Ability Action Australia Occupational Therapy Motor Movers is an evidence-based service that delivers tailored small group occupational therapy sessions focusing on building gross and fine motor skills required during activities of daily living, including play, in both daycare and educational settings.

Our focus will be on supporting children to master motor skills required for engagement in their natural environment and in preparation for starting school. This will begin by reviewing the group’s status and then focus on skill development during group play with transition to ability to perform everyday activities. Families and educators will be engaged to develop skills in identifying developmental milestone delays and taught strategies to improve independence within all environments.

Our approach:

• addresses challenges against expected developmental milestones for fine motor and gross motor skills
• builds capacity of a child’s abilities with personal, domestic and community activities of daily living to reduce developmental vulnerabilities
• supports families and educators to act early for developmentally vulnerable children and develop independence within other environments and
• supports a child to engage in routines associated with getting ready for, attending and participating in school/kindy e.g. playing on the playgrounds with their peers, sitting in a classroom engaging in content and fine motor skills like drawing, cutting.

Expected outcomes are:

• improve ability to engage in activities of daily living by improvement in fine motor and gross motor skills
• improved motor skills to complete activities at school eg school bag on and off, jumper and shoes on and off, opening lunch box
• upskilling and education to a child’s support network to promote capacity building within the child’s environments and
• educators, parents and families have increased confidence to independently support children to build this capacity.

The Occupational Therapy Motor Movers service would be delivered by our Occupational Therapists onsite to support both children, educators and parents within the child’s natural environment. The number of sessions would be determined in consultation with the centre however would typically run as 10 x 1-hour weekly sessions.

It would be targeted as small group play based sessions using age-appropriate activities to address skill acquisition of children who present as developmentally vulnerable. As part of the service practical written content would be provided for family and parent upskilling including:

• how to incorporate therapeutic activities into the day to day
• play-based, child-led strategies and
• information and education regarding age-appropriate milestones and ‘flags’ for developmental vulnerability.

Likewise, practical written content would be provided for educators including:

• how to incorporate therapeutic activities into the day to day
• play-based, child-led strategies
• information and education regarding age-appropriate milestones and indicators for developmental vulnerability
• potential activities and how they may be adapted for varying children’s needs
• upskilling of developmental milestones and indicators of developmentally delayed and developmentally vulnerable children and
• resources for future reference and/or new staff.

Ability Action Australia will provide detailed written quotations, including number of sessions, based on $210 per hour including for travel. Quotations will not include development time where service is tailored from standard or existing sessions previously delivered. For a bespoke service a quotation will be provided to develop the content and materials for that service. Regional and remote locations will be at hourly rate plus flights, accommodation and car hire as required.