An occupational therapy home programme format that fits OT activities into daily routines, with example entries and a weekly log.
✓Built around routines, not exercises
✓Plain words for any carer
✓Weekly log to bring back
Free · No sign-up · Saves in your browser
What's inside
What We Are Working On
Activities Built Into Daily Routines
Set-up and Equipment at Home
How to Help Without Doing It for Them
Weekly Log
Questions or Observations for the Therapist
Preview · 6 sections
Occupational Therapy Home Programme
Child / client
Date given
Therapist
Review date
Main carers at home
Languages at home
What We Are Working On
This month's focusOne or two sentences in everyday words.
Activities Built Into Daily Routines
Routine
Activity
How to Do It
How Much Help to Give
How Often
Getting dressed
Mealtime
Play time
Homework or table time
Bath or bedtime
Set-up and Equipment at Home
Seating, tools, and materials
How to Help Without Doing It for Them
☐ Wait a few seconds before helping
☐ Show once, then let your child try
☐ Give only as much help as needed, and help a little less each week
☐ Stop while it is still going well
☐ Tell the therapist what helped and what did not
Weekly Log
Day
Activity
Done?
What You Noticed
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Questions or Observations for the Therapist
Questions or observations
How to fill it in
1
What We Are Working On
One or two everyday sentences on what this month's practice is for.
More guidance
In one or two sentences of everyday language, tell the family what this month's programme is for. Leave out therapy terms. Link it to the family's own priority so they can see why the practice matters.
2
Activities Built Into Daily Routines
One row per routine: activity, simple steps, how much help, and how often.
More guidance
Use one row per routine: the routine, the activity, step-by-step instructions, how much help to give and how often. Choose activities you have already tried with the child in session and that need only household materials. Three to five rows is plenty; a short programme is easier to keep up.
3
Set-up and Equipment at Home
How to arrange seating, table and tools, using things the family already owns.
More guidance
Describe how to arrange the space and any equipment: chair and table height, a footrest, a pencil grip, a non-slip mat, where materials are kept. Suggest things the family already owns or can buy nearby. If the family eats or plays on the floor, write the set-up for the floor.
4
How to Help Without Doing It for Them
Adapt the carer reminders to this child and talk them through in person.
More guidance
The checklist holds general reminders for carers. Adapt the items to this child and add one or two that fit the family's routines. Talk them through in person when you hand over the programme, since a demonstration lands better than a printed line.
5
Weekly Log
A quick tick and a few words for each day's practice.
More guidance
Ask the family to tick what they did and write a few words on how it went. It should take under a minute to fill in. Ask them to bring it to the next session or send a photo of it, and go through it with them each time.
6
Questions or Observations for the Therapist
Space for the family's questions, worries and small wins between sessions.
More guidance
Leave space for questions, worries and small wins, and read it at the start of each session. Families often write things here that they would not raise in a busy waiting room.
Occupational therapy home programme with examples: filled sample
Fictional entries, initials only, showing the level of detail to aim for. Impression and summary sections are left for the treating clinician.
What We Are Working On
This month we are helping R. get dressed for school with less help, and hold her pencil for longer during homework.
Activities Built Into Daily Routines
Getting dressed: R. pulls up her own socks. Hold the sock open at the heel and let her pull it the rest of the way. Help a little less each week. Every school morning.
Set-up and Equipment at Home
For homework, use the dining chair with a steel tin under her feet so her knees bend at a right angle. Keep the pencil grip in her pencil box.
How to Help Without Doing It for Them
Added for R.: count to five before helping with buttons; let her choose which sock goes on first.
Weekly Log
Tue: socks, both alone, slow. Thu: skipped, she was unwell. Sat: cut beans with me using the blunt knife, enjoyed it.
Questions or Observations for the Therapist
She gets very upset when the pencil tip breaks. Can she use a crayon instead on some days?
OT home programme vs physiotherapy home exercise programme
OT home programme
Physiotherapy home exercise programme
Built around
Daily routines and activities
Specific exercises
Amount
How often within a routine
Sets, repetitions and hold times
Carried out by
Parents, grandparents, helpers or teachers
Usually the client, or a carer for a child
Success looks like
The routine goes more smoothly with less help
Exercises done as shown, with symptoms monitored
Log records
What happened and what the family noticed
Done or not done, pain and effort
Tips and mistakes to avoid
Do
Demonstrate each activity to the person who will do it at home.
Write short numbered steps and, with consent, add a photo of the set-up.
If you send the PDF on WhatsApp, check it reads well on the family's phone.
Respect household practice: if the child eats with their hand, support that.
Refresh the programme every few weeks so stale activities drop off.
Avoid
More activities than any family could fit into a weekday.
Therapy terms like 'proprioceptive input' with no explanation.
Activities the child has never tried in session.
Ignoring the weekly log, which tells the family it does not matter.
About this home programme
An occupational therapy home programme (home program, in US spelling) gives parents and carers a short set of activities chosen by the OT and fitted into everyday routines such as dressing, meals, play and homework. This free template has a routine-based activity table, a 'how much help' column, a set-up section and a weekly log to bring to sessions.
After the treatment plan, for first home activities
Before school holidays or a family trip
When grandparents or a helper run daily routines
Adults practising daily tasks between sessions
Read more
A child spends an hour or two a week in therapy and the rest of the week at home and school. The home programme shows the family what to practise, where and how.
Each row starts with a routine the family already has, such as dressing or meals, and adds one activity. The OT writes it in the family's language and reviews it at each visit.
Questions
What is an occupational therapy home program?+
A short written set of activities an occupational therapist gives a family to practise between sessions. 'Program' is the US spelling; India and the UK use 'programme'.
What OT activities can parents do at home?+
That depends on the child's goals and should come from their OT. Typical examples are dressing steps in the morning, rolling dough at mealtimes and cutting during homework time.
How long should home practice take each day?+
Short and regular is easier to keep up. Activities inside existing routines may add only a few minutes; ask the OT how often each one should be done.
What if my child refuses an activity?+
Stop, note it in the log and tell the therapist, who may change the activity, the timing or the approach. Practice should not be forced.
Is a home programme the same as a sensory diet?+
No. A sensory diet schedules sensory and movement activities through the day. A home programme covers wider goals such as dressing and hand skills. Some children have both.
Is there a filled sample of this home programme?+
Yes. Each section guide shows a fictional example entry, initials only, such as a dressing activity row and a week of log notes. Use only activities your child's OT has chosen.
Who should the home programme be written for?+
The adult who will actually do the activities, often a grandparent, older sibling or helper as well as the parents. Write for the person with the least therapy knowledge.
