Welcome to Out Loud Developmental Services

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 Out Loud provides comprehensive Speech Pathology, Occupational Therapy and Educator services. Out Loud therapists are registered service providers for the NDIS.  We also see privately billed clients.

 

Family-centered Practice

Out Loud is a family-centered practice. This means that we don’t look at your child’s needs in isolation; we consider how your child’s needs fit within your family – what is working and what is not, and how we can introduce techniques that your whole family can use to assist your child’s progress. You are the most consistent therapist your child has, with the ability to put our suggested techniques into practice every day in your child’s natural environment, and your high level of engagement can really help your child to learn, participate and thrive.

 

What does therapy look like?

We aim to keep therapy fun and engaging for children. It may look at times like we are simply playing with your child however all activities are carefully selected to work towards your child’s goals. We will use reinforcers (fun games) as rewards for work as needed. At the conclusion of each session, your therapist will either speak with you or provide a written breakdown of what has occurred in the session and how these skills can be reinforced at home, school and in the community.

 

Where will therapy take place?

This is up to you! Out Loud can offer appointments in our clinic, at your home, or at your child’s school or day care. Your therapists will discuss these options with you to determine what works best for your family. Arrangements can be changed over time to accommodate changing goals, family needs and budget.

 

Should I be present for therapy sessions?

We encourage you to join your child in their therapy sessions to see the types of activities your child and therapist engage in, learn techniques to extend your child’s therapy into your home environment and discuss your goals and challenges with your therapist. We also recommend that you pass this same information to your child’s teacher to reinforce the same techniques at school where possible.

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We realise that this may not always be practical for your family. If you are unable to stay for clinic sessions, your therapist will ask you to return before the end of the session to allow a discussion about what has occurred and suggest home practice.

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If you are unable to remain onsite during your child’s clinic-based therapy session, we ask that you:

• bring your child into our building rather than drop them off at the front door or carpark

• are contactable on mobile telephone for the entire duration of the session

• are not more than five minutes’ drive from our building

• are back to collect your child at least five minutes before the session ends

• have a behavioural plan in place if Out Loud has requested one

• accept that you may be held responsible for damage to Out Loud property if your child exhibits destructive behaviour that you are not onsite to assist with

• accept that in the event of an injury, without your presence to give consent, Out Loud may summon an ambulance and that you will be responsible for bearing that cost.

 

Our reception is not always manned and we cannot take responsibility for your child if you are late to pick them up. If you are late to collect your child from their appointment, you will be billed by the therapist for the time they spend supervising your child.

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For safety reasons, Out Loud will not allow children into the carpark unattended to meet you at the end of their session; please collect them from our reception area.

 

How do I keep updated about school therapy sessions?

For sessions at school, therapists will endeavour to complete a written record of the session in time to send home with your child, however we can provide feedback in other ways too, so be sure to discuss your preferences with your therapist.

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If our therapists only conduct therapy sessions at school, then we will require you to have an appointment during each school holiday period to review your child’s therapy program. As your child’s skills progress, your therapists may have new home-practice suggestions, have feedback to give you about behaviours exhibited at school, suggest scheduling changes or referrals to other practitioners or seek information about new goals and challenges. This vital interaction with you keeps therapy relevant and productive.

 

Can my child join in groups?

Out Loud offers a range of group activities, both during the school term and across school holidays, to suit different needs and work towards different skills. Out Loud will always ensure that any group therapy is appropriate for your child, looking at their individual goals, the goals of the group and dynamics within the group including age and personality, to make a group activity a positive and rewarding experience.

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If Out Loud’s current schedule of groups isn’t suited to your child, your therapist might discuss the option of paired activities or place your child’s name on a group waitlist. Groups are scheduled with the ratio of one therapist to three children.

 

Can siblings be involved in therapy?

Depending on your child’s goals for therapy, siblings may be able to become involved in sessions. Please discuss this with your treating therapists.

 

What if my child is sick?

If your child is unwell, please contact our reception as soon as possible to let us know. Please see the cancellation policy outlined in your Service Agreement for further information.

 

How do I pay for the session?

Clients accessing services under a NDIS Plan can use their Capacity Building (Daily Living) budget to pay for therapy services.  Please refer to the Common Questions page in your intake folder.  Privately billed clients are asked to pay on the day of services.  We accept payment via credit card (Square)  Once payment has been received, you will be emailed a receipt.  This includes information for private health and Medicare (Enhanced Primary Care Plan) claims. 

 

What if my Plan changes?

Whenever you receive a new Plan, whether it is renewed, reviewed, extended or rolled over, it is vital that you update us as soon as possible. Out Loud does not have access to your Plan; we rely on you to provide us with updated information to ensure that we can continue providing a service that fits within your NDIS budget and meets your NDIS goals.

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You do not need to provide your complete NDIS Plan to Out Loud if you prefer to keep it private, however there is basic information that we will need, such as the NDIS client number, dates of the Plan and management style (self, plan, agency), in order to commence services.

 

Your NDIS Plan also stipulates the way your funds are managed, which allows us to establish your payment method. If this changes between Plans, you should notify us immediately so that we can establish a new method of payment.

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To make sure we continue to focus on the goals that matter to you most, when you receive your new Plan, Out Loud will request you to attend a review session to update your child’s goals and therapy needs as soon as your Plan is received.

A new Service Agreement will be drawn up following this discussion.