Frequently Asked Questions

Absolutely.

Many families come to me after their child has already been diagnosed with conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Dyslexia, Apraxia, developmental delay, sensory processing challenges, speech and language difficulties, anxiety, poor social skills or learning delays.

While a diagnosis can be incredibly valuable, it often raises as many questions as it answers.

Parents are frequently left wondering:

• Why is my child struggling with sleep?

• Why are they constantly dysregulated?

• Why do they have difficulty with coordination, attention, feeding, or communication?

• What can we do beyond simply managing symptoms?

At Integrative OT, we look beyond the diagnosis to better understand the factors influencing your child's development and day-to-day functioning.

This may include exploring:

• nervous system regulation

• retained primitive reflexes

• sensory processing

• sleep quality and breathing

• oral function

• movement development

• visual and vestibular systems

• overall developmental foundations

My goal is not to change who your child is.
My goal is to understand their unique strengths and challenges, identify areas that may be limiting their function, and help them access their fullest potential.

A diagnosis may describe your child's challenges, but it does not always explain why those challenges are occurring or what can be done to support them.

Understanding the "why" is where we begin.

No referral is needed.

You can simply complete the enquiry form to get started.

For Medicare-funded sessions under a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan, you will need a referral from your GP.

We begin with a free 15-minute enquiry call.

This gives us a chance to discuss your concerns, answer your questions, and make sure we are the right fit for working together.

If we both feel it is a good fit, you will then complete a comprehensive developmental history form covering your child’s journey from birth to now.

From there, we begin with an initial parent-only telehealth consultation (approximately 60 minutes), where we:

• discuss your concerns in detail

• review your child’s developmental history

• identify patterns and priorities

• provide early parent education

• create a plan for next steps

• discuss whether referrals to other professionals may be helpful first

After this, we complete your child’s in-person assessment (typically 60-90 minutes), which can also be broken into shorter sessions depending on your child’s needs.

The in-person assessment helps us identify your child’s strengths, challenges, and the foundational systems that may need support.

Areas may include:

• retained primitive reflexes

• motor skill development

• sensory system development

• vestibular and ocular development

• functional oral assessment

• posture and postural control

• core stability and muscle tone

• gross and fine motor coordination

• hemispheric integration

• nervous system regulation

• cerebellar, basal ganglia, and frontal lobe function

• metabolic and developmental foundations

This allows us to create a truly individualised support plan.

Yes, telehealth can be a fantastic option for many families.

I can coach you through understanding, assessing, and supporting your child from home.

While telehealth does not allow access to some of the in-clinic equipment and therapy tools, it is still incredibly valuable for parent education, strategy development, and ongoing support.

If you choose to use specific tools or equipment at home, I can also guide you in how to use them safely and effectively.

I work with children of all ages, from infancy through to adolescence, and can also support adults where appropriate.

I particularly love working with children in the 2–7 year age range, especially the 2–4 year developmental window where early intervention can be incredibly powerful.

Yes, I work with both self-managed and plan-managed NDIS clients.

Please note I am not currently able to work with agency-managed participants.

Yes.

Your GP can organise a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan (GPCCMP) if your child requires ongoing care from multiple health professionals.

This is suitable for children with conditions that are present, or likely to be present for 6 months or longer.

What’s included:

• up to 5 Medicare-rebated allied health sessions per calendar year (January–December)

• these sessions are shared across all allied health providers (OT, speech, physio etc.)

• current Medicare rebate: $60.35 per session

Important notes:

• parent-only sessions are not claimable under this plan

• your child must attend the session

• no formal diagnosis is required

Your GP simply needs to identify that ongoing multidisciplinary care is needed.

A functional neurodevelopment approach understands that the brain develops in a specific sequence.

Rather than only focusing on higher-level skills like behaviour, attention, learning, or emotional regulation, we assess from the earliest stages of development to identify the lowest or earliest level of dysfunction.

This may include primitive reflexes, sensory systems, movement patterns, postural control, and nervous system regulation.

We then support development from the ground up, building stronger foundations first.

This is known as a bottom-up approach, and it forms the foundation of how I work.

Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy focuses on the muscles of the mouth, face, tongue, and airway.

These muscles play an important role in:

• sleep quality

• breathing

• chewing and swallowing

• feeding and drinking

• speech clarity

• oral rest posture

• nervous system regulation

• facial growth and development

When these muscles are not functioning well, it can impact far more than just feeding or speech.

Supporting oral function often creates significant improvements across multiple areas of development.

Many traditional therapy models focus on the task itself:

“How do we help your child do this better?”

My approach starts with a different question:

“Why is this difficult in the first place?”

I use a developmental, bottom-up approach, looking at the foundational systems that support sleep, feeding, speech, movement, emotional regulation, learning, and behaviour.

This may include nervous system regulation, primitive reflexes, sensory systems, postural control, oral function, breathing, sleep quality, and movement development.

It is not about “fixing” a child.

It is about understanding what their body needs to help them thrive.

No, and often, you do not need to.

Because every child is different, I often blend Paediatric Occupational Therapy, Functional Neurodevelopment, and Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy together to best support your child’s goals.

This allows therapy to be truly individualised.

However, if a family prefers a specific OT only or OMT only program, that can absolutely be provided too.

That is completely okay—and actually very common.

You do not need to figure it all out before reaching out.

That is part of my role.

Sometimes a child is ready to begin therapy straight away.

Sometimes we may need to prioritise support from another professional first—such as bodywork, airway support, functional medicine, or another allied health provider.

Either way, my goal is to help guide you toward the right starting point for your child’s unique journey.

You do not have to work that out alone.

You can reach us anytime via our contact page or email. We aim to respond within a week, usually it is sooner than this though.

If the question is time sensitive - please put the word “Urgent” in the email subject line.