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ATLAS Training offers a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary service to our families. Our services are family directed, meaning that the family is the centre of our service and determines in what way the service will be structured and which aims will be addressed. We also focus on evidence-based practice, which means we use techniques that are researched and reviewed by the International therapeutic community. This allows us to offer you, our families, a service which is comprehensive, holistic, and of excellent value that is aimed to meet your needs not ours.

We believe that the premise behind learning is FUN! A child-friendly and very stimulating environment welcomes and hosts your child for his/her therapy session. Various toys, equipment and games are available for therapy. ATLAS Training uses primarily individual therapy to ensure that each session is uniquely tailored to each child. Each session is planned in advance specifically for each child and using family-directed goals as the guidelines for treatment.

While this is a great benefit to the children (and their families), this can often be confusing for parents to determine what service will best meet their child’s needs. We’ve designed this handy page to show you how we provide solutions to common problems.

Our Specialisations

1

Psychology


Psychology focuses on a child’s mind, through the eyes of their behaviour. Psychologists explore a child’s emotional well-being and their intellectual strengths and challenges, with a view to providing direct intervention and/or support for families and schools.

2Speech & Language Therapy

Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) aims to aid children who have difficulties with speech, language & communication. SLT’s assess and provide intervention for children who have difficulty with either speech (e.g. pronunciation), language (understanding and expressing) or communication.

3

Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy (OT) aims to improve a child’s ability to be part of his family, school and social communities through assessing and improving their skills in areas that impact on their development and participation.

4

Play Therapy


Play Therapy is a treatment modality that supports the emotional well-being of children through the use of expressive arts. The Play Therapist, enables children to resolve emotional distress and build self-esteem.

Our unique approach

Speech and Occupational Therapy Session

As a trans-disciplinary practice, we aim to help the WHOLE child be a part of his WHOLE community, from his family, school, friends and out-and-about. Our team of very experienced therapists and facilitators work together in a unique way to help each child and their family

 

Our Services

All our services are aimed at improving children's ability to manage everyday tasks, whether they are getting dressed, playing or reading and writing...

Assessment

We use a variety of assessments to determine where a child’s strengths and weaknesses lie. An initial consultation costs just €50. Book one now to discuss your child’s progress with one of our experienced team members.

    Assessment time and costs vary depending on the needs of the child, but this is discussed in detail with parents before assessment begins.

    • Comprehensive Assessments

ATLAS training offers assessment of many skills such as sensory processing, language, motor skills, and perceptual skills. All of these skills are assessed in the context of the child's participation in his daily life activities, such as schoolwork, mixing with his peers, managing tasks at home and playing. Our assessments are individualised depending on areas of concern, drawing from a variety of specialisations such as psychology, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy etc. Attention is given to areas of concern such as:

          • • Behaviour/Emotional wellbeing
          • • Attention
          • • Sensory Processing
          • • Intellectual strengths & challenges
          • • Language
          • • Speech
          • • Motor skills
          • • Academics
          • • Social skills

        • School Assessments
        Having done paediatric assessments for schools since 2003, ATLAS Training is experienced at working with the department of education and skills (DES) and is knowledgeable in what accommodations are available or possible.

        Our assessments are based on information from a wide variety of resources where possible, including direct, standardised assessment of the student, detailed feedback from parents/caregivers and information from teachers. Each assessment is tailored to the needs of the student and we use research-driven, updated and standardised assessments to draw our findings and recommendations.

        Atlas Training provides comprehensive school reports with recommendations for resource teaching / computers etc...

      Click Here for full details.
Consultation

ATLAS Training offers an initial consultation for all parents, whether you would like to continue on to assessment / treatment or not. This initial consultation, which we call our “Intake Interview” only costs €50 and is a perfect opportunity for parents to talk through their child’s challenges and to determine whether services are really warranted (and in what format).

Further consultation services are ideal for supporting parent issues at home or teacher concerns at school. From managing a child’s behaviour to developing a child’s skills, consultation sessions with one of our therapists can help parents and teachers develop the tools to support children.

Medico-Legal

ATLAS Training has extensive experience in offering reports for medico-legal cases or representing clients at meetings and/or in court. Please contact us for more details

Supervision

Catherine Milford, an experienced occupational therapist and psychologist, offers supervision for occupational therapists working in paediatric posts. Catherine has been supervising junior and senior occupational therapists since 2003 and has been working with children in various capacities since 1995. Catherine qualified as an occupational therapist in South Africa, and had her degree validated in Ireland in early 2002, following which she worked for the then Northern Area Health Board for nearly 2 years. She has since been working as an occupational therapist and therapeutic manager in a private capacity in a large, trans-disciplinary clinic in Dublin. Catherine completed a Master’s in Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Trinity College, Dublin, in 2008, with a thesis topic of “Exploring the Impact of Dyspraxia/DCD on the Adolescent’s Occupational Participation”. In additional to her occupational therapy studies, Catherine is a psychologist with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from South Africa and a Post-graduate diploma in psychology from the Open University in the UK. She is a member of AOTI, BPS and PSI.

Catherine has had the unique and valuable opportunity of being mentored by Dr Lucy Jane Miller, founder and head of Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation in Colorado, USA. She is also certified in/has certificates in Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests, Therapeutic Listening®, Interactive Metronome™, Theraplay® and DIR/Floortime™.

