Practice guidance

Quick guides

Diagnosis of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in children and adults

This short guide will be of interest to occupational therapists, other members of the multidisciplinary team and service commissioners. 

Members of the public seeking an assessment or diagnosis of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) for themselves, or a family member may also be interested.

Quick guide - Diagnosis of developmental coordination disorder in children and adults (PDF, 176.45KB)

Long Covid – children and young people

We’ve developed two quick guides outlining the unique role of occupational therapists in supporting adults, children and young people to manage and recover from Long Covid. 

They were written for OTs working in specialist Long Covid services and in other acute, primary, secondary and community settings. 

They will also be useful for service managers and commissioners responsible for planning and delivering specialist Long Covid services, and for parents, carers and families of people affected by Long Covid.  

Guides and other relevant information 

Occupational therapy and play practice guideline

Our occupational therapy and play practice guideline provides recommendations based on high-quality research evidence. 

It supports occupational therapists’ use of play in assessment and intervention, and to evaluate play participation as a meaningful occupational therapy goal or outcome for the child or young person. 

Occupational Therapy and Play Practice Guideline

Evidence summaries

These evidence summaries were written by members of an OT community of practice known as Mind The Gap. They offer a pragmatic overview and practical insight into the evidence for a particular intervention. Occupational therapists are encouraged to: 

• Read the documents to establish if they are relevant to their practice.  
• Consider – and celebrate - elements that are already being done.  
• Identify changes to improve practice/service based on the evidence summary. 
• Identify barriers to implementation and consider how to address them. 
• Develop an action plan to implement change. 
• Use the audit tool (where available) to monitor the impact of the change.