As part of a multidisciplinary service, the OT will work with the important people in your child’s life (for example family, teachers and other therapists) to share goals, progress and strategies. Our OTs can also provide opportunities to link in with other members of our expert team if the need arises.

Your child may benefit from Occupational Therapy if they have difficulty with functional skills that underpin their ability to learn, play, socialise, manage emotions, and complete daily routines.

By working together, we can gain a better understanding of your child’s strengths and challenges, and provide them with consistency so that progress can be achieved beyond the therapy setting

The OT can work with you and your family, to support your child to build new skills and develop strategies for the following:

• Fine motor skills involve the refined coordination of smaller muscles in the body, such as those in the hands and fingers, and are essential for your child’s independence with self-care (e.g. fastening buttons, using cutlery) and learning (e.g. drawing/writing, cutting).
• Gross motor skills involve the use of larger muscles in the body, such as those in our torso and limbs, and are important for whole body activities such as running, climbing, ball games and seated posture.
• Sensory processing is the foundational way in which your child receives, processes and responds to information from their sensory environment (e.g. touch, sight, sound, taste, smell, movement).
• Executive functioning enables your child to manage their thoughts, emotions and actions as they plan and perform daily activities.
• Self-care involves a number of essential tasks in your child’s daily routine, such as toileting, dressing, eating and sleeping.
• Social skills are important for relating and communicating meaningfully with others. These skills involve appropriate use and understanding of verbal and non-verbal cues, such as spoken/written language, facial expression and whole body gestures.
• Play is an important part of your child’s learning, development and socialisation. It provides a meaningful platform through which your child learns to plan and sequence activities, interact with others, and acquire important life skills across all areas of development.
• Self Regulation refers to a child’s ability to manage their emotional and physiological responses to various situations throughout their day. This skill helps children maintain appropriate levels of focus, behaviour, and emotional control, enabling them to engage more effectively in daily activities and interactions.

Student-led Service Fees

Appointments are typically 45 minutes to 1 hour in length. All appointments are clinic-based or via telehealth. We are unable to provide school and home-based services.

2024 Service Dates and Schedule:

Commencing weekly from Monday 5^th February until Friday 22^nd November

Services will not run between the following dates:

8^th April to 26^th April

1^st July to 12^th July

City West: Monday, Tuesday and Friday mornings (this service and the waitlist is currently at capacity so we are unable to accept new patients. Apologies for the inconvenience).

Elizabeth: Student-led services are not currently available. Contact us to be added to a waitlist and we will notify you when appointments are open.

2025 service dates are TBC

The Occupational Therapy service provides tailored programs which are centred around the persons goals and can include:

• Education on strategies to assist with everyday function and activities
• Assessment and therapy to improve upper limb strength and movement
• Assessment and therapy for any difficulties with memory, concentration and thinking skills
• Upper limb therapy to improve sense of touch – including discrimination of different textures and recognising objects by touch.
• Assessment of any changes to vision and therapy to assist with using vision more effectively to manage daily tasks.

Student-led Service Fees

Appointments are typically 45 minutes to 1 hour in length.

Student-led Service Schedule 2024

Commencing weekly from Monday 26^th February until Friday 22^nd November

Services will not run between the following dates:

8^th April to 26^th April

1^st July to 12^th July

16^th September to 23^rd September

City West: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Appointment times vary.

Elizabeth: Thursdays. Appointment availability is limited. Please contact the clinic to enquire.

Service dates for 2025 are TBC

• Functional assessments to assess an individual in terms of their specific physical or mental health difficulties, to achieve independence in the activities which are important to them.
• Sensory modulation and intervention as when we make sense of our sensory information that we receive from the environment and our own body allows us to learn and behave in appropriate ways, as well as allowing individuals to self-regulate in ways that are self-directed and empowering.
• Cognitive function assessments to assess functional cognition which specifically looks at how people apply cognitive strategies to any needed or desired everyday task or routine. It also identifies predictable patterns of motor and verbal skills, social behaviour, self-awareness and recognising the link between brain function and task behaviour

Adaptive Mentalization Based Integration treatment (AMBIT) by the Anna Freud Institute.

AMBIT is an approach for helping people who have multiple needs and who may have reasons to find it difficult to trust in helping services. It is based around the core theory and practices of Mentalization. Mentalizing is the capacity for making sense of behaviour by considering the mind that is driving the behaviour.

Psychosocial rehabilitation:

• Life skills in managing everyday tasks and the prevention of relapse such as goal setting, routine planning, graded routines, purposeful use of time, budgeting, community access and personal self-care.
• Behavioural activation helps us understand how behaviours influence emotions.
• Leisure and recreation skills to provide opportunities to engage in a range of activities to develop interests.
• Social skills to provide increased confidence to relate to others effectively in a range of settings.

Student-led Service Fees

Appointments are typically 45 minutes to 1 hour in length.

Student-led Service Schedule 2024

Commencing weekly from Monday 26^th August until Friday 22^nd November

Elizabeth: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Appointment availability is limited. Please contact the clinic to enquire.

Services will recommence in February 2025.

What is the difference between student-led and clinician led services?
There is obviously a cost difference between these two services, but in terms of service provision, student-led OT sessions are run by final year OT student(s) under the supervision of an experienced registered Occupational Therapist. Clinician-led services are run by a registered Occupational Therapist and involvement of OT students is up to the discretion of the client.

Do you provide diagnostic assessments?
No

From what age do you provide therapy services to children?
We can offer occupational therapy services to children of all ages. For children under 8 years of age, sessions will likely involve working closely with the parent/s or guardian and parents are encouraged to be present for each session.

Please note that all initial appointments for children under the age of 14 will be attended by the parent/s or guardian without the child. This allows parents and guardians to openly discuss their concerns and share any sensitive information with the OT student, without the child present.

Can I work with the same OT student(s) each time?
We aim to provide continuity of care wherever possible; however, OT students typically have 9 week placements. Depending on when you start within an OT student’s placement, you may have the same OT student throughout your “block” of therapy or be transferred to another one.

How much experience will my OT student have?
All student’s working in our OT clinic are in the final year of their degree and are in either their last or second last clinical placement. Student experience with your, (or your child’s) specific issue will vary. All students at the clinic practice under the supervision of an experienced registered Occupational Therapist.

What is the frequency of therapy sessions?
This is managed on a case by case basis, but for student-led services we usually recommend an initial “block” of 5 weekly sessions (each session occurring for 45 minutes)

Do you only provide services in the clinic, or do you also do home visits or school visits?
We do not conduct therapy sessions off site. We are a clinic-based service; our sessions will generally occur face to face at our clinic. We can facilitate telehealth appointments and can infrequently conduct school-observation assessments, but all service provision occurs within the clinic.