More about our Therapy Services

• Communication for nonverbal or early verbal children
• Learning to talk
• Learning to use an augmentative or alternative communication (AAC) such as PECS or an iPad speech device
• Using speech or a system of communication to ask for things or to say “no”
• Using speech or a system of communication for social purposes such as greeting, showing and sharing ideas
• Social Communication
• Initiating communication with others
• Responding to others when they talk
• Staying on topic
• Talking about the topic of other people
• Having a backwards and forwards conversation
• Social Interactions
• The social skills children need for successful interactions
• Staying engaged with other people
• Joint/sharing attention
• Imitation
• Language Comprehension
• Following instructions
• Understanding language
• Answering questions
• Language
• Vocabulary
• Forming sentences
• Conversational skills
• Asking questions
• Telling a story
• Speech
• Speech sounds
• Stuttering and Fluency
• Reading
• Phonological awareness
• Phonics
• Reading Comprehension

Occupational Therapy can benefit children with autism by working to improve the quality of life for the child and their family. The aim is to maintain, improve, or introduce skills that allow your child to participate as independently as possible in meaningful life activities. Coping skills, fine motor skills, play skills, self help skills, and socialization are all targeted areas to be addressed.

Occupational therapy intervention focuses on skills required for participation in home and school settings by teaching activities including task engagement, social skills, fine motor and visual skills dressing, feeding, toilet training, grooming, skills that assist in writing and scissor use and visual perceptual skills needed for reading and writing. Occupational therapy is part of a collaborative effort of medical, allied health and educational professionals, as well as parents and other family members. Through such collaboration your child can move towards the appropriate social, play and learning skills that are needed to function successfully in everyday life.

What we can do…

An initial formal and informal assessment is necessary to ascertain the child’s strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes and behaviour and to identify goals for intervention developed in conjunction with parents and carers. Our Occupational Therapists use their knowledge of children’s play, sensorimotor, cognitive, language and social-emotional development to identify the nature of the child’s difficulties and develop the best intervention plan.

Occupational therapists can assist children to manage sensory sensitivities such as over reaction to noise, hypersensitivity to touch and behavioural issues such as distractibility and repetitive play behaviours. Fine motor coordination difficulties, organisation and information processing are other areas that are addressed in treatment sessions.  OT’s can also help children overcome challenges they may have with self care activities such as eating, dressing and toileting to assist them to be as independent as possible.