Eight steps from the first phone call to handover. Nothing here should be a surprise once you have read it.
Most people contact an OT at a stressful point — a plan review is coming, a parent has had a fall, something at home has stopped working. Knowing what the process actually involves takes one thing off the pile.
Call, email, or use the form. We'll ask what you're looking for, what funding you have, and where you are. If we're not the right fit, or we don't have capacity, we'll tell you in that first conversation rather than later.
We confirm the appointment in writing along with a service agreement setting out fees, cancellation terms and what the first session covers. You'll know the cost before we start.
Usually at your home. It's a conversation and a walk through the house, not a checklist, and we'll tell you how long to set aside when we book it in. We look at how you actually manage day to day, what's working, and where things are getting harder.
Some funding requests need formal measures alongside observation and interview. Where that applies we'll explain which tool we're using and why, before we use it.
Written in plain English, structured for the person assessing the funding request, with a clear link between what you can do, what you need help with, and what would change that. Reports are with you one week from the final assessment session.
Where there's funding for ongoing work, sessions are practical and in your own environment: building a routine, trialling equipment, changing how a task is done, training a support worker or family member.
Prescribing something is not the same as it arriving and being used. We help arrange quotes and trials, work with suppliers and builders, and check afterwards that what was recommended is actually working.
At review points we step back and look at progress together. Ahead of a plan review we write the progress report your planner or coordinator needs. If you move on to another provider, the handover is documented rather than left to chance.
Be honest about the hard days. Assessments capture what a typical week actually looks like, not the best version of it. Describing your best day undersells what you need.
Have the people who matter there if you want them there. Family, a support worker, a partner — whoever knows how things really go at home is useful to have in the room, with your consent.
Tell us when something isn't working. Including if it's us. Changing the plan early is cheaper and easier than persevering with something that isn't fitting.
Give us notice for changes. Cancellation terms are set out in your service agreement before we start. Travel across the Peninsula means a late cancellation is a whole afternoon.
From first contact to a report in hand is typically the initial assessment, any follow-up session needed, then one week for the report. If you have a plan review date, tell us at the first call and we'll work back from it.
No, but it is usually better. Some assessments are done partly in the community — at the shops, on public transport, at a workplace — because that is where the difficulty actually shows up. Telehealth works well for review sessions and some therapy.
Tell us. Reports go to you before they go anywhere else where practical, and factual errors get corrected. Clinical findings we will explain rather than change, but you should never be surprised by what is in your own report.
Yes, with your consent. Input from the people around you often makes an assessment more accurate, and training a support worker or family member is frequently the most useful thing a session can do.
Earlier than most people think. Allow time for the assessment, any follow-up, the report itself, and then for your coordinator or planner to read it. Six to eight weeks before the review date is comfortable.
Book a free discovery call, ask a question, or just say hello. We reply within two business days.