Children's Therapy Services

What is Speech Pathology?
Speech pathology plays a vital role in helping children develop essential communication skills, addressing challenges that may impact their ability to connect with others. Whether a child has speech or language delays, articulation concerns, or struggles with reading and writing, therapy provides them with tools to express themselves confidently.

How can a Speech Pathologist help?
Speech pathologists use tailored strategies to target each child’s unique needs, working closely with parents to identify challenges and set achievable goals. They may focus on vocabulary development, grammar, speech pronunciation, stuttering, or social language use.

What is Occupational Therapy?
Whether it’s feeding, dressing, using the toilet, or participating in school and play, Occupational Therapy focuses on empowering children to thrive in their environments. It addresses a wide range of skills, including fine motor abilities like holding a pencil, tying shoelaces, or using scissors, and gross motor skills like crawling, walking, climbing, and balance. Additionally, social skills such as sharing, turn-taking, and classroom behaviour are key areas of focus.

How can an Occupational Therapist help?
Before developing a plan, an Occupational Therapist assesses the child’s development and identifies the areas that may require support. By using activities that follow the child’s interests, therapists create a natural and enjoyable way to encourage development while ensuring the skills learned are transferable across all environments.

What is my role as a parent or caregiver?
Parents and caregivers are central to the process, as their involvement can significantly boost a child’s progress. Occupational therapists collaborate closely with them, providing explanations for each activity and demonstrating how it strengthens specific skills. 

What is Psychology?
Psychology services provide targeted support for children who may face challenges in managing the demands of daily life. By offering formal assessments of cognitive, adaptive, and behavioural skills, psychologists help families gain a clearer understanding of their child’s unique learning profile, creating a foundation for effective strategies and goal setting.

What is the role of a Psychologist?
Psychologists address a wide range of developmental goals, including emotional regulation, social skills, self-understanding and behavioural management. Anxiety, mood, and communication skills are also addressed. The aim is to equip children with the tools they need to feel confident and capable in their environments, whether at home, in school, or within the community.

What can I expect in a typical Psychology session?
During a session, children engage in learning and practicing targeted skills, while parents and caregivers receive education and guidance to support progress outside of structured sessions. Psychologists may also collaborate with other professionals involved in the child’s care to ensure a coordinated and holistic approach to development.

What is Music Therapy?
Music Therapy is a dynamic and engaging approach to support children in developing essential skills. Music is a unique tool that stimulates and activates many areas of the brain, promoting healthy development in functions such as listening, speech, attention, memory, and emotional regulation. By incorporating musical instruments and activities, Music Therapy also helps children strengthen fine and gross motor skills, improve coordination, and build confidence through participation.

What can Music Therapy help with?
This therapy can address a wide range of non-music-related goals, using music as a motivator to achieve them. It can support motor skill development, enhance communication and listening abilities, improve attention spans and memory, assist with transitions and routines, and encourage emotional regulation. Tailored to a child’s specific needs, therapists create a motivating environment where each session feels purposeful and fun.

What can I expect from a typical Music Therapy session?
Music Therapy sessions can occur in individual or group formats, offering flexibility based on the child’s preferences and goals. Activities might include playing percussion instruments, singing songs, or engaging in movement exercises.

What is the role of a Physiotherapist?
Our physiotherapists use fun, engaging, and play-based activities to motivate children and make each session enjoyable. By targeting gross motor development, we create strategies and activities that not only focus on movement but also align with other developmental goals, providing a holistic approach to support your child’s growth.

We work with babies and children who may face challenges with physical strength, coordination, or range of movement. Whether it’s achieving milestones such as rolling, crawling, walking, and running, or addressing specific concerns like posture, balance, toe-walking, endurance, or positional head and neck issues in babies, our tailored sessions are designed to meet your child’s unique needs.

What can I expect in a typical Physiotherapy session?
Sessions are carefully crafted to incorporate play, as we know that children learn best when they’re having fun. Activities are personalised to reflect your child’s interests, turning therapy into an enjoyable experience. For example, a favourite game might be adapted to encourage strength or balance, making progress feel like play. Regular re-assessments ensure milestones are being met, and adjustments are made to the plan as needed.

What is Play Therapy?
For many children, verbalising complex feelings or thoughts is challenging. Play Therapy creates a safe and supportive space where play becomes their voice and toys become their words. By engaging in self-initiated, spontaneous play, children can communicate at their own pace, gaining a deeper understanding of feelings, experiences, or upsetting events. Additionally, Play Therapy helps teach essential play skills to children who may struggle to develop them independently, enabling more meaningful and age-appropriate engagement with peers.

