12th July 2021

​

Transition to Telehealth
We hope that all of our Leap families are well and managing through these challenging times.

The health and wellbeing of our clients, their families and our staff and their families are our main priority at Leap. Due to the ongoing lockdown and increased numbers of Covid 19 cases in Sydney and the Sutherland Shire, we will be transitioning to telehealth as of Monday the 12th July. During this time we will not be offering face to face therapy within our clinic. We are preparing for this to possibly be an extended time of at least 4 weeks, depending on numbers of cases in Sydney.

Q. What is telehealth?
Telehealth is an effective, evidence- based way to implement Speech and Occupational Therapy. As last year when we transitioned to full telehealth we will be using the Zoom platform for sessions.

Your therapist will send you a link invite via email prior to your session for you to click on and enter the session. Sessions are not recorded. You can access the link and zoom via your computer, ipad or phone.

Telehealth sessions can be claimed under private health funds, NDIS and Medicare plans as normal. We can take credit card payments if you complete the credit card authorisation or we will invoice for you to pay online.

Q. What might my child's session look like during this time?
Telehealth sessions may feel stressful if it is new for your family or you feel like your child may not respond well to sessions. However, your therapists are able to tailor sessions to best meet the needs of your child.

For example:
* 1:1 session where the therapist will share the whiteboard, items on the screen, play reinforcement games together etc. Home practice activities can be emailed to you following the session.

* OT sessions may include movement around the house or in the backyard over zoom for gross motor and motor planning activities. They may email you worksheets to print before the session, if a printer is available to you. Kits with fine motor equipment can also be purchased for a small price to use in sessions and for home practise.

* Sessions for stuttering, emotional regulation, early language stimulation, challenging behaviours at home etc may look slightly different. The therapist may ask you to send a video before the session with the child practising their tasks/ emotional responses etc. The therapist will spend time analysing this video and then zoom/ call with you the caregiver or with the child after this for 15 minutes to discuss the video and further home strategies for the week.

* You may request that your therapist spend the session time preparing home programs and activities for you to complete at home instead of a face to face session. This will be charged at the same rate as a session but will help ensure that the momentum your child is making towards achieving their goals is not lost.

This is a perfect time to ensure that goals we have been targeting in therapy sessions in clinic are generalising into the child's home environment, as well as problem solve functional challenges your child may be having at home or with home schooling.

We have also added some fun home practise online groups to our service while the clinic is closed! These are small groups of 2-3 children which are a fun, social and motivating way to practise their therapy goals and take the pressure of caregivers having to do all of the home practise with their child!

* Clients who do not respond well to their individual therapy sessions are given the option of joining in these groups for $30/half hour group. Clients who also complete an individual session that week will be given a discounted fee of $20 for these home practise groups.

We are also looking into parent problem solving, ideas and support workshops to be run for any parents that would like to chat to a therapist, hear other parents questions and experiences and hear of ideas for their child while in lockdown. We will provide further information on this soon.

Your therapists will be in touch to confirm your telehealth time and suggest if one of the home practise groups might be suitable for your child. Please contact your therapist via their email or info@leaptherapygroup.com.au if you have any concerns with the transition to telehealth. If you choose not to trial telehealth for your child we will do our best to keep their appointment spot when we re-open but cannot guarantee this will be possible.

Please keep safe and well, we look forward to welcoming you all on telehealth!