Kids initiative
Re: Inquiry into Thriving Kids Program
3.10.2025
To Whom It May Concern,
| am writing to express my thoughts and concerns on the proposed changes to the provision
of allied health services for children experiencing developmental delays.
| am a sole occupational therapist providing services to children, adolescents and adults. The
vast majority of my caseload consists of individuals who are autistic, have ADHD, intellectual disability or developmental delay.
The lack of a clear path forward is concerning; families are fearful of losing the supports that they trust and that they have experienced positive changes and development with.
As a small business, | am able to provide individualised, client and family centered
interventions. | am able to adapt programs and resources to best fit each child, | am able to
work collaboratively and develop positive therapeutic relationships with each of my families
which help to ensure long term success. | am able to work alongside teachers and educators
to provide support in preschool and school to enable participation and engagement across environments.
Terms of Reference:
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Evidence based information and resources: These are essential to providing intervention and support to children and their families, however there is no one size fits all approach. The nature of neurodiversity and developmental delay means that each child and family is unique. They must be free to access the services and providers who best fit their needs, and providers must be free to draw on their clinical reasoning and experience to deliver interventions that will be most appropriate and beneficial to each individual. Programs which are generic and formulaic in nature will not provide the level of support that these children require. Progress can often take time, and all children develop along their own trajectory, not necessarily inline with a predetermined timeline in a preset program.
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Current programs and initiatives: Child and family health services, are understaffed and resourced. Families often have to wait a long time for services, and then therapy is provided in short, ineffective blocks. There is limited ability to develop trust in practitioners and for support to be truly family or client centred. Schools and Preschools are already under resourced and understaffed and struggle to provide individualised support to children. If intervention is solely provided within the preschool, daycare or school environment, how are families involved in the process? Intervention must be collaborative across environments with the family at the centre.
- Workforce support and training: There has been no clear information provided as to what “Thriving Kids’ actually entails. Who provides the training and where is the workforce coming from?
Government funded supports must be sustainable and viable to support children and their families not just in early childhood but across the lifespan. They must allow for child and family choice in the services and providers they access, and they must allow for consistency across environments and ages. Interventions must be able to be provided in ways which allow for individual differences.
Occupational Therapist
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