Royal College of Occupational Therapy: Collaborating on their Long Covid Quick Guide

A Meeting of Minds

This week Sammie Mcfarland, Kirsty Stanley and Rox Talbot from Long Covid Kids met with Sally Payne Professional Advisor - Children, Young People and Families from the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) regarding the development of their Quick Guide for occupational therapists working with children and young people with Long Covid.

We contributed to reviewing the draft Quick Guide which had been developed in conjunction with a number of occupational therapists, and in defining the role of Occupational Therapists with this group - as seen here:

Occupational Therapy with Children and Young People with Long Covid

Occupational therapists help children and young people take part in the activities, roles and routines that they need or want to do. Long Covid (or post covid syndrome) can affect any aspect of a young person’s life at home, at school and during their free time.

It is the role of occupational therapists to find out what matters to each young person/family, to understand how they are managing currently and to agree the goals they want to achieve.

Occupational therapists have some good ideas to help children/young people manage their energy levels. They help children and young people make the most of their available energy to look after themselves, continue their learning and connect with friends. Occupational therapists can help children/young people understand their symptoms and the effect these can have on their well-being. We can suggest strategies, equipment and other approaches to help children be as independent as possible. Our aim is to promote children’s recovery and help them lead full and happy lives.

Why the Quick Guide for Occupational Therapists is needed

This Quick Guide is produced in recognition that not all children may have immediate access to the Long Covid Paediatric Hubs but may see occupational therapists in other services who perhaps have not had specialist training in supporting those with Long Covid. Some places where children and young people may work with occupational therapists are hospital inpatients, Child Development Centres, within General Practice, in specialist ME/CFS services or when presenting to CAHMS - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

The guide, which has had further revisions based on our input, now has to go through a process of internal review within the Royal College with the eventual aim of publication on their website alongside an overview of the guide in the professional membership magazine OT News. Once the finished Quick Guide has been published we will add it to our resources/recovery page for your reference, and you may choose to highlight it to occupational therapy staff working with your children.

Our contribution

The guide now outlines a definition of Long Covid using WHO’s recent consensus definition but with recognition that Long Covid in children has not yet been separately defined by consensus although this is something the CLoCk study aims to do. Using observations of our members, our own research, global research and case studies we helped expand on some of the common symptom clusters and supported the summary of the types of assessments and interventions that occupational therapists can use in this area alongside the precautions they need to be aware of. Notably we supported the inclusion of a screening for PEM, highlighted the importance of providing a focus on occupations for enjoyment and discussed that a return to education rather than a return to school may be needed for children that are in early stages of recovery.

A similar guide is also being developed for occupational therapists working with adults.

Earlier in the pandemic RCOT developed some self management guides on managing post viral fatigue that they will be reviewing and considering producing a revised version aimed at children and young people. You can find these here.

LongCovidKids.org is a patient-led advocacy and support organisation led by Sammie Mcfarland for families of children living with Long Covid. Our story started with a short film on the long-lasting symptoms of Covid in children.

We are supporting research with The Long Covid Kids Study with PeopleWith

Each Sunday we send out a newsletter providing a weekly round-up of statistics, the latest reports in the media, current research, and LCK news. Read previous issues and SIGN UP

Please donate to help us keep raising awareness, LCK is run by volunteers. Your support enables us to run the website and campaign for change.

If your child experiences any symptoms that indicate they are unwell, it COULD be COVID-19, and you should get them a test to help identify if it is a current Covid infection. Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.