Find out about our Therapy Team

Our Ability Options Therapy Team is made up of a team of Professional Therapists and Allied Heath Assistants who are dedicated to work in a client focused, strength-based practice. The Ability Options Therapy Team works with participants of the NDIS of all ages. Working with the individual and their carers/families to assist the participant to work towards reaching their NDIS goals and in turn reaching their full potential.

Behaviour Practitioners

Ability Options are able to provide behaviour support and individual behaviour support plans for participants of all ages. Our Behaviour Practitioners work closely with the individual, or in the case of young children, the parents and carers, to develop individual strategies to address the areas of concern and then work to implement these strategies in everyday life situations. Working as part of a team, our Behaviour Practitioners can take into account assessments from our Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist and reports from Allied Health Assistants to ensure they have a holistic approach to developing strategies and plans to assist the participant work towards meeting their NDIS goals.

Occupational Therapy

Our Occupational Therapists are able to work with all ages engaged with the NDIS. Undertaking various assessments our Occupational Therapist develops reports and therapy plans to assist the participant to work towards meeting their individual goals and develop strategies to assist them in day to day living.

Individual assessments can be undertaken in relation to working towards assisting the participants with individual needs, self-care, functional capabilities, sensory issues, independent living skills or the need for various pieces of equipment. Assisting participants requirements to help work towards reaching their best potential growth and fulfilling their NDIS goals.

Speech Therapy / Speech Pathology

Our Speech Therapists (also sometimes referred to as Speech Pathologists) work with participants of all ages undertaking assessments and in turn developing individual therapy plans to assist the participant to reach their individual NDIS goals. Speech is so much more than making a sound or a word. Understanding, following direction, general communication, speech disorders or swallowing issues are some of the areas Speech Therapy is implemented to assist the individual.

Humanistic Play Therapy

Humanistic Play Therapy is a hands-on expressive therapy. Play therapy is conducted within a quiet, safe and protected space created by the facilitator. This allows the participant to connect to the stillness and trust that enfolds from within. The participant can gently connect through play, to what is unconscious within the psyche and needs kind attention. This greatly supports emotional healing and personal development in a very natural way. The ability to express what is often inexpressible or unresolved and held deep within the unconscious, can literally restore a sense of balance and connectivity in one’s life.

Allied Health Assistants

Allied Health Assistants make up a vital part of the Therapy Team. Our Allied Health Assistants will be the first member of our team you will engage with once you are connected to the team. Allied Health Assistants will begin by getting to know the participant.

Gathering information using various screeners, provided by therapists, observations of participants, gathering further information from family/carers, contacting schools, early childhood settings etc. The Allied Health Assistant will then complete all the necessary referrals to the Therapists, starting the assessment process. Working under direct supervision of our Therapists the Allied Health Assistants work closely with the participant and their parent, carer, (depending on participants age) to deliver the therapies and strategies. This usually occurs in the home environment however sometimes if permitted, therapy can be delivered in the school or early childhood setting. Older participants may engage with the Allied Health Assistant in community settings.

Allied Health Assistants are also able to develop and provide the participant with individualised resources as directed by the Therapists. (Visuals, social stories, routines, directions etc)

The Allied Health Assistant is able to advocate for the family and provides a vital link between families, therapists and other services including sharing strategies, individual needs with schools, early childhood centres, support workers and other engaged services.

Children – Young People

Ability Options Allied Health Assistants and Therapists work closely with children, families and carers of children of all ages to deliver an individually tailored Therapy program. Individual children’s likes are taken into consideration to make therapy a fun experience that helps the child reach their full potential and work towards meeting NDIS Plan goals. Working with the children in a familiar environment allows the Allied Health Assistants to have a true insight into the challenges the children, families and carers can face. In turn, under supervision of our therapists, we can offer a highly individualised service.

Therapy Room

For our participants in the Coffs Harbour area, or those who travel to Coffs Harbour for assessments or therapy, we are able to offer our Therapy Room. The Therapy room is situated in our Coffs Harbour building and offers an alternative for therapy sessions when it is preferred not to have therapy sessions in the home. Participants may also travel to Coffs Harbour to have the assessment carried out in our Therapy Room.

Outreach Services

Ability Options offer therapy services in Coffs Harbour, Kempsey, Newcastle, Hunter and Mid North Coast regions. Our therapists are able to attend some regional areas to undertake initial assessments. Once these assessments are completed and a therapy plan is developed, Allied Health Assistants situated in various regional areas can attend the family home, school (if permitted), or early childhood setting space, to deliver the therapy plan under close supervision of the Therapist. Participants are then able to connect with the Therapist via the preferred internet source (Zoom etc) when required, or for reviews to therapy plans.

Some of our Therapists do travel to outreach areas on a regular basis, however this depends on the individual’s needs and the scope within the individual NDIS plans.

Panel

Panel is a very important part of delivering therapy to our participants. Ability Options Therapy Team attend Panel on a fortnightly basis. Allied Health Assistants situated out of Coffs Harbour connect to Panel via internet meetings. Allied Health Assistants attending Panel share information regarding challenges the individual participant or their family/carer may be having in relation to the individual therapies. Together with the team, made up of Therapists and Allied Health Assistants, challenges are discussed, and various strategies, resources and general ideas are put forward to assist the participant reach their desired outcomes.

Other Therapies

Ability Options has close connections to other therapy services and work collaboratively to deliver client focused services that are flexible, reliable, creative, and empowering: “Enabling fuller life experiences.”

Contact our friendly team for more information on our full suite of therapy services.