Frequently Asked Questions
Have Occupational Therapy Questions?
Geelong & Surrounds receives a number of frequently asked questions around our services and support. Below you can find the most common and frequently asked questions we get. Of course if you cannot find what you’re looking for, simply reach out to us. We are more than happy to help.
Occupations are everyday tasks that include things people need to, want to and are expected to do. (WFOT – World Federation of Occupational Therapists). Examples of occupations may be taking care of yourself and / or others, working, community activities and hobbies. Within occupational therapy we work with you to set client centred goals based on your strengths and limitations and work with you to achieve these functional goals.
The amount of funding you need for occupational therapy depends on your goals and your individual situation. We will conduct an initial assessment and following the initial assessment we will complete a report with a therapy plan giving you an indication of funding required to achieve each goal. We will discuss the importance of each goal with you so we can prioritise your funding. We normally suggest that you have 5 hours of funding available for the initial assessment, travel and report writing.
This will depend on your private health insurance. Please discuss with your private health insurance provider. In addition to private health insurance you can visit your GP and obtain a Enhanced Primary Care “EPC” plan for 5 discounted OT sessions.
Our therapists will meet with you at your chosen location. This may be in your home, place of work, in the community or at our clinic location.
We will complete an initial assessment which involves discussing and assessing your current function, limitations and strengths of function and then work together to form an intervention plan to achieve these goals. We will complete a report so you have a list of these goals and associated action plans.
It’s often helpful to have others present for your initial assessment to help provide information, this may be family members, support workers, other health professionals or support coordinators.
Yes we are both a home based and clinic based service. There is a charge associated with travel depending on where we are travelling to. We will always discuss this with you prior to completing your first assessment.
GSOT is made up of a team of occupational therapists, therapy assistants and administration support. We work very closely with your team of health professionals, this is not limited to but includes exercise physiology, physiotherapy, speech pathology, neuropsychology, medical, nurses, support coordinators and support workers.
The main focus of occupational therapy is function. The term neurological is used to describe a disease, trauma or condition that impacts the way the nervous system works. Common conditions include stroke, acquired or traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, motor neuron disease, parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy and other acquired, degenerative and congenital neurological disorders. Neurological occupational therapy focuses on function from a neurological perspective such as arm function, memory and thinking, perception, vision, mobility and transfers. Therapy may involve retraining of a skill or adapting the way you complete a skill such as using equipment to assist with the functional task.
