How We Work

Watch the video and meet Jane, one of our many Therapy Team Leaders.

Speaker: Jane Tinkler

Hi, and welcome to Noah’s Ark. Thanks for taking the time to hear about us today. You’ll hear a bit about who we are, how we support you and your child, and hopefully answer questions you might have about our therapy and learning approach.

We know that children do best when they’re surrounded by people they love and trust, and when they have lots of chances to learn what they need to learn next. That’s how we work. Your goals are our goals. It’s our job to bring the knowledge and skills for child development and therapy strategies, and we ask you to tell us what your child and family enjoy, what they find tricky, and a bit about your dreams.

Make sure you jot down any notes or questions you have while we’re going. You’ll notice that we’re always ready to answer any questions you have at any time. OK. So, how will we work with you? Firstly, we’re part of a team. One of our team members gets to know you really well. We call them a Key Worker, but you could also think of it as a primary contact person. They’ll be the person that gets to know your child and family best, and they make sure you get the therapy and learning support you need so that your child does their best. They bring the knowledge and skills of the other specialists on our team to your family and make it simpler to access them. We know life’s complicated enough without three or four or five people trying to make appointment times with you for therapy.

We believe in everyday learning and therapy. We know that starting with what’s working well and building on from there not only works best, but it keeps you and your child interested and motivated. We can all remember a time where we forgot to do our ankle exercises or something like that. So we make sure that we find times in your day where practice can happen without too much extra work.

If your child was thirsty and they asked their speech pathologist for a drink, they might ask once or twice in the time we’re with you or they might not ask at all because they don’t really think that’s a question for us. But by teaching you and the others in your house or preschool or school what the plan is right now, your child might ask seven times a day, seven days a week and get the same practice each time. So without doing too much more, you’re nearly having 50 speech therapy sessions a week where your child really wants the outcome.

We work best when we can see the places that life actually happens for you and your child, so that we can be as efficient as possible and give you best value for money. Dinnertime might be really hard work for you and your child, and it’s good for us to know what’s going on where it’s happening. We’d wonder about their seat and where the plate is and where their hips and knees are or their body position. We’d wonder how stable they were, what colours, what contrast of the plate to the surface below. What does it smell like? What’s the lights like? Who’s moving around? How’s the cutlery in their hands? We could ask these questions elsewhere and hopefully get the right information, but by seeing your home, we can assess it and lots of other things in just a few minutes. We can also start using strategies straightaway and have some backup ones ready to go in case the first ones you try just don’t work.

So, what happens next? We need some important forms signed so we can get started together. We plan ahead to make sure we’re available to work with you, so we need an understanding of how many hours or dollars you want in your service agreement. Our service agreement is our commitment to work well together, and we also ask your permission to use photos and film as part of our therapy. We also get you to tell us who else we might need to speak to, like the kinder teacher or your paediatrician, so that we can learn more about other parts of your life or opportunities where your child can practise strategies with people outside of your family. These forms are on the links below. Read through them carefully and complete each step. If you get stuck, we’re here. Call our Customer Care team on 1800 819 140. They can assist you. And welcome to Noah’s Ark.

What is the Key Worker Approach?

Noah’s Ark’s therapy specialists are known as Key Workers or Main Therapists. They each have specific professional backgrounds and are highly skilled in all developmental areas. Key Workers support each other within Noah’s Ark to share their expertise.

Key Workers arm parents, carers and other important adults in your child’s life with skills and knowledge so your child can learn and develop with familiar people, at home and in the community.

What is the Everyday Routines Approach?

We provide services for children aged 0-12 through Everyday Therapy and Learning.

Our Therapy and Education specialists, work with you, and your child to achieve your goals. We deliver our services where you need them :

In your home
At childcare
At school
In the community
Online (we call these virtual visits).

We tailor our services based on the goals you and your child are working towards, that means we provide services that can focus on one goal (we call these bursts of therapy) or many goals over a longer period of time.

You receive the information, resources and support you need to help your child learn, develop and reach their goals.

Our Service To You:

Initial Meet and Greet

We start with an initial visit dedicated to getting to know you, talking through our service and ensuring all the necessary paperwork has been completed.

This meeting is typically an hour long and will define the type and frequency of services you want.

To prepare, it is helpful to have a copy of your NDIS plan and goals, and to think about what you want to achieve, and how this fits in with your family routine and availability.

You will then be allocated a Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Teacher, Physiotherapist or Psychologist—depending on your child’s needs and availability.

Meet your Key Worker (Main Therapist)

In the first meeting your Main Therapist will complete a Routines Based Interview.

This is a detailed conversation about your family and child’s day—the areas that are challenging for you, what is going well, and where you would like some help.

At the end of this conversation, we will set the goals for you and your child for the next 6 months.

This process usually takes 2.5 hours. A 2-hour meeting with you plus another 30 minutes of non-contact time writing up the details.

We follow best practice Routines Based Interview to truly understand your child’s needs throughout the different times of the day, environments, family and social interactions.

Regular Visits

Each visit, your Main Therapist will:

Start by checking in on what happened since the last visit and confirm the goal you want to work on for the day—family priorities can change and we want to focus on what is most important to you.
Provide therapy and support.
Ask you to practice with your child. Discuss your routine and opportunities you might have to practice with your child throughout your everyday routine.
Provide you with information and / or referrals.
Check in at the end of the session for feedback and make sure everyone is clear on the strategies to try between visits.

Our strategies are meant to be part of everyday routine so there are many opportunities for you and your child to practice without it becoming an additional task.

Sometimes it will look like play and may be difficult to understand how it connects to the goal you want to achieve. If this happens, ask the therapist or educator to explain their recommendations and how it links to your goal.

Out and About Visits

The goals you have identified might mean spending time with you and your child in your chosen environment eg. food shopping, school, pre-school or day care.

They will work within the child’s natural setting—they don’t withdraw your child from the classroom.

Payment

At Noah’s Ark we charge the NDIS rate for:

Individual visits including home, community, Early childhood and school
Resources, reports, telephone calls, review of video footage etc (this will be discussed with you and an estimated allowance provided for in your service agreement)
Travel
Consultations with additional therapists on the team

Frequently Asked Questions

Key Workers/Main Therapists have expertise in child development, learning and wellbeing. They have university training in a range of different professions including special education, speech pathology, occupational therapy, psychology, social work and physiotherapy. All of our teachers and therapists are fully qualified and registered with professional bodies.

Key Workers have specific training in a range of evidence based programs such as:

Hanen® More than Words^TM
It Takes Two to Talk^TM
Talkability^TM
Learning Language and Loving it^TM
SPARK Communication
Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) Tuning in to Kids
PALS social skills program and
Early Goals

They are also trained to conduct a range of standardised assessments.

Your Key Worker/Main Therapist will have a good understanding of a range of strategies and supports but sometimes additional specialist support and knowledge is necessary. This can include access to another therapist or educator within the team.

All Noah’s Ark staff have the necessary skills to conduct assessments. We usually check in with you so we understand the purpose of the assessment and how it will assist in supporting your family so we can make sure we use the most suitable assessment tool and complete it in the best environment.

Equipment or devices that can help someone do things they can’t do because of a disability, or may help them do things more easily or safely.

Qualified Noah’s Ark staff can guide or prescribe assistive technology (AT) and equipment. Read more in our resource on AT

Some of our therapy programs and activities are offered in a group setting. Your Main Therapist’s Team Leader can talk to you about your needs and what is available to you.