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Therapy services are provided in your child’s “natural environments” (eg home, school, childcare, etc) as this is considered ‘best practice’ in supporting a child’s participation and learning in daily routines. We believe that you, the parents/caregivers, are the experts for your child, and our therapy role is to support you.
We will listen, and base our work on what you (parents/caregivers) identify as the main needs and priorities for your child and family, and that also means that focus of intervention and goals might change as “life happens”. With our specialist skills and knowledge we will provide guidance and support to you and your child, to build your child’s skills within the context of daily life – “therapy” doesn’t occur separately from everyday life, and we will help you to integrate ideas into the everyday, to help your child build skills.
Our first visit will be about getting to know you and your child (and for you to get to know us too).
If we are seeing your child without you present (eg school visit), we will organise an initial visit or phone call with you first, so that we can share information and be sure that we are working together. We will also 'touch base' with you on a 3-monthly basis, to 'check in' and make sure that we continue to focus on the issues and skills most important to you and your child.
Our ongoing services are individualised to best suit your and your child’s needs, but typically, a therapy session will be 50mins in duration, and based at home or other regular location that your child attends. Frequency of sessions will depend on a number of factors, including child/family’s needs and availability and preferred location for sessions, therapist’s availability, and funding availability.
Your therapist can also be involved in meetings about your child (eg school meetings, team meetings), to ensure consistency of knowledge and strategies across settings and between all main caregivers. Comprehensive assessments and reports can be provided, as can therapy programs and resources.Your therapist can also assist with providing information and assessment/prescription for equipment if needed.
Appointment Cancellations:
We ask that you cancel a session if you or your child is unwell, and the therapist will do the same, to prevent spread of illness.
A minimum of 24 hours’ notice is requested for cancellations, otherwise 100% of the session fee will apply.
Cancellations can be made via text, email or phone call to your therapist.
If we do arrive for a session and your child is not there (eg school/kindy/childcare) or if they are too sick to “work/play”, and you have not notified us, then the cancellation fee (100% of session and travel costs) will be charged.
Service Cancellation:
We respect your right to have “choice and control” and therefore, understand that at some point we may not be the most relevant service for you –please don’t feel concerned to have that conversation with us!
Should you wish to end services during an “active service time”, 2 weeks’ notice would be appreciated via phone call/text/email. Should we be unable to continue to provide a service, we will give you a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice, and actively work with you to find a new/alternate provider if you wish.
Play & Learn Occupational Therapy staff will conduct therapy sessions within your child’s natural settings – home, childcare, kindergarten, school, etc. Please provide a safe place for us to work in with your child, including a non-smoking environment.
Please notify your therapist of any safety concerns prior to the visit.
We will ask you for information about your child, your family and any circumstances that may influence your child’s development. This information will ensure that the appropriate services are offered in a timely manner, to support you and your child. This information will be stored securely via password protected electronic file, using cloud-based storage; and key-locked filing cabinet for ‘hard copy’ information, and is only accessible to authorised persons. You can ask to have access to your child’s file – please discuss with your therapist.
Under the Privacy Act 2001, none of this information can be shared with anyone else unless you provide consent, other than if there is imminent risk to the child (where a mandated report is legally required).
Communication with other key people in your child’s life can assist with ensuring that services are most effective, such as educators, doctors and funding providers.
Therapy services are currently charged at $193.99/hour. This rate is based on the NDIS hourly rate.
**Should the NDIA rate increase within a plan period, the hourly rate will be adjusted for services from the date of increase.
Should you have difficulty paying your account, please contact us ASAP.
The hourly rate is used to bill 50 minutes of direct therapy time (ie home/community therapy visit or meeting time) and 10 minutes of base administration activities such as:
• General preparation and planning for the session
• Writing and sharing session summaries
Travel charges will also apply and are calculated on a one-way trip from your therapist's base:
• 0-6 minutes: $19.40
• 7-12 minutes: $38.80
• 12-18 minutes: $58.20
• 18-24 minutes: $77.60
Additional costs will be billed at our hourly rate for:
• Reports and documentation
- Assessment scoring, analysis and report
- Summary/report eg for external carers (teacher, childcare, etc) and plan reviews
- Therapy programs and resources (eg visuals, social stories, etc)
- Equipment recommendations/justifications and prescription
- Functional Capacity Assessment and report
• Liaison with other providers/education staff, etc
• Review of relevant and/or provided documentation (eg reports from other professionals, OnePlans/Individual Learning Plans, etc)
• Discussion with parent/caregiver outside of session times (eg phone call, email correspondence), including 3-monthly 'check ins' where appropriate (eg if we are seeing child without parent present)
Invoices will be emailed following the session and are payable via EFT within 7 days.
If you are accessing funding (eg NDIS) or rebates (eg Medicare), we will assist you to manage the funding/rebate processes.
Should you fail to settle your account, services may be restricted until arrangements are made.
Last updated: 31/05/2024
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