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):
Fees
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.
Ashley always wanted a career in Health and felt Occupational Therapy really aligned with her desire to support people, empower them and make a positive impact on their lives. She thrives on being able to help her clients participate in activities they thought were too challenging. When working with children, Ashley loves seeing families have better quality time together and leave parents feeling more confident about the future.
Clare loves watching and hearing families grow and connect through their enhanced understanding of difficulties or disabilities, and therefore obtaining joint goals. She is passionate about her role as an OT, feeling privileged to help young people and their families to reach their potential.
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:
Department Hours
Monday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Tuesday 7:00am - 6:30pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 6:00pm
Thursday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Friday 7:30am - 2:30pm
Saturday 8:00am - 2:30pm
Please check with reception for the times that our Occupational Therapists are working, as hours may vary without notice.
Consultation Fees
Health Fund Rebates Applicable.
NDIS
At Tyack Health we are registered providers under NDIS. We offer NDIS services under Therapeutic supports for children and families. We can accept families who are self, plan or agency managed. NDIS appointments are charged in line with the NDIS price guide. For more information see https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/price-guides-and-pricing#ndis-price-guide-2020-21
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.
Medicare
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). Referral under this program will need to be from and eligible consultant Paediatrician or Psychiatrist.
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.
