Man in wheelchair being assisted by an occupational therapist
Therapy Circles Decorative Lines

Occupational Therapy

Infant and Child Speech Occupational Therapy
Adult Occupational Therapy
In the home or at school
Weekly or Fortnightly
Additional Therapy Assistants are available
Approved NDIS providers
Inclusive and specialists in cultural diversity
Translators available

What Is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational Therapy (OT) is a healthcare profession focused on helping individuals participate in meaningful activities or occupations that are essential for daily living. These activities range from self-care tasks like dressing and eating to work, leisure and social activities. Occupational therapists work with people of all ages who may have physical, developmental, emotional, or cognitive challenges that affect their ability to engage in these activities.

Therapy Circles Occupational Therapy
  1. Person (You)
    In occupational therapy, the “person” refers to you—the individual receiving services. You are at the centre of the model because occupational therapy focuses on your unique needs, strengths, preferences, and goals. The OT will work closely with you to understand your abilities, challenges, and aspirations across various areas of life, including self-care, school, work, leisure, and social participation. 
  2. Occupation (Things You Want to Do):
    The term “occupation” in occupational therapy doesn’t just refer to your job. Instead, it encompasses all the meaningful activities you engage in on a daily basis. This includes activities related to self-care (e.g., bathing, dressing, eating), productivity (e.g., school, work, household chores), leisure (e.g., hobbies, sports, entertainment), and social participation (e.g., spending time with family and friends, community involvement).
  3. Environment (Places That Are Important to You)
    The “environment” refers to the physical, social, cultural, and institutional contexts in which you engage in your occupations. This includes your home, school, workplace, suburb, community resources, social support networks, and broader societal factors. The environment can either support or hinder your ability to participate in activities, depending on factors such as accessibility, safety, inclusivity, and attitudes of others.

By considering the dynamic interplay between you as the person, the activities you want or need to do (occupations), and the environments in which you perform these activities, occupational therapy aims to enhance your independence, well-being, and overall quality of life.

The goal of occupational therapy is to enable you to live as independently as possible and to improve your quality of life. Therapy can be provided in various settings, including at home, school, in the workplace, in the community, and online via teletherapy.

We work collaboratively with people to provide evidence-based, individualised support in the following areas:

  1. Functional Capacity Assessments:
    Assessing your abilities and limitations in performing activities of daily living, school and work-related tasks, mobility, and social participation.
  2. Participation in self-care:
    Teaching you new skills or providing strategies and adaptations to help you overcome barriers in self-care and self-management activities to achieve greater independence in your daily life.
  3. Posture & Positioning:
    Assessment, education, and implementation of interventions such as exercises, environmental modifications, and assistive devices to improve your posture and positioning in your daily activities.
  4. Fine & Gross Motor Skills:
    Improving fine motor skills (small movements like writing or buttoning) through activities like hand exercises and dexterity tasks, as well as gross motor skills (larger movements like walking or jumping) through exercises, play, and coordination activities tailored to your needs and goals.
  5. Sensory Processing:
    Addressing sensory processing issues by using sensory integration techniques, creating sensory-rich environments, and providing activities that help you regulate your responses to sensory input, enhancing your ability to participate in daily activities.
  6. Mental Health:
    Supporting mental health by providing interventions such as safety planning, cognitive-behavioral therapy, stress management techniques and activity planning to help you develop coping skills, improve emotional regulation, and engage in meaningful activities that promote well-being and recovery.
  7. Cognitive Skills:
    Addressing cognitive skills by using strategies such as memory aids, problem-solving exercises, and task simplification to enhance your ability to process information, make decisions, and perform daily activities independently and effectively.
  8. School & Work Participation:
    Supporting school and work participation by collaborating with individuals, educators, and employers to develop accommodations, provide skills training, and promote environmental modifications that enhance productivity, independence, and success in educational and vocational settings.
  9. Play and Leisure Participation:
    Assessing your interests and abilities, providing activity-based interventions, and adapting environments to promote engagement, socialisation, and enjoyment in recreational pursuits tailored to each of your preferences and goals.
  10. Assistive Technology & Equipment:
    Recommending, prescribing, and report writing for assistive devices, adaptive equipment, and home modifications to support you to perform tasks and activities more effectively and safely.
  11. Environmental Modifications:
    Assessing home, school, work, or community environments to identify barriers and recommending modifications to improve accessibility and promote independence.
  12. Carer Education:
    Working with individuals, families, and caregivers to build capacity and skills in supporting the person with a disability to achieve their goals and participate fully in their community.
Initial Assessment

The OT begins by conducting a comprehensive assessment to understand your strengths, challenges, goals, and the impact of your disability on your daily life activities. This assessment may include observing your performance of various tasks, interviewing you and your caregivers, administering standardised assessments, reviewing medical records and speaking to other stakeholders.

Goal Setting

Based on the assessment findings and discussions with you, the OT will collaborate with you and your caregivers to set meaningful and achievable goals. These goals could include improving independence in self-care tasks, enhancing participation in school or work activities, increasing social interactions, or improving mobility and community access.

Intervention Planning

The OT develops an individualised intervention plan tailored to your specific needs and goals. This plan may involve a combination of therapeutic activities, skill-building exercises, environmental modifications, assistive technology recommendations, and training for caregivers or support workers.

