Partnering Allied Health Professionals in the Therapy Journey

The hospital will recommend the appropriate therapy and intervention services for your loved one according to their developmental needs. Therapy such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy can be either hospital or community-based. Therapy helps your loved one develop in areas like communication and mobility. For example, through speech therapy, your loved one can learn to communicate effectively, recognise emotions, and connect facial cues to relevant responses, thus improving their social skills¹.

It would be helpful to work together with your loved one and the therapist to customise goals and therapy milestones according to their needs and abilities. To help them holistically, therapy should complement your loved one’s life stage and experiences. For example, if your loved one is entering a new school, the focus of their therapy during this period could be on helping them make a smooth transition and adapt to their new environment.

The therapist will assess your loved one’s needs and abilities before customising a care plan and intervention programme for them. Therapy sessions are usually scheduled regularly, depending on your loved one’s needs and abilities. You can work together with the therapist in the following ways:

• Participate in the goal setting process – The therapist will conduct an initial assessment and develop an intervention plan for your loved one. This involves the setting of short-term and longer-term functional goals and recommendation of interventions to help your loved one improve in targeted areas. Along the way, goals might also be modified according to your loved one’s progress or challenges faced. Encourage your loved one to share information on their abilities and difficulties where they can, to help the therapist develop effective and sustainable interventions. If your loved one is seeing multiple therapists simultaneously, it is recommended to keep them updated on the other interventions and goals set. This will promote greater alignment of goals, prevent confusion, and ensure that the various interventions complement each other.
  
  
• Reinforce therapy techniques at home – Stay updated on what is done at therapy sessions with your loved one. You can check in with your loved one, or with the therapist occasionally to understand what can be practised and reinforced at home. Practicing at home with your loved one will help them maximise the benefits of therapy.
  
  
• Tracking and Measuring Progress – Provide feedback to the therapist on the progress of your loved one, their responses to the strategies, and your experience of reinforcing them at home. If your loved one is under the care of multiple therapists, sharing such observations with all the therapists can help them make informed decisions on how to proceed with the interventions. It will also be helpful to share feedback from your loved one’s secondary caregivers and Special Education (SPED) schools, if any.