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Between long travel distance, being ‘time-poor’ and kids that don’t enjoy leaving home, getting to clinic based treatment can be hard to access for some families. In the face of any or all of these hurdles, home focused tele-therapy can significantly help to ensure that your child can be the best they can be.

Our Therapists are dedicated to seeing children make developmental gains no matter what their families circumstances. We simply embrace amazingly simple technology to bring ‘individually based but home focused’ therapy right to your lounge room. We also want to support overcommitted and time poor parents (and carers) to access therapy that helps their children without putting undue pressure on the family to travel unnecessarily.

 

When you and your child are unable or unwilling to attend our centres, let us come to you virtually bringing clinic quality therapy to your home.

Use technology to comfortably maximize your child’s development. 

You can use Tele-therapy (or phone calls) to either:

INITIAL APPOINTMENT: Choose if you want to attend our clinics in person for your initial ‘get to know us’ appointment or meet us on-line with our ‘bag of tricks’ at the ready to engage even the most reluctant learners as we get to know their developmental needs.

THERAPY: Having already established the preliminary plan for therapy following an assessment/initial appointment, undertake fun and engaging therapy that is subtly but successfully targeted to help you child overcome their identified developmental ‘hiccups’.    OR

ACTIVITIES & ADVICE: Achieve piece of mind by learning how your child is developing or what you can do to help. Tap into our knowledgeable team and fun activity ideas over a phone or tele-therapy consultation that is focused on giving you suggestions to overcome your child’s developmental ‘hiccups’. Instead of ‘therapy’ let us help set your child and family up for success with regular ‘fun’ or lifestyle activities that just co-incidentially happen to as developmentally nurturing as they are fun! Alternatively or additionally talk through verbal strategies to help family, friends and  teachers set the child up for success in their family life.

What help can Occupational Therapists provide via Teletherapy?

Using technology, Occupational Therapists deliver many of the same engaging interventions they would use during face-face therapy to overcome developmental challenges. These interventions can include skills assessment and treatment activities to help children who have difficulty in any of the following:

  • Fine motor (finger) skills (such as using buttons, manipulating scissors, or holding a pencil)
  • Writing, reading, spelling and learning (including literacy and numeracy)
  • Maintaining attention and concentration to a task or situation
  • Gross motor skills (whole body skills using muscles in the truck, arms, and legs)
  • Developing self-care (such as dressing, eating, and grooming)
  • Mastering self-management (packing school bag, learning time and money)
  • Managing their emotions or behaviours (Emotional Regulation)
  • Playing or engaging in recreation activities
  • Organizing, planning, and completing tasks
  • Socially Interacting or communicating with other children, adults, teachers, etc.
What help can Speech Therapists provide via Teletherapy?

Speech Therapist, just like Occupational Therapists, can use technology to deliver many of the same engaging interventions would use during face-face therapy, including skills assessment and activities to help children who have difficulty in any of the following areas:

  • Talking (clear pronunciation of words so that others can understand)
  • Understanding (Receptive) Language (such as following instructions)
  • Using (Expressive) Language (using increasingly complex sentences to express needs or interests)
  • Writing, reading, spelling and learning (Literacy)
  • Understanding and Managing their emotions or some behaviours
  • Playing or engaging in recreation activities
  • Socially interacting or communicating with other children, adults, teachers, etc.
Who does Teletherapy work best for?

Tele-therapy is a great option for children who are unwilling (or unable due to travel challenges) to attend our centres, for parents seeking ‘coaching’ on how to help their child and for parents who want to be part of therapy so they can see what therapy looks like and to learn what kind of activities to carry on at home. It works best for children who are able to engage with other people fairly well and who understand that a person on the screen in front of them is meaningful and is talking to them.

In fact, children with fair attention and language skills can often benefit from Tele-therapy appointments independently of their parents once set up with the required materials and technology.

Tele-therapy can be more difficult for younger children for whom language is difficult or their attention is extremely poor so they find it hard to sit. In this case, it simply mean that therapists work with parents so that parents (through ‘coaching’)  become an extension of the therapist themselves, to help the child understand, learn or concentrate.

Where children are not getting ideal therapy through virtual appointments, a combination of clinic based appointments where possible often enhances the quality of Tele-therapy.

How does Teletherapy work?

Simple. Schedule your preferred appointment time by calling our clinics on Ph 1800 KID SENSE (1800 543 736) and your therapist will either:

  • email you (for laptop use) or
  • text you (for mobile use)

a secure link that you click on to gain immediate visual and sound access to your therapist.

It couldn’t be easier – You do not need to create an account for yourself nor to have any technical skills!

If using a laptop: When you click on the link you will enter the virtual waiting room where you check that the camera and microphone is turned on.

If using a mobile:  When you click on the link you enter the virtual waiting room and wait for the therapist to come online just as though you’re using FaceTime.

Note: The technology used has been selected because it meets the Federal Government’s requirement for Teletherapy Confidentiality and Data Security, as well as extreme ease-of-use for clients.

What does Teletherapy look like?

Tele-therapy appointments play out just like a face-to-face appointment in many ways.  They are fun for the child, likely to engage in a variety of different activities and informative for parents. But.. being child focused,  virtual therapy looks as different for every child (just as it might from week to week) as face-to-face therapy does based upon the childs needs.  The common features are:

  • You may be emailed (or hard copy mailed) some resources in advance that you are asked to have ready for your child (e.g worksheets) where appropriate. Alternatively, you may simply use standard household items (e.g. paper and pencils) or even no resources at all.
  • Your therapist will carry out a well panned activity plan just as they would in the clinic.
  • Your therapist will verbally report on observations and progress noted during the activities at the end of the appointment just as though you were in the clinic face-to-face.
  • The therapist will provide you with written home program strategies, to practice until your next appointment
  • The appointment will be just as fun and engaging (albeit in a different way) to face-to-face therapy.
How much does Teletherapy cost?

Tele-therapy is charged at the same cost as face-to-face therapy, excepting some additional cost for preparation in some situations. At Kid Sense, NDIS,  Medicare and Private Health Insurance funded appointments are all charged at the NDIS rate.

Can I use Teletherapy for NDIS, Medicare and Private Health Insurance funded appointments?

You can now use Tele-therapy for all NDIS,  Medicare services (Mental Health Care Plan, Enhanced Care Plan/Chronic Disease Management Plan) and Private Health Services. All are Teletherapy approved. Note that some Medicare and private rebates vary according to government legislation changes.

Can my child access a combination of Teletherapy and centre based therapy?

Yes! Some children attend clinic appointments irregularly (eg during school holidays or every 3rd appt). Others don’t attend face to face at all. YOU choose what works best for you and your child.

A  combination of face to face clinic and tele-therapy appointments is often preferrable (as reported by both parents and therapists). But its not always practical for a variety of reasons. We work with you, your individual circumstances and your child’s needs.

Talk to your therapist to work out the best plan for you and your child.

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For more information or to schedule an appointment to begin therapy at home call 1800 KID SENSE (1800 543 376).

Speak with an experienced practitioner to learn what’s best for your child

Contact us today to make an initial enquiry or book an assessment for your child on 1800 KID SENSE (1800 543 736)

© 2024 Kid Sense Child Development childdevelopment.com.au 1800 KIDSENSE

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