Treatment Implementation

OT sessions can differ depending on identified goals and intervention plans. It can include training in activities of daily living (such as dressing, grooming, and eating), fine and gross motor skills development, cognitive skills training, sensory integration therapy, and social skills training. It can also include assistive technology trials, and education and training to your support network.

Report Writing

The OT may write reports, also known as Functional Capacity Assessments, if required, to provide detailed descriptions of your functional capacity, including your strengths, limitations, and any barriers to participation in daily activities. They also identify the types of supports and services you may require to maximise your independence, safety, and quality of life. This information helps guide the allocation of NDIS funding and resources.

Monitoring Progress and Review

Throughout the intervention process, the OT continually monitors your progress towards your goals, adjusts the intervention plan as needed, and collaborates with you and your support network to ensure that your needs are being met effectively.

Before our Initial Meeting:

  • Our OTs will review all documentation and information you have provided us (NDIS plan and goals, referral and service handover information).
  • OTs may speak to you and/or your relevant stakeholders to gather relevant information to plan for your tailored initial assessment.
  • OTs will research and refer to evidence-based guidelines to plan therapy strategies tailored to your diagnosis.
  • OTs will arrange an initial meeting at a time that is most convenient for you. Attendance of your key support network is also encouraged.

Initial Assessment:

  • Discuss the aims of OTs and frequency of the service in accordance with your specific needs and availability of funding.
  • OTs will conduct an overall holistic assessment of your roles, routines, physical, mental, cognitive and social skills.
  • Collaborative goal setting to guide the therapy plan. Collectively discuss therapy strategies and interventions that will benefit you and your goal achievement.

Ongoing Therapy Intervention Sessions:

  • Delivering the therapy treatment plan in accordance with your specific needs and evidence-based practices.
  • Regular monitoring and re-testing of physical and functional outcome measures that will help track treatment and goal progress. Appropriate changes and modifications to the treatment plan can be made in accordance with this.
  • Collaborating and communicating with all involved stakeholders (e.g. family and support workers) to help facilitate physiotherapy treatment strategies on a day-to-day basis.

Reports as required:

  • OTs will write various reports as required, including functional capacity assessments, plan review reports, support letters, assistive technology and home modification reports.
  • OTs will advocate for ongoing supports and requirements that you may need in accordance with your NDIS and therapy goals.

Please keep in mind that all participants have different funding, needs, and complexities. This serves as a guide for Occupational Therapy Services.

Billable tasks:What is involved:
Initial Occupational Therapy Assessment
  • Discussion of OT aims with you and your support network
  • Interviews and observations of tasks for holistic assessment
  • Collaborative goal-setting and therapy planning
Therapy Intervention Sessions
  • Delivery of OT interventions in accordance with established goals.
Progress Notes
  • OT will complete documentation of each therapy intervention session
  • This will outline assessment information, detail the treatment provided and response to treatment
  • This allows participant progress to be monitored ongoing
Therapy Treatment Plan
  • OT will devise a therapy treatment plan outlining your goals, what therapy strategies will best help goal attainment and what measurements will be used to track this.
  • OT at Therapy Circles Australia will update this written plan every 6 months
Session planning/ Resource Creation/ Sourcing equipment and arranging trials
  • OTs may do research, liaise with other stakeholders, and create exercise programmes and resources tailored to your individual needs and requirements. This includes, but is not limited to:
    • Visual aids and schedules
    • Research and creation of materials for intervention.
Plan Review Report
  • This is required towards the end of the plan.
  • The OT will write a comprehensive report outlining all your assessment findings, updated goals, therapy interventions that have been applied and clinical justification for ongoing therapy.
Support Letters
  • OTs can write support letters for various reasons if warranted. This includes a change of circumstances, the procurement of certain assistive technology and letters to various stakeholders.
Functional Capacity Assessments
  • OTs can write functional capacity assessments that provide a comprehensive overview of your current functional capacity in various areas of your life and the support needs you require from NDIS. Occupational therapists provide clinical justification as assessed for these various supports.
  • This includes the administration of standardised and non-standardised assessments and questionnaires to you and your caregivers.
  • This also includes observations of you performing your usual daily activities.
  • Liaison with other stakeholders may also occur depending on your needs.
Assistive Technology sourcing, applications, and report-writing
  • OTs can research, source and apply for assistive technology to help aid your functional capacity.
  • This includes research of suitable assistive technology, email correspondence, set-up and attendance of trials for equipment.
  • This also includes report-writing as required by NDIS to provide clinical justification for the assistive technology identified.
Home Modifications sourcing, applications, and report-writing
  • OTs can research, source and apply for home modifications to help aid your functional capacity.
  • This includes research of suitable home modifications, email correspondence, set-up and attendance of visits with builders.
  • This also includes report-writing as required by NDIS to provide clinical justification for the home modifications identified.
Communication With Relevant Stakeholders (as required)
  • This can include email or phone correspondence to stakeholders involved in your case-management. This is to ensure all parties have relevant and up-to-date information to deliver the quality care for you.
Multidisciplinary Team Meetings (as required)
  • Liaising will all members of the multidisciplinary team to provide relevant progress updates, collective therapy planning and problem-solving any barriers to NDIS goal attainment that may arise.
Travel Time To Participant
  • Time travelled to you – calculated to and from the nearest Therapy Circles Australia hub (minutes)
Travel Distance  To  Participant
  • Distance travelled to you – calculated to and from the nearest Therapy Circles Australia hub (km’s)