Occupational Therapists work with children to improve their independence within the school or work environments by addressing specific areas of skills developments including:

• Sensory-processing abilities
• Motor skills (fine & gross motor)
• Visual perceptual skills
• Self-care activities (eating, sleeping, toileting, dressing)
• Attention & concentration
• Play & social skills development

Occupational Therapy achieves this by providing individualised, fun, motivating and age appropriate activities to meet parent and child focused goals.
Happy Dots provides services to children with a range of difficulties and needs including:

• Autism Spectrum disorders
• Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorders (ADD/ADHD)
• Sensory Processing disorders
• Development delay
• Dyspraxia
• Learning and handwriting difficulties

Does your child exhibit any of the following difficulties?

• Appear over or under responsive to sensory input (sights, sounds, movements, touch, tastes)
• Avoidance of messy play or doesn’t like to be touched or bumped
• Restricted diet & eats limited foods, is a fussy eater, or often gags on food
• Auditory Processing difficulties i.e. trouble following or remembering 2-3 step instructions
• Finds it hard to concentrate or attend to tasks (e.g. fidgets, can’t sit still)
• Is in constant motion or always ‘on the go’
• Low energy levels or alertness, appears to be tired/slow to respond
• Frequent mood swings or ‘meltdowns‘
• Low muscle tone
• Poor gross motor skills including coordination & balance (e.g. difficulty jumping, balancing, tires easily)
• Motor planning difficulties/dyspraxia
• Poor fine motor skills including using scissors & pencils, learning to write & drawing or copying from the blackboard
• Handwriting difficulties
• Difficulty completing self-care activities including toileting, sleeping, dressing and eating

If you have answered “yes” to more than one of these statements, your child may benefit from an Occupational Therapy Assessment.

Many people just think of speech sounds and stutters when they think of speech pathology. Speech pathologists in fact can support children, young people and families in many more areas. Speech pathologists are university-qualified professionals who work with families to support children’s speech, language and overall communication skills.

These are the areas which Speech Pathologists at Happy Dots work on.

• Speech
• Language
• Literacy
• Fluency (Stuttering)
• Voice
• Multimodal communication

You may consider seeking speech pathology/therapy for your child if you notice any of the following signs or concerns:

1. Speech Delays: If your child is not reaching typical speech milestones for their age, such as babbling by 6 months, saying single words by 12 months, and forming simple sentences by 2 years.

2. Difficulty with Pronunciation: If your child struggles to pronounce certain sounds or consistently substitutes one sound for another (e.g., saying “wabbit” instead of “rabbit”).

3. Limited Vocabulary: If your child has a smaller vocabulary size compared to peers of the same age or struggles to learn and use new words.

4. Difficulty Understanding Language: If your child has trouble following directions, understanding questions, or comprehending stories or conversations appropriate for their age.

5. Stuttering: If your child experiences frequent interruptions in the flow of speech, such as repetitions of sounds, syllables, or words, or prolongations of sounds.

6. Difficulty with Social Communication: If your child has challenges with social interactions, such as making eye contact, taking turns in conversation, or understanding nonverbal cues.

7. Feeding or Swallowing Issues: If your child has difficulty chewing, swallowing, or managing food or liquids safely.

It’s important to note that every child develops at their own pace, and occasional speech errors or delays are common. However, if you have concerns about your child’s speech and language development, consulting with a speech-language pathologist can provide valuable insights and guidance tailored to your child’s individual needs.

Although most of our visits tend to be clinic based, home and school visits can also be arranged. This may be consultancy based or can be arranged on a regular basis. If you can’t make it to us, we are happy to come to you! We are also happy to provide parent/teacher workshops & presentations on topics that you think you might like to know more about. We are often booked ahead of time for staff development days, so get your request in early.

If you are concerned about your child, or a child you know, you can phone our office on (02) 4959 8920 and speak with an Occupational Therapist who will be able to advise you on the best way to get started. We accept self-referrals, along with referrals from other professionals such as Speech Therapists, GP’s & Psychologists.

When you make a referral, you will be booked in for an initial assessment. Frequency/duration of therapy visits will also be decided on. Your child will then attend therapy appointments on a weekly or fortnightly basis for a certain period of time (this obviously varies depending on each child’s needs). Should we discover that OT is not the best fit for your child, we will use our clinical expertise to point you in the right direction.

Upon your initial therapy visit you will receive a home program folder for your child. This will contain activities to get you started on some basic therapy activities. You will be required to bring this folder to each session, so that your therapist can add activities that you will be required to complete in between sessions. The homework activities can be as intensive or as little as you would like, just speak to your therapist about what would work best for you. We also aim to incorporate as much therapy homework into your child’s already existing daily routine.

We run many different group programs, mostly during school holiday periods and sometimes during the school terms. Examples of group programs include:

• Flying Start school readiness
• Lego Club
• Tricky Fingers
• Sensory Science

Speak to one of our lovely therapists about what group would suit your child best, or contact us to be added to our mailing list for all of the upcoming groups.