There’s still a few weeks of warm weather before winter kicks in. Make the most of the warmth and the opportunities for outdoorsy fun! We all know that outdoor and active play is vital for children’s development of motor skills – but playgrounds, parks and play centres are ALSO natural places for children to develop…
The humble cardboard box has been entertaining children for a very long time! We’ve all seen those kids who would rather play with the box while the expensive toy is forgotten. At the DWSP clinics we always have a number of different sized cardboard boxes around to spark play and imagination and language with the…
The lead up to Christmas is such a fun time of year for kids and adults alike. Doing Christmas themed activities in sessions is a great way to entice children to sneakily work on skills while they think they are just enjoying themselves! Here is some of the tried and true Christmas fun we…
At this time of year, many of our families start asking us for recommendations about trampolines as Christmas presents. While trampolines can be funded for some children as part of NDIS, Better Start or HCWA funding schemes, many parents also choose to purchase them just because they’re so beneficial to kids! The potential benefits…
I’m the newest kid on the DWSP block, joining the team in July 2016, after 9 years working in the public sector. I started out teaching ESL in Singapore to adult learners then later made the serendipitous switch to Speech Pathology and haven’t looked back since. Being able to spend your day with children is…
Speech pathologists are specialists in speech and language – both of which are very important ingredients for success in the classroom. Literacy, oral language, written expression, and comprehension are all areas in which speech pathologists can work with a primary school child. For example, if a child has trouble with producing speech sounds, this may…
On April 27 2016, the Victorian Government announced the key initiatives it would fund in the 2016-2017 Budget – it’s a good one for health / education (and therefore Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology). Hopefully it means more access to our services in schools, and faster referral pathways for preschoolers needing assessment. The budget included…
Our practice offers a unique, multidisciplinary approach to working with families. Lots of clients ask what this means! To try and explain – we wanted to share this video together with the observations different kinds of therapists make when they watch children at play. Here’s a video of 2 little people, (aged 4yrs and 20…
We are really proud to once again be exhibiting at this great community event. Amanda and her team did an incredible job pulling it all together in 2015, and we are looking forward to what will no doubt be an even bigger and better repeat performance in 2016. Drop past our table and say “hi”…
Hand writing is a complex skill with perceptual, cognitive and motor components. It is trickier than it looks, and is easy to take for granted! Many children who are referred to Occupational Therapy from schools have difficulties with handwriting. It is the Occupational Therapist’s task to assess the child’s handwriting and identify the underlying cause…