Our Expertise
We provide expert knowledge and intervention in the following areas:
Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills refer to the ability to use our hands and fingers in functional ways. We use our hands and fingers for tasks such as writing, as well as eating and drinking and dressing. Aspects of fine motor include strength, dexterity (ability to move items quickly within the hand) and manipulation.
Gross Motor Skills
Gross motor skills refer to the ability to use our whole body in a coordinated and functional manner, including such skills as core strength, balance and crossing the midline. They also include eye-hand coordination skills, such as ball skills and playground skills.
Sensory Processing
Sensory processing is the way that our bodies take in information about our environment through our senses, and how this information is organised in the central nervous system in order for us to be able to understand, react and interact appropriately with the world around us. Sensory processing occurs throughout our life, as we engage with our environment and have new experiences.
Children may demonstrate over- or under-sensitivity to certain sensations, such as loud noises or certain items of clothing. This sensitivity may cause sensation-seeking behaviour, such as chewing on things, enjoying being spun repetitively, or difficulty maintaining a calm state.
Self Regulation
Self regulation is the child's growing ability to manage and control their feelings and behaviour, both in the home and school setting.
Shine OT makes use of the world-renowned "Alert Program" to teach children how to manage their emotions and behaviours through the use of simple, practical solutions that can be incorporated into everyday living.
Visual Perception
Visual Perception involves the ability to understand what is being seen. Visual Perception is highly important in completing many activities, such as reading a story, completing a puzzle, identifying letters and numbers, copying and writing.
Handwriting
Handwriting is the integration of a series of complex fine motor movements, visual-perceptual skills and language comprehension needed to accurately control a pen or pencil to produce representative patterns that form letters and words, as a means of communication.
A child must have sufficient manual dexterity, fine motor coordination and visual motor skills for handwriting. Areas such as letter formation, reversals, speed, legibility, and pencil grip may need to be addressed.
School Readiness
School readiness means that a child possesses the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for success in school and for later learning and life.
When starting Kindy, some of the expected skills include drawing, cutting, on-task behaviour, task completion, following instructions, craft skills and social skills.
Kindy and Pre-Primary Screening
Shine OT offers schools a comprehensive screening service which provides an assessment of each child to identify areas of difficulty in the core foundation areas relevant to occupational therapy that can have a significant impact on child functioning in the class.
When children first enter the school system, it may take a considerable amount of time for teachers to become aware of their students' abilities and challenges. As such, issues often aren't identified until well into the first year of school. By offering on-site screening services, assessment is done early and timely intervention can occur.