these days, having parent meetings to discuss strategies that can support my clients at school, I tell parents that I will be happy to join in an IEP meeting because I know how powerful it can be in making a difference for their student.

Externalizing worry is a great way to handle anxiety. Kids can learn that it’s predictable that worry shows up; what wor...
08/27/2025

Externalizing worry is a great way to handle anxiety. Kids can learn that it’s predictable that worry shows up; what worry says is also predictable. They can learn to respond to their worry.

Here my client created his Scary Mary worry character and they are learning to talk to their predictable worry when it shows up.

When we let kids stay at home, avoid going to school, avoid staying asleep in their beds and creating a lot of bedtime rituals that take our time and effort, we convey the message that they cannot handle their worry.

If you feel that your child’s worry takes over and bosses the whole family around, it’s a good idea to consult with an anxiety expert as soon as possible.

Kids books are one of my passions, but not every book. The books that I like convey a meaningful message, have great ill...
08/18/2025

Kids books are one of my passions, but not every book. The books that I like convey a meaningful message, have great illustrations and humour.

Mo Willems’ books entail those variables,
so this summer I read the ones I had and added a sticky note about each book’s topics.

Today I’m going to read this one with my client. Of course, we are going to read it together… Of course we will make so@e funny voices.

What’s your favourite kids book?

When I’m thinking about my OT sessions with neurodiverse kids, I’m thinking about so many skills I address in one single...
08/14/2025

When I’m thinking about my OT sessions with neurodiverse kids, I’m thinking about so many skills I address in one single session.

Whether it’s about catering to coordination, sensory processing, executive functioning, social-emotional skills… After all, they are all tied together, and I feel fortunate to have parents who want to learn more what they can do for their kids.

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of creating routines and rituals for our kids during regular days and also dur...
08/14/2025

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of creating routines and rituals for our kids during regular days and also during the summer.

Even if you feel as a parent that you want your child to have more freedom during vacations, routines and rituals provide emotional anchors that give the child a sense of safety, emotional security and strengthen the bonding and connection between the parent and their child.

If vacation was chaotic, start implementing routines and rituals now, for an easy transition into school life.
You can still provide your child freedom within those anchors.

Predictability helps your child feel more in control, reduces anxiety, enhances self-regulation skills and promotes independence.

It’s never too late to start.

OT assessment is an essential step in the OT intervention. It includes information from the child’s caregivers and teach...
08/12/2025

OT assessment is an essential step in the OT intervention. It includes information from the child’s caregivers and teachers, and integration of the assessment findings with that information.

It allows us to understand the child’s functional abilities, barriers to their daily function, strengths, challenges, and helps us create an individualized treatment plan that entails improvement of needed skills, environmental modifications and task adaptations.

We also recommend documentation of the assessment findings.

Even though assessments are not cheap, they are the most important part of the OT intervention.

Kids learn through fun and engaging experiences that help them feel good about themselves and feel successful.Parents ar...
08/08/2025

Kids learn through fun and engaging experiences that help them feel good about themselves and feel successful.

Parents are the change agents. They learn with us.

Contact us to learn more about our OT services and how they can benefit your children.

Response inhibition (impulse control) is the foundational executive function and the first one we practice with our ADHD...
08/07/2025

Response inhibition (impulse control) is the foundational executive function and the first one we practice with our ADHD kiddos.

After all we need to stop a continuous response such as playing or watching TV; stop an automatic response like raising our hand before responding to the teacher’s question and stop interferences such as visual/auditory distraction or being distracted by our thoughts.

When kids learn to pause, they can then learn to check their performance, to plan, manage their emotions, manage their time and organize their belongings.

It’s a process, and they learn it right here, at Kidskills OT, via a fun and play-based intervention that empowers them, strengthens their sense of competence and that gives their caregivers the tools to help them be successful in life.

Contact us to learn more about the Cog-Fun intervention for kids with ADHD.

When a child has an executive dysfunction they may be perceived as lazy and oppositional and may be negatively labeled b...
08/07/2025

When a child has an executive dysfunction they may be perceived as lazy and oppositional and may be negatively labeled by their caregivers and teachers.

We often see that when caregivers with executive dysfunctions do not have strategies to manage themselves, there is much frustration and as a result, this negative labeling is more prevalent, and it may become the child’s self-perception.

We recommend that caregivers who suspect an ADHD diagnosis in themselves and their child will get diagnosed and receive the support they need to manage their life with more self-awareness and self-control. Receiving the right support means that they find strategies that work specifically for their needs and their child’s needs.

If you suspect that your school-aged child has ADHD, consult with us today.

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610 East 21 Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V5V1R7

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