Sometimes it is really difficult to manage the weekly schedule of school and appointments as well as the day to day family demands. Our therapy assistants can help you maintain regular practice and generalisation of skills at home and is especially useful for parents whose child has high support needs, families with multiple siblings, or when there is simply not enough time or resources to manage home activities between therapy sessions. A therapy assistant will result in more free time for you to spend with your child simply being mum or dad.
Therapy Assistant
Our Therapy Assistants:
Our therapy assistants are fun, energetic and enthusiastic in implementing the activities within your child’s program. Our intensive training program ensures that therapy assistants are able to handle a wide range of diverse therapy programs.
To ensure that you get the best outcomes for your child, we only employ university students currently studying in the fields of Occupational Therapy, Speech Pathology or Physiotherapy. This means that they have a strong interest in providing therapy for your child as they are just starting their career as an allied health professional. This means that you get the skills of a therapist in training at a significantly discounted rate compared to a qualified therapist.
All our therapy assistants are employed through South West Kids Clinic and have been through worker screening processes which include the relevant background checks. Our therapy assistants are also covered by our insurance and workers compensation.
The qualified Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist or Physiotherapist works with you to develop a program that the Therapy Assistant will implement with your child. The qualified therapist is the lead therapist and holds the responsibility over your child’s program development and implementation. The therapist will work closely with your child’s therapy assistant and provide ongoing guidance and support. They will constantly review and update your child’s program with feedback from the assistant.
To ensure that the program is successful and sustainable, each child will commence therapy with a qualified Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist or Physiotherapist for a minimum of three months prior to being eligible to receive therapy by a Therapy Assistant through SWKC. This allows the therapist to gain a thorough understanding of your child’s needs, the style of therapy that suits your child and an understanding of your child’s rate of learning. These are essential for the therapist to determine if your child is suitable for the use of a therapy assistant. It also ensures that the program that will be the ‘just right’ fit for your child and family.
The Therapy Assistant will only implement the program developed by the qualified therapist and will not be able to deviate from the set program unless instructed by the therapist. The assistant will use the training provided by SWKC to engage and motivate your child through the activities. Feedback will be provided by the assistant to the lead therapist relating to progress through activities or challenges encountered. This feedback is essential for the lead therapist to make modifications to the program when needed.