Frequently asked questions

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Great question, I’m so glad you asked!

Occupational Therapy (OT for short) can vary a lot depending on which field the OT works in. OTs can work in the community, hospitals, and with people of all ages. You can find OTs working in child development and disability services, as hand therapists, in soft tissue clinics, workers (vocational) rehabilitation & more.

What have you studied?

In Australia, OTs study at least a four-year bachelor of science degree at university, or a masters in OT. They study anatomy and physiology, paediatrics (kids), gerontology (older adults), mental health conditions, physical health conditions, rehabilitation & more.

What is the overall concept of OT?

OTs study how factors to do with a person (such as their mental or physical health) and their environment (such as the physical environment that you live in, and the people around you) impact on your participation and functioning in everyday life. Overall, OTs are trained to work with you about any challenges that you might be having, potentially due to a physical challenge, mental health challenge, neurodivergent way of operating in the world, or the environment around you.

They listen to what is important to you, and support you to establish goal(s) around what you would like to be able to do in your life. They work together with you to support you to achieve these goals. OTs are focused on people being able to do the things in their life that are meaningful to them, to promote self-esteem and quality of life.

What is the approach?

OTs can work in a “top down” or “bottom up” approach:

A top down approach uses activities that are meaningful to the individual to build skills — e.g., using the activity of cooking to build hand grip strength through stirring.

A bottom up approach works on prerequisite skills first, then progresses to the activity — e.g., practising how to write and/or type to support someone to complete schoolwork.

What is an “occupation”?

OTs call daily activities the “occupations” of everyday life. It might be helpful to think of OT as “rehabilitation therapy” or “life skills therapy.”

OT is very broad, which means practitioners work on nearly any activity a person does in their day — from school tasks, eating, dressing, showering, toileting, work, study, social skills and relationships, driving, catching public transport, and more — depending on what matters most to the person.

Note: “Occupation” in OT does not just mean paid work — it refers to all meaningful activities in life.

Who might come to see me as their OT?

Whale Shark Therapy Services supports a broad range of individuals across ages and presentations. Some people may be experiencing challenges such as a primary school student with fine motor and handwriting difficulties. Others may have diagnosed conditions or disabilities — for example, someone whose Autism/ADHD executive functioning skills and sensory sensitivities are affecting their ability to eat, socialise, work, study, etc.

The first step is always to speak with the individual (and/or their parent/guardian) to determine what is going on, what is most important to work on, and then support them to work towards that goal in a way that empowers them and honours their expertise in their body and life.

No referral is needed. Please just submit an enquiry form via the website to get in contact and we can book appointments from there. 

Please feel welcome to click on the button on my website that says "enquire about services". After I have received this, I will contact you regarding appointments, and share with you the link to my online booking platform. 

2026 update: appointments available! As I am transitioning to a predominantly clinic-based location now, I have more availability to start working with new people. Please feel welcome to send an enquiry about services form to start the process.

Yes there is free parking available at the clinic. This includes ACROD parking.

There are two free car parks available on site with ACROD parking bays. There is level and ramp access.  There is a wheelchair-accessible toilet available on site, air conditioning, free public wifi, and a refrigerated water cooler. 

Further information about accessibility and what to bring to the appointment to support you is provided in appointment confirmation and reminder emails. 

Depending on which car park you use, please go either up or down a ramp into the courtyard. Then, walk through to the Function Centre (link to Google Maps coordinates and picture of the building).

A link will be emailed to you in the appointment confirmation and reminder email, and reminder text message to join the appointment. The link will take you to the secure online platform "Microsoft Teams" for our appointment. 

It's a good idea to join 5-10 minutes beforehand to check that your video and audio are working, so that you can get the most out of your appointment time. 

If that doesn't work for you, there are other platforms we can use.

You may wish to:

• Ask for supporting letters from the professionals in your/ your child's life e.g. Psychologist, GP, Speech Pathologist, Paediatrician, Psychiatrist etc, that list diagnosis, the impact they have on daily life, and what supports you would benefit from. If not known, they may wish to recommend that funding is included to have a Functional Capacity Assessment completed in your next NDIS plan.
• Obtain reports from medical and allied health professionals to provide evidence of how a Participant meets the NDIS "disability requirements" . 
• Liaise with a diagnosing health professional if a Participant would benefit from being assessed for, "conditions that are likely to meet the disability requirements".  Have reports outline how the Participant meets the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 - section 24 - disability requirements.
• Request an advocate from Midlas or Developmental Disabilities WA, to help you prepare for, and attend, the NDIS meeting. 
• Request an in-person meeting with the NDIS delegate.
• Document all correspondence including the first and last name of the person who you are speaking with from the NDIS, and request a receipt number of the conversation.
• Write a Carer Impact Statement, or a Statement of Lived Experience. Templates can be found online through a Google search. 
• Know what the NDIS can fund:  NDIS supports lists & "NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2024-25".
• Ask for the "NDIS budget breakdown" to see how funds have been allocated in the NDIS plan from your Local Area Coordinator.
• Look after yourself:  www.carerswa.asn.au 

Eligibility reassessment

• This NDIS CEO statement from 03-02-2025 states, "we have extended the timeframe for participants to provide additional information to support eligibility reassessments from 28 to 90 days." This information on re-eligibility statements from the NDIS states, "This came into effect on 30 January 2025."
• "A parent’s guide to NDIS eligibility reassessments for 7-9 year olds" from Perth Kids Hub