Paediatric Occupational Therapy
Learn Through Play
PAEDIATRIC THERAPY
Paediatric Occupational Therapy
M: redacted
www.learnthroughplay.com.au\
T: redacted
25/1 Elyard Street, Narellan 2567
Submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Thriving Kids Program
About Learn Through Play:
Learn Through Play is a small, family-centred paediatric occupational therapy service based in Narellan, NSW 2567. Our clinic supports children aged 2–12 years old presenting with autism, ADHD, apraxia of speech, sensory processing challenges, and motor coordination difficulties.
Our approach combines:
- Evidence-based practice, including play-based therapy, and sensory integration.
- Strong family partnerships, supporting parents to feel confident and capable.
- Therapy across clinic, home, school, and community settings to ensure strategies generalise to daily life.
We have been delivering early intervention for over 16 years and are deeply committed to ensuring children and families receive timely, accessible, and appropriate supports.
Importance of Early Intervention:
Early intervention is not optional — it is essential. Brain development in the early years is rapid, and early supports can significantly change a child’s long-term trajectory. Families who receive early guidance report reduced stress, improved confidence, and better engagement in daily life.
Our concern is that without strong early intervention pathways, children risk “falling through the cracks” and entering the school system with unmet needs, placing pressure on families, educators, and the broader community.
Opportunities and Risks in the Thriving Kids Model:
Strengths:
- A focus on foundational supports outside of the NDIS is welcome and could help children access help earlier, without requiring a diagnosis.
- The integration with mainstream services (health, education, childcare) has the potential to normalise and de-stigmatise support.
Concerns:
- Service Availability & Workforce Capacity:
- There is currently a shortage of paediatric occupational therapists and other allied health professionals, particularly in rural and outer-metropolitan areas.
- Without adequate workforce planning, Thriving Kids risks long waitlists, leaving families unsupported during critical developmental windows.
- Transition Risks from NDIS:
- Many families rely on the NDIS for therapy funding. Transitioning children to Thriving Kids must not create gaps where therapy hours are reduced or unavailable.
- Clear communication and individualised transition planning will be vital.
- Equity and Access:
- Families in lower socioeconomic areas, CALD backgrounds, or with limited transport often struggle to access therapy. Thriving Kids must fund outreach, flexible service delivery, and culturally appropriate care.
- Quality and Consistency:
- If services are spread across multiple mainstream providers, consistent training and standards are needed to ensure high-quality intervention, not “light touch” supports that are insufficient for developmental needs.
Recommendations:
To ensure Thriving Kids achieves its goals, we recommend:
- Investment in Workforce:
- Fund training, supervision, and incentives to attract paediatric OTs, speech pathologists, and psychologists into early childhood roles.
- Support mentoring pathways so new graduates can build confidence working with complex developmental profiles.
- Integration with Existing Services:
- Embed occupational therapists in early childhood centres, preschools, and schools, not just clinics, to provide real-time coaching and environmental adaptations.
- Ensure Thriving Kids complements — not replaces — NDIS supports for children with more significant needs.
- Family-Centred Approaches:
- Provide parent education and coaching as a funded component of Thriving Kids, recognising that empowered parents are the most effective change agents.
- Equity Measures:
- Dedicated strategies to support First Nations, CALD, rural, and remote families, including telehealth, outreach programs, and cultural liaison roles.
- Monitoring and Evaluation:
- Ongoing review of outcomes to ensure Thriving Kids delivers genuine improvements in child development, school readiness, and family wellbeing.
Conclusion:
Thriving Kids has the potential to strengthen Australia’s early intervention system, but only if it is resourced, workforce-ready, and genuinely family-centred. Occupational therapists, as experts in functional participation and child development, are essential to this vision.
At Learn Through Play, we see daily how early, consistent, and engaging support transforms the lives of children and families. We urge the committee to ensure Thriving Kids is designed with practical implementation, equity, and sustainability at its core.
Submitted by:
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Claire Joyce Paediatric Occupational Therapist Director | Learn Through Play
Paediatric Occupational Therapy
Learn Through Play