Occupational therapy is used when someone is having difficulty with simple everyday tasks. It provides support for people whose health, disability or injury makes it difficult for them to accomplish things that they would either like to do, or can’t complete without assistance.
Occupational therapists work with people of any age – including children and older people – to help them participate in their daily activities and to live life to the fullest.
An occupational therapist identifies your strengths and difficulties and helps you work out practical solutions to help you maintain, regain or improve your independence. Those solutions can be either using different techniques, changing your environment or using new equipment.
Our therapists specialise in working with children and adopt a 'sensory integrative' approach to address problems with behaviour, learning and normal daily functioning. Their aim is to help children become as independent as possible, in all areas of their life.
Our therapists are qualified to undertake and advise you on:
Our occupational therapists (OTs):
Marguerite’s work is driven by her desire to make a difference in the lives of the children she works with and to empower parents with a greater understanding of their child’s developmental complexities.
Sophie loves seeing children and their families achieve goals that they once thought may not happen. With a friendly, fun and bubbly personality, Sophie is able to build and create therapeutic relationships very quickly.
Katie believes that Occupational Therapists are professional problem-solvers, and being able to help people problem-solve through difficult situations is extremely rewarding for her. She became an OT because she was enthusiastic about a career that is challenging, creative and involve helping people.
After helping her own mother recover after having a stroke, Jill realised she wanted to help people who are facing adversity to improve their lives. Coupled with her enjoyment in working with children, particularly since having her own, made paediatric Occupational Therapy an obvious choice.
What is Sensory Integration?
We access the world through our seven senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and the two related to movement (vestibular sense and proprioceptive sense)
The vestibular sense is a sophisticated sense in the inner ear that tells us when our bodies are displaced and helps us to orient to movement. The proprioceptive sense provides feedback from muscle movement and joint position, sometimes referred to as the ’body sense’ or ‘body awareness’.
The brain filters, organises and translates the messages from all the senses at any given moment in time. This massive amount of information helps us to focus on what is important while deciding what is unimportant. To behave appropriately and to react according to the demands in the environment, all sensory information sent to the brain needs to be processed and integrated effectively.
Problems with sensory processing and integration create problems in behaviour and in the reaction to demands in the environment. A person can find it difficult to pay attention and to sit still, can be sensitive to textures, can be a picky eater, can enjoy movement excessively or can avoid specific movement.
Poor sensory processing affects many aspects of a person's functioning negatively. Usually it has an emotional component as well and a person might feel insecure, has a poor self image and has issues with socialising and sleeping.
A Sensory Integrative program will address all aspects of sensory processing and work to re-align the integration of the mass of sensory information that is passed to the brain.
We access resources and interventions to ensure the best outcome for each child and family. We believe in:
We provide services under:
A school based group therapy program can be arranged with your child’s school where requested. Group OT sessions are run on the school premises and fit within the school term, and within school hours. This model not only supports working parents who might find it difficult to secure time off to take their child to therapy sessions, but also greatly reduces the student's time out from the classroom and their learning.
Screening assessments are conducted for new referrals where the student's needs are identified and suitability for group therapy is considered. Individual therapy sessions can also be arranged if this is deemed to be more suitable. The following groups are currently offered in our school therapy program:
Our Occupational Therapy team run regular group sessions for different age groups.
All Groups
Please enquire with reception as times for groups may change.
Please check with our reception team for the next scheduled group times.
Handwriting can be challenging for any child starting school. Our handwriting groups utilizes different sensory aids to achieve optimal results and encourage improved handwriting. It is designed by Occupational Therapists and will focus on:
Fine Motor Group
Come and join the fun as we strengthen our fingers and hand muscles with enjoyable activities.
The objective of the group is to increase their finger and hand strength for mastering these activities with confidence.
The group runs for 8 sessions (1 parent session and 7 child sessions)
Teaching Children Self-Regulation Strategies
Children’s alert levels have a direct impact upon a child’s attention abilities and behaviour, the group helps a child to identify their engine levels and develop an understanding of which tools to use to master the right alertness level.
The objectives of the group:
Ages 4-6
Providing children with the essential skills they require to participate successfully within the classroom. Focus on pre-literacy skills, language concepts, listening skills, social-communication, fine motor skills.
