Occupational therapy for children in Melbourne

What paediatric occupational therapy actually is

A child's "occupations" are playing, learning and looking after themselves. Paediatric occupational therapy is support for any of that — which makes it far broader than the handwriting help many parents first associate with the term. An occupational therapist works on getting dressed, mealtimes, toileting, sleep, making friends, managing big feelings, riding a bike, using scissors, coping with a noisy classroom. If it is part of a child's ordinary day and it is harder than it should be, it is OT territory.

What makes children's OT different from adult therapy is the method. Children do not build skills through exercises and worksheets — they build them through play. So a good paediatric session looks like an hour of climbing, building, drawing and games, with a clinical plan running underneath every one of them. We have written a whole guide tohow play-based therapy works if you want the longer answer.

What families come to us about

• Fine motor skills — pencil grip, scissors, buttons, zips, cutlery
• Gross motor skills — balance, coordination, ball skills, climbing, bike riding
• Self-care — dressing, toileting, mealtimes and fussy eating, sleep routines
• Sensory processing — finding the right amount of movement, noise and touch to feel settled
• Emotional regulation — noticing big feelings and finding what helps
• Play and social skills — joining in, taking turns, making and keeping friends
• School readiness — managing a bag, a group, a classroom day

None of these needs a diagnosis before you get in touch. Some children we see have one — autism, ADHD, developmental delay, cerebral palsy among them — and many do not. Therapy follows the child's goals, not the label. If you are still at the "is this worth acting on?" stage, our article onwhether your child needs OTwalks through the signs that matter and the ones that usually don't.

What sessions look like

To your child: play, with a therapist who is genuinely fun to be around. To you: a plan. Every session works toward goals you set with us in plain language — "gets dressed for school without a battle", "joins in at the playground", "writes without a sore hand". We check progress against those goals at around the twelve-week mark and decide together what happens next.

Along the way you get things to try at home that fit into your week rather than adding to it. The hour with us matters far less than the hundred-and-sixty-seven hours you have — which is why building your capacity is part of the work, not an optional extra.

Where a formal assessment is useful — for NDIS evidence, school funding or simply a clearer picture — we offerassessments and written reports with plain-English findings and no reports that sit in a drawer.

Where we work: clinic, home, school and telehealth

Skills stick best when they are practised where they are needed. A child who can manage their lunchbox in a quiet clinic room still has to manage it in a loud school corridor. So sessions happen in the clinic, at your home, at kinder or school, out in the community, or by secure video — whichever serves the goal.

We are a mobile practice across Melbourne's inner north west and inner west, from Brunswick to Point Cook. Each patch works a little differently — travel days, school visits, appointment times — so we have written a page for each:

• Occupational therapy in Inner West
• Occupational therapy in Moonee Valley & Essendon
• Occupational therapy in Sydenham & Taylors Lakes
• Occupational therapy in Brunswick & the Inner North
• Occupational therapy in Hobsons Bay & Point Cook

What it costs, and how families fund it

Our rates are published in full on thefees and funding page — the brand promise is no surprises, and that has to start with money. Therapy fees sit at the NDIS price limit for occupational therapy and never above it, and the rate is the same however you fund your sessions.

• NDIS — we support self-managed and plan-managed participants. We are not NDIS-registered, so NDIA-managed (agency-managed) funding cannot be used with us.
• Medicare — with a GP chronic condition management plan, rebates are available for up to five allied health sessions per calendar year.
• Private health — most extras policies cover occupational therapy; check yours names OT specifically.
• Self-funded — no referral, no waiting on approvals. Many families start here while an NDIS application is in progress.

How to get started

Get in touch and tell us about your child — what they love, what is tricky, what you are hoping will change. There is no referral, no diagnosis and no paperwork needed to have that first conversation. From there we arrange a first appointment at a time and place that suits your family, get to know your child through play, and set goals together before regular sessions begin.