What does 'therapy' look like at Move and Play? Understanding the 'Therapy Iceberg'
At Move and Play, ‘therapy’ is any activity that is done by one of our team that will support or contribute to supporting your child and family to work towards their goals, and ultimately to help your child to move, play, develop new skills, participate in their daily life, and thrive in their community.
At Move and Play, we adopt a comprehensive approach to therapy. A comprehensive approach to therapy involves us looking at the ‘bigger picture’ of how your child’s developmental needs fit into their life, and aims to ensure that your child and family can be supported across all aspects of your life. Delivering high quality comprehensive care for children with developmental delays and disabilities requires a combination of direct and indirect services. This is what we call the ‘Therapy Iceberg’. Like an iceberg, excellent comprehensive care for your child will involve a portion therapy ‘above the water’ that you can see, and a portion of therapy ‘below the water’ that you do not always see. The visible part of therapy is the direct therapy that your child does with their therapist/s.
Examples of ‘visible’ therapy supports include:
The completion of assessments with either (or both) you and your child, to determine their strengths, and the difficulties they might be experiencing. These assessments help to inform your child’s supports and interventions.
Therapy sessions with your child in our clinic to teach skills required to achieve a task or goal.
School visits to observe skills and identify strategies that will support your child’s participation and learning in the school environment and ensure consistency of strategies across home and school.
Group sessions and holiday sessions, where your child will learn and pactice skills with other children.
Parent education, either in a 1:1 or group format, to support parents to support their child, and trial strategies and changes in the home.
Meetings with families to discuss progress, challenges, and priorities for support.
The less visible part of therapy that lies ‘below the surface of the water’ are all the other activities your therapist does behind the scenes to ensure that the supports your child receives are optimal for their needs, and give them the best chance of to achieve their goals and live their best life. Examples of the ’invisible therapy supports’ include:
Reviewing information from your child’s file, including your child’s new client paperwork, any reports from other service providers, and any documentation completed by other therapists from our team who are involved in your child’s care.
Scoring and analysing assessment results to identify areas of need, strategies for support, and priorities for support
Researching information and treatments related to your child’s condition or presentation to ensure that the supports provided are based on the best available evidence. This might include reviewing evidence available through scientific databases and journals or liaising with other professionals across the country or internationally who may have more experience in your child’s condition.
Liaising with and collaborating with other members of your child’s team to ensure your child’s therapy is coordinated, family-centred and effective. This liaison and collaboration may occur in a scheduled meeting, or an unscheduled conversation which can occur in person, over the phone, or via email.
Planning your child’s therapy sessions based on an analysis of your child’s goals, what strategies and interventions have worked in the past, and the recent progress made.
Planning, designing and preparing resources such as visual schedules, social stories, behaviour charts etc
Writing home activity programs to support your child being able to practice their newly developing skills at home or in their school or community environments.
Creating and submitting referrals for your child (when you request or approve for this to happen) to other therapists and outside agencies. It is your right to self-refer your child to outside agencies if you would prefer.
Provide updates and handovers to other people involved in your child’s care, either in person, over the phone, or via email, to ensure consistency and continuity of your child’s care.
Assisting in checking therapy budgets and adjusting the supports we are providing to ensure we are staying within your budget.
Communicate with your child’s school about school-based services including completing applications to visit, sending documentation required for school visits, and
Writing letters or progress reports for the NDIS or other external agencies who require updates about your child’s condition and/or progress, such as paediatricians, rehabilitation specialists, and the education system. These reports will only be done with your approval.
Completing these ‘invisible’ tasks and the related documentation means that we can provide your child with the optimal therapy and supports they need to give them the best chance of achieving their goals. Both the ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ aspects of therapy are required to deliver optimal therapy and to help your child to achieve their goals. We incorporate both the visible and invisible supports into all our programs of support with the children and families we work with.Your child’s therapist will work collaboratively with you and your child to determine your individual needs and priorities, and to set meaningful and measurable goals. It is these goals that will guide your child’s therapy plan and the combination of direct and indirect supports that will help your child and family to thrive.For more information about what therapy looks like at Move and Play, you can check out our Frequently Asked Questions Information Sheet