These group sessions operate 3 times a year with start dates in July, October and January. Please phone reception on 07 3249 5333 for more information.
Our Occupational Therapy Team run regular educational events for parents and teachers throughout the year.
Teachers and educators can attend our regular events or contact us to arrange for PD events to be presented at their schools or day care centres.
Please call reception on (07) 3249 5333 with information about your needs. One of the OTs will contact your to discuss the options that will fit your group.
Department Hours
Tuesday 12:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Thursday 7:00 am - 4:30 pm
Please check with reception for the times that our Occupational Therapists are working, as hours may vary without notice.
Consultation Fees
NDIS Initial Assessment is $274.11 and includes the report fee.
Health Fund Rebates Applicable
Reports
If you are in need of a report regarding your child, please discuss with your OT. Reports are charged depending on their level of complexity, as follows:
1. Basic Report/Letter - summary and recommendations. $100 + GST
We recommend this option for school and home purposes.
2. Comprehensive Report - background and history, assessment outcomes and discussion and recommendations. $250 + GST
We recommend this option to support Paediatrician visits.
Health Fund Rebates Applicable
FahCSIA Appointments
An administration fee of $10 per consultation will be added to our normal fees to cover the additional administrative requirements of FahCSIA funding.
Early intervention assistance funding
The early intervention funding under the Helping Children with Autism (HCWA) and Better Start Initiative packages are aimed at providing increased access to early intervention for children aged zero to six with an ASD or Downs Syndrome, Fragile X, Cerebral Palsy and Hearing or Visual Impairments. The funding supports the delivery of multidisciplinary evidence based early intervention to facilitate improved cognitive, emotional and social development prior to a child starting school.
To be eligible for the early intervention funding package a child must have received a diagnosis, and have been seen by an Autism or Better Start Advisor and deemed eligible to access the program prior to their sixth birthday. The $12,000 in funding under the early intervention component can be used until the child's seventh birthday to a maximum of $6,000 per financial year.
Funding for these services is accessed via FaHCSIA.
Medicare Rebates
Medicare rebates can be accessed by children under 15 years with the same medical conditions as above, as long they received a diagnosis prior to 13 years of age.
A referral under this plan can either be for assistance with the diagnosis process (up to 4 sessions), or for treatment after receiving diagnosis (up to 20 sessions). Note that these sessions cannot be renewed annually, and can be used for other allied health services as well as OT (with the total number of services not exceeding 4 and/or 20). The sessions are available for children with Autism or a Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD).
Medicare Autism Rebates
|
MBS Item No. |
Key Features |
MBS Scheduled Fee |
MBS Rebate (July 2012) |
|
Occupational therapy service provided to assist the referring practitioner in the diagnosis of the child and/or in the development of the child's PDD plan. The child must be aged under 13 years, and the service must be at least 50 mins in duration. Total of 4 sessions per child. |
$86.30 |
$73.40 |
|
|
Occupational therapy service provided to a child, aged under 15 years (and who was aged under 13 years at the time of receiving their PDD plan) for treatment of their particular condition. The service must be at least 50 mins in duration. Total of 20 sessions per child. |
$86.30 |
$73.40 |
Who can refer
Either an eligible consultant paediatrician or psychiatrist.
Reporting
Your therapist will report to you, your doctor, and other professionals and academic role players in your child's life. Written reports at additional cost of $100 after the initial assessment and written progress reports as necessary, at a cost of $50 - $100.
More Information
On funding for children with autism:
FaHCSIA website
On funding for children eligible under Better Start:
FaHCSIA website
Appointments
If you make an appointment for your child, we recommend 2 appointments of 50min each for assessments and then a feedback session where the outcome of the assessments is discussed with the parents (preferably without the child).
If you are unsure about the way we can help you, you are welcome to make one appointment to discuss your specific needs.
Cancellation Policy
We value your time and your appointment is important to us. As missed appointments may inconvenience other patients, a cancellation fee of a normal consultation for missed appointments and appointments cancelled within 24 hours notice will apply. Please contact us at your earliest opportunity to avoid unnecessary charges.
Contact our Reception team on (07) 3249 5333 for further information.