What are the benefits of Play Therapy?
This therapeutic approach has shown significant benefits in improving both internalising behaviours, like withdrawal or worry, and externalising behaviours, such as aggression. It can also positively impact areas like self-esteem, academic outcomes, and relationship skills while addressing conditions like ADHD and autism. Each session is built on a foundation of trust, acceptance, and the child-therapist bond. Through this relationship, children feel supported in expressing feelings and exploring emotions. 

Play Therapy can be non-directive, allowing the child to choose activities with reflective guidance from the therapist, or prescriptive, where the therapist takes a more structured approach based on the child’s needs.

What is Social Work?
Social Work plays a vital role in supporting children and families through challenging times, providing advocacy and guidance when they need it most. 

The support social workers offer extends across a wide range of circumstances, including child health and wellbeing, child protection concerns, domestic and family violence, homelessness, and responses to traumatic events. Our social workers provide essential health information and advice, offer counselling support, and ensure families are linked to other relevant support systems. They also act as advocates, assisting families in accessing crucial services they may struggle to connect with independently.

What is the process for engaging with a Social Worker?
The process begins with an initial consultation where the social worker conducts a comprehensive assessment of the family’s situation. The Social Worker collaborates with the family to create a tailored support plan. They can reach out to service providers such as the NDIS, Centrelink, or Orange Door, to advocate on the family's behalf. This advocacy ensures families receive the resources and assistance they need for their unique circumstances.

What is Specialist Teaching?
Specialist teachers are qualified and experienced educators with additional expertise in special education. They design and deliver personalised learning programs to meet the unique needs of children across a wide range of abilities. With experience working in schools, kindergartens, and home settings, specialist teachers focus on breaking down barriers to learning, ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed. They work closely with families and classroom teachers, empowering them with strategies, resources, and support to enhance their child’s learning experience. By collaborating with allied health professionals, specialist teachers can facilitate referral pathways when additional support is required.

What is the role of a Specialist Teacher?
Specialist teachers work with children who may benefit from further observations, assessments, and individual learning plans. These plans are designed to address key developmental areas such as social skills, concentration, behaviour, communication, emotional regulation, self-care and educational pathways. Whether your child needs assistance in building confidence, improving focus, or developing social and emotional skills, specialist teachers tailor their approach to target specific goals in a nurturing and supportive manner.

What is Behaviour Consultancy?
Behaviour consultants, also known as Board Certified Behaviour Analysts (BCBA), are highly trained professionals with advanced expertise in behaviour analysis. They are skilled in supporting children with complex behaviours, helping them overcome challenges and thrive in their daily lives. Through their specialised training, behaviour consultants provide tailored strategies to address specific needs.

How does the process work?
Behaviour consultants work with children and their families, teachers, and other key community members. Their role focuses on improving essential areas of development, such as communication, emotional and behavioural regulation, and social interactions. They also address practical daily living skills, including dressing, feeding, and toileting, while providing comprehensive support for managing behaviours of concern. By addressing these goals, children are empowered to develop the confidence and skills needed to succeed in both educational and social environments.

What can I expect from a typical session with a Behaviour Consultant?
During sessions, evidence-based strategies are used to create meaningful learning experiences, setting up opportunities for children to practice and acquire target skills while modelling and teaching those skills in a supportive and engaging manner. 

What is Dietetics and what is the role of a Dietitian?
Dietitians work closely with families to understand the unique needs of each child and offer practical strategies and guidance.
Whether it’s navigating early feeding milestones, addressing specific dietary challenges, or managing long-term health conditions, Dietitians can help with a range of goals. This may include introducing solids, tackling selective eating, food aversions, sensory sensitivities, and reducing mealtime anxiety. Dietitians also assist with managing poor weight gain, constipation, allergies, intolerances, chronic conditions such as diabetes, and ensuring adequate nutrient intake.

What can I expect from a typical Dietetics session?
During a session, Dietitians conduct a thorough nutritional assessment that considers your child’s growth, medical history, sensory experiences, mealtime behaviours, and diet preferences. They educate caregivers and children about food and nutrition, creating a positive and safe mealtime environment. Sessions may involve playful approaches to introduce new foods, personalised recipe ideas, practical advice for school lunchboxes, and strategies for managing mealtimes with reduced stress and greater enjoyment. If needed, they may also recommend appropriate supplements to support your child’s development.