When should I attend treatment appointments?
How often should I attend treatment appointments?
How long will I expect to attend treatment for?
How long does a treatment appointment last?
What do I need to know about my child’s treating therapist?
How much does a treatment appointment cost?
What can I expect in a treatment appointment?
What rebate can I expect for a treatment appointment?
Can I bring my other children?
When should I attend treatment appointments?
The ideal time to attend therapy sessions is often influenced by external factors such as:
- Time lines (eg starting kindy/school) as the urgency increases
- How tired the child is after school/kindy (and thus how receptive to input)
- When kindy/school staff suggest that the child can miss lessons without jeopardising skill development (eg often missing a specialist lesson such as Chinese is a good choice for children needing to master developmental basics)
- When the child has day sleep (if appropriate)
- When parents/carers can attend the sessions
How often should I attend treatment appointments?
How often you attend treatment appointments will be influenced by:
- The degree of your child’s difficulties
- The amount to time you have to carry out the recommended home program (as this will support faster progress)
- The amount of time that school/Kindy/child care are able (if possible) to support the application of the recommended home program
- Externally imposed time frames (e.g. getting ready to start school or kindy)
- The rate of progress your child is making
- Your child’s motivation
- The weather (sometimes therapy is used to maintain physical skills during winter when it is hard to do physical skills at home)
Experience has taught us that it is often most beneficial to begin therapy more intensively to ‘get the ball rolling’ so to speak and to up-skill parents/carers about how to help. As progress is made, therapists often recommend spacing out the appointments to allow more practice between sessions.
Although we know what will clinically work best in terms of frequency, we welcome working with the your family to see your child at a frequency that is sustainable for you, even if that means slower but more sustained progress over a longer period of time.
How long will I expect to attend treatment for?
Because we tailor therapy to meet your individual child’s specific needs, there is no blanket recommendation for the
duration of treatment. An average duration of 6 – 8 treatments is a fair starting point and will be regularly reviewed with your therapist.
How long does a treatment appointment last?
A treatment appointment lasts 45 minutes.
If you are travelling long distances, it is possible to schedule two treatment appointments on the same day, or even an assessment appointment and a treatment session later in the same day.
What do I need to know about my child’s treating therapist?
Usually for both child and their carers it is important to develop a relationship with the treating therapist.
In order to do so, you will see the same therapist for treatment that conducted the assessment, unless you make the choice to see another therapist.
This therapist will be qualified to make on going assessment of your child’s skills and will not required the supervision of others to do so.
How much does a treatment appointment cost?
As the cost of a treatment appointment varies according to the private or government program you are using, please call Kid Sense Child Development for specific information and costs.
What can I expect in a treatment appointment?
Specifically what activities are conducted during a treatment appointment varies according to: the child’s age, skill level, progress, interests, attention levels and the goal of therapy.
What is consistent though is that:
- Parents/carers are welcome in the session unless otherwise discussed with you.
- If parents choose not to attend the appointment, they are welcome to enjoy the waiting room’s coffee machine, recent magazines, comfortable couches and child friendly entertainment to keep siblings content.
- Feedback is provided at the end of the session where parents/carers do not attend, to ensure that they are aware of what tasks/activities were completed, what is recommended and why, and how to practice these at home.
- Where appropriate, written home program information is provided and with parent consent can be emailed to involved teachers or allied health professionals.
What rebate can I expect for a treatment appointment?
Rebate under a government program is fixed and is outlined in the Funding section on this web site.
Private health rebate is determined by the duration of the appointment and the level of cover that you have. Due to the privacy law, Kid Sense can be access the anticipated rebate is information for you, but instead suggest that you call your health fund to ask what the rebate is for an initial or subsequent appointment is (for either 45 minute or under, or 45 min and over).
Health fund rebate codes are:
Occupational Therapy:
- 100 (assessment/initial consult)
- 200 (treatment/subsequent consult)
Speech Therapy:
- 310 (assessment/initial consult – up to 45 mins)
- 320 (assessment/initial consult – 46-90 mins)
- 340 (treatment/subsequent consult – up to 45 mins)
Can I bring my other children?
Kid Sense is obviously designed to be a child-friendly environment, and as many children have siblings, we cater to them also.
If you are concerned that the child’s sibling might hinder their attention, you are welcome to enjoy the child-friendly waiting room until asked to join in the session by the therapist, often towards the end of the session.
At the conclusion of the session where the parent does not attend, the therapist will invite them to the treatment room to show what was done, why it was done, what was found and what can be to help it.
Most importantly the parent will be shown what to practice at home and how.
