OUR THERAPY APPROACHES
After many years of supporting people with profound physical and developmental disabilities, it has been a lovely change to return to my roots of providing direct therapy and interventions through a collaborative approach for children, teens and young adults. It is so rewarding joining each individual in celebrating their achievements as they take more control, increase their knowledge or grow their skills and independence.
I can't sway too far away from supporting people with high care needs - I still have a strong passion for manual handling and developing comprehensive documents to ensure that all people involved in the manual handling movements as safe as possible.
Learning through Play and Participation
At Insightful OT, we believe that young children learn best through play, movement, and meaningful participation in everyday experiences. Play is not just something children do for fun — it is the primary way they explore their world, develop skills, build relationships, and make sense of their experiences.
Our therapy approach is therefore individual focused, play-centred and connection-based, ensuring children feel safe, engaged, and motivated to learn. We carefully observe each child’s interests, strengths, and developmental needs, and use these as the foundation for therapy activities that feel enjoyable, achievable, and purposeful.
We place a strong emphasis on participation, supporting children to develop the skills they need to engage more confidently in daily routines such as play, learning, self-care, and social interactions. Therapy goals are always functional and meaningful, -focusing on what matters most to the child and their family. A combination of child-led and structured activities are completed in every session, depending on the individual's developmental stage.
Movement is a core component of our sessions. Movement-based activities such as climbing, swinging, balancing, pushing, pulling, and whole-body play support not only physical development, but also key executive functioning skills, including attention, emotional regulation, impulse control, working memory, and flexible thinking. By engaging the body, we help activate the brain systems responsible for planning, organisation, problem-solving, and self-regulation.
Through thoughtfully designed play and movement experiences, children are supported to:
- Improve attention and focus
- Develop emotional and behavioural regulation
- Strengthen problem-solving and planning skills
- Build confidence and resilience
- Experience success in everyday environments
Our goal is to create therapy experiences that feel natural, motivating, and developmentally appropriate, while supporting each child to grow their skills in a way that is respectful of their unique neurodevelopmental profile.
Bottom-Up Approach
At Insightful Occupational Therapy, we use a bottom-up approach to intervention. The bottom-up approach focuses on building the foundational skills necessary for completing various occupations. It emphasizes what can be considered base skills for achieving successful occupational performance. The underlying theory is that acquiring these essential skills leads to improved function and participation in everyday tasks.
The Pyramid of Learning
The Pyramid of Learning is a useful tool for demonstrating this approach. Developed in 1991 by Kathleen Taylor and Maryann Trott, the Pyramid of Learning is a framework used in pediatric Occupational Therapy to understand the hierarchical development of skills necessary for functional performance in daily activities.
The Pyramid of Learning illustrates how foundational skills support the development of more complex skills and functional abilities. The pyramid is divided into several levels, with each layer building upon the previous one, emphasizing the interdependence of skills.
The Pyramid of Learning emphases the importance of play and learning through the sensory systems. Through play, children engage their senses, which is vital for the nourishment and development of their brains. It's through these playful interactions with their environment that children learn to process sensory information, develop motor skills, and build the cognitive abilities necessary for more complex tasks.
Collaboration Model
Using A Team Approach to Therapy
In many situations, we utilise an Occupational Therapy and Therapy Assistant model to support you or your child. This provides a team approach around you or your child. If this is recommended for you, we will discuss this with you prior to your first session. Then, during your first session, you or your child will meet me, Kirsty, as your Occupational Therapist and you will also be allocated one of our amazing Therapy Assistants.
What are the benefits to this Occupational Therapy/Therapy Assistant Collaboration Model?
There are many benefits to having both an Occupational Therapist and a Therapy Assistant as part of your Therapy Team. Working with a Therapy Assistant allows for more frequent therapy sessions than with an Occupational Therapist alone, which can help your child practice skills and try out different strategies more often, leading to quicker progress. Additionally, since Therapy Assistants have a lower hourly rate than Occupational Therapists, your NDIS budget can be stretched further, offering more therapy without increasing costs. The Occupational Therapist closely supervises the Therapy Assistant, so your child gets high-quality support without the higher cost.
How does an Occupational Therapy/Therapy Assistant Collaboration Model work?
Once the goals for therapy have been established, I will complete a series of sessions with you or your child to get the know you or them and to complete some of the additional baseline assessments. Once I determine the most appropriate strategies or approaches to support you or your child and develop a Therapy Plan, you will start therapy sessions your Therapy Assistant.
The Occupational Therapist is responsible for overseeing the Therapy Assistant's work and ensuring that activities are meeting the child’s skill development. To keep things running smoothly, the Occupational Therapist and Therapy Assistant meet every two sessions to discuss your child’s progress and adjust the Therapy Plan if needed. The Occupational Therapist will also review your child’s progress with the Therapy Assistant at least every 10 sessions to check in on goals and make any necessary changes.
Where do sessions take place?
Sessions can be conducted:
- At the Function Centre - we have a centre equipped with different rooms, different activities and a fully equipped sensory room to help build new skills
- In your home - we can run the sessions in your home where the child is in a familiar environment
- At the child's childcare centre or school - this can assist your child to function at their optimum level within their learning environment
“I think every person has their own identity and beauty. Everyone being different is what is really beautiful. If we were all the same, it would be boring.” – Tila Tequila
