Our Services
For many people, accessing occupational therapy and/or speech therapy is the first time they have come into contact with such services.
What does it all mean? How does it help? Where do I start? These are all extremely common and extremely valid questions. At Functional Focus Therapy we will work with you to tailor a therapeutic journey that suits you, your family and, most of all, your child’s needs. You can rely on us to demystify the jargon and communicate clearly what we are doing, why, and how this relates to the reasons you initially reached out to us.
Assessments & Reports
Assessments are the beginning of our journey where the problem-solving starts. An assessment provides a baseline level of function for an individual at a specific point in time. They are paramount in ensuring collaboration in goal setting and intervention planning as well as measuring change. At Functional Focus Therapy, assessment selections are always based on each individual’s referral information and is tailored to meet their specific needs.
Screening Assessment
A screening assessment is completed over one 60-minute session and is useful where there is one specific skill-based goal to assess. Examples of specific skill-based goals may include improve handwriting mechanics, making a simple meal or increasing independence to bath/shower. This option includes a brief (approx. one page) summary of the assessment findings. This style of assessment is not suitable for all referral types.
Standard Assessment
A standard assessment is completed over one 90-minute session and combines various standardised measures and non-standardised observations. This assessment option provides a general overview of an individual’s level of function and insight into reasons why they may be experiencing challenges in daily activities. The standard assessment comes with a detailed report of the assessment findings.
Funding Reviews
From time-to-time, clients and families may require formal reviews to assess their functional strengths, challenges and ongoing support needs. For clients known to the service, Functional Focus Therapy is able to provide review assessments that outlines professional recommendations to support a client’s needs.
Our Approach
At Functional Focus Therapy we will never use a one-size-fits-all approach to assessments. We tailor our assessment choices and selections based on the needs identified by a client and/or their family. After all, making a positive impact in real-life activities is what we are all here for, right?
Intervention
Ongoing support is one of the most essential aspects of the therapeutic process. Intervention can differ by kind, context, frequency and duration. Functional Focus Therapy is committed to providing therapeutic intervention services that are most appropriate in supporting clients to meet their goals.
We do not believe that one specific style of intervention should be applied to all clients, but rather the kind of intervention should be driven by the clients’ developmental and functional capacities. As clients’ skills and lives change over time, so should their therapeutic supports.
This means that support may be provided in a variety of settings such as:
- The clinic
- Educational settings (i.e. daycare, pre-school, school, etc.)
- Vocational settings (i.e. workplaces, day programs, etc.)
- In the broader community (e.g. accessing public transport, leisure activities, shopping centres, sporting teams, swimming lessons etc.)
Our Approach
Here at Functional Focus Therapy, we recognise there are a range of considerations when figuring out what will work best for a client and their specific situation. We aim to do what we can to make therapy work for you. How, where and why intervention occurs is a decision that is made between you and your therapist, so let’s keep this conversation open.
Groups
Group intervention is a great way to support shared development of functional skills in a more dynamic and socially connected way. Functional Focus Therapy offers a range of groups to meet the demands of interested participants. All groups ran by Functional Focus Therapy will be based off shared goals that clients may have. Following multiple people expressing interest in a specific skill, participants will be matched on their abilities to ensure the highest level of benefit for all involved. The way the group is run is always adapted to provide the best outcomes for group participants. Examples of groups that Functional Focus Therapy would run include:
- School readiness groups
- Life skills groups (all ages)
- Coordination and gross motor groups
- Language skills groups
- Handwriting groups
- Fine motor groups
- Sporting groups
- Play skills groups
- Mental health support groups
- Social groups
We are also passionate about setting up long-term partnerships with local businesses and organisations to provide opportunities for community participation for our clients. If you are a local business or organisation that supports all-abilities, please get in touch. Examples would include sporting or physical activities for all abilities, kitchens for cooking programs, classrooms for in-situ school readiness, etc. As groups run based on levels of interest, please contact Functional Focus Therapy with any groups you, or your child, may be interested in.
Our Approach
At Functional Focus Therapy we whole-heartedly believe that in the right setting with the right support, groups can get so much more out of people than what we can get individually. I mean we are a social species, right? We endevour to create the ‘just-right mix’ of personalities, skills, strengths and interest areas when setting up groups. We are open to most things so if you’ve got a group in mind, get in contact.
Education Programs
Functional Focus Therapy values collaboration and transference of information between many stakeholders in a clients life. We offer small, medium or large group education programs to provide insight and problem-solving on ways to understand and support inclusiveness in various settings. Types of education programs that Functional Focus Therapy run include:
- Parent/caregiver training
- In-service presentations (education centres, day programs, etc.)
- Professional supervision
For any inquiries regarding how Functional Focus Therapy can support you, or your organisation, please contact us on [email protected] or on 4058 5821
Our Approach
In so many instances in our lives the adage “knowledge is power” rings true. As part of our commitment to empowerment and inclusivity we are available to share information with those who can benefit from it the most. If there is a functional skill, communication process or developmental area you or your organisation would like to know more about, lets chat.
Our process
While each family’s therapeutic journey is unique to them, our service typically follows this simple 4 step process:
1.
Information Gathering
In the initial phases of the process, meaningful information will be gathered through a parent meeting and initial assessment session(s). These tools are vital in starting to understand your goals, your child’s strengths and their current functional abilities. It is also the first-steps in figuring out potential factors that could be contributing to areas of difficulty you and/or your child are experiencing.
2.
Intervention
The intervention phase is where you and your therapist will trial and implement strategies that support any noted areas of difficulty. How intervention looks is individual for each family. Across the therapeutic journey, intervention may include regular face-to-face work with the child or teenager, parent meetings, interprofessional collaboration, home programs and/or specific resource creation.
3.
Review
While informal reviews of a child’s function should be occurring frequently across the intervention phase of the process, we will also prioritise time for formal reviews at regular intervals. This is a chance to reflect on what supports have been used, their effectiveness and their overall impact on the client’s ability to do what they want or need to do in life.
4.
Future Planning
At Functional Focus Therapy we strive to empower those close to our client to feel confident to continue their therapeutic journey without week-to-week therapist input.Following a review, a clear direction of therapy will be defined between you, the young person and your therapist. This could include a change in goals, discharge, a change in how support is provided (e.g. change in frequency and duration) etc.
Your next steps
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