Catherine has experience working with children with a variety of developmental difficulties/disorders, including ADD/ADHD, Asperger’s Disorder, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, down’s syndrome, dyspraxia/developmental coordination disorder, foetal alcohol syndrome, fragile-X, prada-willi’s syndrome, sensory processing disorder, specific learning difficulties, spina-bifida and many more.

Supervision with Catherine can take many forms, from direct supervision on-site in Swords, Co Dublin, to online supervision through emails and Skype video conferences. Typically, supervision includes support for case management, support for individual client issues, training and ongoing learning, direct in-service training, and support for parent/teacher consultations.

As a member of AOTI and CORU, supervision sessions with Catherine Milford contributes to ongoing yearly CPD point requirements.

Training / Support

  • ATLAS Training has years of experience offering support for people who live with or work with children or adolescents with dyspraxia. These courses are designed for parents, teachers, special need assistants and others. We provide courses both during and after hours and can even offer courses at a location of your choice. Below is a list of some courses that ATLAS Training offers. Click on each title to see a synopsis of the course content. (Note: ATLAS Training is able to tailor our courses to meet individual needs. Feel free to Contact us for more details if you have any unique needs.)

  • Monthly Parent Support Groups

    Workshops for parents covering a variety of topics, including:

    • Sensory Processing

    • Coping with Behaviour

    • Coping at Homework Time

    • Dyspraxia

    Workshops/Courses for teachers/special needs assistants covering a variety of topics, including: (Click here for full course details )

    • Promoting behaviour in the classroom

    • Sensory Processing

    • Sensory Processing in Autism

    • Handwriting

    • Dyspraxia
Treatment

Treatment is the vehicle for change! ATLAS training offers a unique approach to treatment, incorporating the skills of all staff members into each child's treatment plan. Thus, treatment is comprehensive and holistic, without extra expense for the parents. Our approach, known as a trans-disciplinary approach, involves all therapists collaborating and sharing their expertise. Thus, using a team approach at ATLAS Training, we can help children build on their skills as well as underlying factors, all under one roof, in an integrated programme.

Our Skills

Our staff have experience and training in a variety of skills, including the following:

• Sensory Integration

• Neurodevelopmental Therapy

• Interactive Metronome®

• Therapeutic Listening®

• Sign Language (IAMH & Irish Sign Language)

• Perceptual Motor Therapy

• PECS™ (Picture Exchange Communication System)

• DIR / Floortime™

• Theraplay®

• CPR-T / Filial Play

Our focus is on providing our families with a service that is goal-directed, i.e. driven by the priorities and goals of the parents, teachers and, if possible, of the children themselves. The aim of treatment is to give children the opportunity to participate in their world in a more successful way. Here are the key elements of our treatment programmes:
Family Centred :

The family is the most important part of a child’s life, and a child is often the centre of a family. Because the family is the child’s advocate and because of the impact of a child’s difficulties on the family, families play the most important role in our programmes. As a parent, you will be asked to set the goals and directions of therapy, be your child’s advocate, act as a link between different environments (such as therapies, schools, clubs) and be your child’s facilitator outside of therapy. Our role is to guide and support you through this process.
Evidence Based: : By basing our therapies on the latest research, we can ensure that our treatments are likely to have the best success. Our therapists frequently attend courses and spend valuable time reading journals and keeping up with what’s happening in the greater occupational therapy communities.
Team Approach : Our unique integrated trans-disciplinary approach means our children benefit from the skills and experience of many different therapists. Many children with motor or sensory difficulties have other areas of concern, either as a direct consequent of their difficulties or because of an underlying disorder which results in multiple difficulties. For example, difficulty playing familiar children’s sports, such as football may result in children withdrawing from social situations and having difficulty developing appropriate social skills. It may (and often does) result in children developing low self-esteem and poor knowledge of themselves. Our integrated model means that each therapist shares skills with the person who is directly treating the child, resulting in the child’s (and family’s) service being more holistic and addressing more than just the motor or sensory difficulties. Thus the children benefit from aspects of occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, play therapy and many more, all within the same session!
Specialist Skills: All of our staff have undergone extensive training in their specific areas. Our staff consider on-going learning to be a vital part of their role and are committed to offering the best service to our families. Through our unique trans-disciplinary practice model, our staff share these specialist skills with each other, thus expanding the skills your family benefits from.
FUN : The key to the brain’s ability to change (a process called neuro-plasticity) is motivation, and nothing is more motivating to a child than having fun. Our one-of-a-kind therapy jungle is stimulating, creative and motivating and our therapists inspire the children to participate and develop.

 

ATLAS Training uses primarily individual therapy to ensure that each session is uniquely tailored to each child. Each session is planned in advance specifically for each child and using family-directed goals as the guidelines for treatment. However, where applicable we will use other forms of treatment such as:

• Individual Treatment - Our primary tool for intervention is individual treatment which targets the specific goals of each child/family. Individual therapy allows the therapist to spend time planning each session to target the unique interests and challenges of each child.

• Group Treatment - In some situations, group treatment can be beneficial for a child. Some examples include social skills and adolescent groups for self-esteem and life skills.

• Intensive Treatment - For some families, intensive treatments offer a viable solution. These treatment can boost skills over a shorter period of time and may be useful for families who live further away or for children who cannot attend regular therapy because of other commitments.

• School-Success Programmes- These unique programmes are specifically designed to develop the necessary skills for academic success. Click Here for more details.