Therapists at NSA work within an educational framework. To support the educational programs the school provides a range of specialist services including speech pathology and occupational therapy. Teachers and therapists work as multi-disciplinary teams to ensure that students have access to consistent and effective programs.
Occupational Therapy (OT)Occupational Therapists (OT) support students to participate in activities of everyday life at school and in the community. They help students develop independence to successfully engage with their world and in activities that are meaningful to them and their families.
OTs assess and prescribe students with equipment (such as adapted cutlery, chew tubes, specialised seating) to support performance in everyday tasks. The aim of the Occupational Therapy team is to promote independent young people who are ready to learn and are part of the school and wider community. |
Students at NSA have a wide spectrum of communication skills. Each student is individually assessed to identify their communication strengths and skills to work on. This combined with thorough case history from families and external supports give the Speech Pathologists and classroom teams a complete communication profile.
Some students are early communicators, who have limited verbal skills or may not use speech at all. Other students may have highly developed language skills but find it difficult to use language to socialise and interact with others. All forms of communication are acknowledged.
Speech Pathologists (SP) are part of a collaborative model at NSA. This means that we work closely with teaching teams to plan how students can be presented with opportunities to communicate throughout the school day. Our focus is assisting students with complex communication needs access the curriculum taught by teachers. Additionally, SPs support teachers to encourage students to use their various communication systems and plan activities that focus on individual communication goals within the classroom program.
Speech Pathologists rotate between classrooms throughout the week and work with students in one on one or group work sessions. We also work directly with teaching teams to consult on group communication needs.
At NSA, our programs focus on the specific development of these key areas:
The Speech Pathology team work with teaching teams and Leadership team to build student’s ability to be as independent as possible and participate in the school and wider community.