There has been a lot of information in the media around NDIS and therapy services in Early Childhood, but what about physiotherapy for the older child or teenager?
It is true that there is evidence of therapy being at its most effective in the ‘magic window’ of early childhood, but there are certainly many, many benefits that can come from physiotherapy intervention with older children.
Under the NDIS, older child and teenage participants can receive a range of funding types in their plans. Sometimes these plans take the form of ‘multi-disciplinary packages’ which are similar in some ways to the ‘trans-disciplinary packages’ given to Early Childhood NDIS participants. These packages basically provide for a shared ‘bucket’ of funding that is available to be shared between all the therapists that are working with the child, depending on the agreed goals of the family and child.
So, the child may use this money for accessing Physiotherapy, Speech therapy, Occupational Therapy and Psychology, depending on their needs. This type of NDIS funding has some flexibility, so that, for example, if the child’s identified needs are such that they would benefit from more frequent sessions with their Physiotherapist than their Speech therapist, then that is fine. If these needs change over the course of the plan, then there is scope for flexibility there as well.
Sometimes the funding comes in the form of what has been called ‘line items’. This means that the NDIS plan for the child specifies the amount of funding that is available for each specific therapy type. For example, a child may receive funding to cover a certain number of Physiotherapy sessions in the plan, to work in with an agreed goal as discussed with the planner. There is less flexibility with this type of funding but it still can work well if the plan has been developed with care.
I personally love working with older children and teenagers and I believe that physiotherapy supports are, in general, really underutilised in this age group. Older kids know what they like and dislike and physiotherapy can be of great benefit in helping kids to access and ‘upskill’ at the things they love to do. Sometimes kids need the opportunity to move their bodies in different ways or in different environments and that is where physio can really come into its own as well.
Physios are movement experts. We are good at looking at innovative ways of doing things and helping kids (and adults) of all ages getting the best out of the bodies they live in. Movement is instrumental to our experience as humans and kids, in particular, find deep joy in moving their bodies.