Thriving Kids London Pediatrics

Heather Harris is the owner and founder of Thriving Kids London Pediatrics and is a registered Occupational Therapist (OT) practicing in London, Ontario. Her therapy offices are located at the Nixon Medical Clinic in the South end of London Ontario and this is her third year of owing her private practice. She has a team of occupational therapists and sees children and youth from birth to 18 years old. In addition, she has launched Thriving Adults London which will serve to help parents and adults both in clinic and in community.

She completed her Masters of Occupational Therapy degree in 2009 from McMaster University in Hamilton, ON and has been working as an Occupational Therapist for the past 17 years with children, youth, as well as adults. She has worked both in hospitals and in community settings in various practice areas for occupational therapy. Her passion throughout her career has been to work with children and youth with various conditions including sensory processing disorders, autism, ADHD, fine motor and gross motor difficulties, learning disabilities, behavioural challenges, emotional and mental health difficulties, and the list goes on. She also has worked with children and youth who have difficulties in performing their daily activities of living (ADLs) including dressing, toileting, bathing, and grooming.

She has dedicated her life to learning more about child and youth development, developmental milestones, neurodiversity, as well as taken courses and additional education over the years as an occupational therapist on best-practice and therapy for children and youth with special needs from various areas including Toronto, Waterloo, and London. These courses have helped Heather to have additional knowledge and skills to be able to work in pediatric occupational therapy practice. Heather has also worked over the past 17 years in London, ON providing services for children and youth (birth to 18) through in-home, community, schools, and she previously worked at a children’s rehabilitation centre in London, ON where she learned additional skills in solution-focused therapy and individualized direct as well as consultative services.

Heather supports both children/youth and their families to build foundational life skills needed to carry out their daily meaningful activities (also known as their daily occupations). She believes in a holistic approach and focuses on the whole child, their unique strengths and talents, as well as their abilities. She tailors her therapy depending on what the child and family needs are. She focuses on enabling independence through providing assessment and therapy with the goal of improving quality of life, participation, and productivity. She believes that children/youth learn through hands-on activities and play-based. Child-led and youth-led therapy is also a major focus of the care she provides. She loves working with children and youth and continues to pursue helping one child, one family, and one community at a time. She also believes that early occupational therapy assessment and intervention in the early years is key and would like to help families who would otherwise be on waitlists for receiving services.

She is also recognized as the London Consumer Choice for Occupational Therapy and has been invited to speak at a global Autism summit. She also teaches a Pediatric Simulation Course at Western University and believes in taking on students each year to help younger generations in learning more about the profession. She is an advocate for collaboration with others and is well known around the community for her commitment and involvement in helping advocate for children and their families and to help improve upon accessibility and accommodations for all.