At Gymworks, we believe occupational therapy should be interesting and engaging for children.
Our programme is designed for 3 to 12 year-old children who are having specific issues with fine motor skills like writing and drawing, gross motor difficulties affecting fundamental movement, sensory problems, cognitive perception challenges such as spatial awareness, and functional skills that kids need every day. We also work with older children/teenagers with challenges e.g. specific learning disorders such as dysgraphia.
Our commitment to making positive changes in your child’s performance is a key aspect of our practice. We believe that giving support as early as possible ensures the best outcomes for your child, and often means less need for intervention at school age. By embedding confidence, ability and skills at an early age, your child develops their love of learning and engaging with others.
Group Occupational Therapy Sessions
Our tailored occupational therapy programme consists of a combination of sensory, motor, perceptual and cognitive-based activities designed to be engaging for children. Depending on your child’s specific needs, we can help them to master fine and gross motor skills, improve sensory and thinking skills, and help with other problems affecting their behaviour or performance, such as eating difficulties.
The occupational therapy programme starts at the beginning of every school term and runs for eight weeks, with weekly one-hour therapy sessions. The sessions are run in small groups to represent a classroom situation, with four children and two specialised occupational therapists.
Each session lasts for 50 minutes, with 10 minutes of feedback time afterwards. At the end of the session, your child will receive a Home Fun Pack and be asked to complete exercises that are most relevant to their development.
We also run school holiday programs for one week every school holidays.
Individual Occupational Therapy Sessions
Where children require individualised support we are able to provide tailored programs to suit.
Other Occupational Therapy Services
School Visits
If your child is struggling at school, we can arrange a school visit for one of our occupational therapists to liaise with the teacher.
School-based therapy
We’d be happy to design a tailored school-based therapy programme in conjunction with your child’s school.
Case conferences
When a child has complex needs and there are several agencies involved in their management, we can attend case conferences on behalf of the family.
Professional development
We also offer professional development in the form of talks or workshops for parents, teachers and other health professionals, held at our clinic, at a school or any suitable venue.
Functional Capacity Assessment
A Functional Capacity Assessment is an assessment of a child’s ability to perform tasks in their everyday life, and to understand their ongoing care requirements and therapy needs. A person may require a functional capacity assessment when seeking access to the National Disability Insurance (NDIS), or to review their ongoing need for access to the scheme.
Other Assessments
We provide a very comprehensive, written report outlining your child’s specific needs and recommending the best approach to address these needs. We use a mix of standardised and non-standardised assessment for your child’s age group.