WHY EARLY INTERVENTION MATTERS
The Importance of Early Intervention
Prarthna Bhuta strongly believes in the importance of early intervention and its benefits. When a child’s developmental differences are identified and addressed early, the brain’s natural plasticity means that intervention can have a significant and lasting impact on how a child learns, communicates, and participates in daily life.
Prarthna developed her interest in the neurodevelopment of babies and children over many years — first as a Gymbaroo teacher working with parents, babies, and children for eight years, and then as an Occupational Therapist. She combines her Gymbaroo training to complement her occupational therapy skills to achieve the best outcomes for each client.
Prarthna has over 15 years of experience working in the area of Early Intervention with families and caregivers of babies and young children. It is an area of passion for her.
At Advance Occupational Therapy, early intervention is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Every child’s program is individually tailored based on a comprehensive assessment of their strengths, challenges, and the occupational areas most important to their family.
WHO CAN BENEFIT
Children Who May Benefit from Early Intervention
We see children presenting with the following challenges or diagnoses. If you are unsure whether your child would benefit, please call us to discuss.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Hypotonia (low muscle tone)
- Global Developmental Delay
- ADHD and ADD
- Microcephaly
- Sensory Processing Disorders
- Learning difficulties and delays
- Coordination issues
We also support children who are not yet diagnosed but whose caregivers have noticed delays or difficulties in self care, play, learning, or daily routines.
AREAS OF SUPPORT
Occupational Areas We Address in Early Intervention
We consider and discuss the various occupational tasks that your child engages in according to the caregiver and child. Early intervention at Advance Occupational Therapy targets the four key occupational areas:
Self Care
Dressing, toileting, grooming, and feeding. Building independence in self-care tasks is a foundational goal of early intervention, giving children skills they require throughout their lives.
Leisure
Playing with other children, social interaction, and imaginative play. Early intervention supports children in developing the skills to engage with peers and participate in play, which is central to a child’s social and emotional development.
Productivity
Handwriting, reading, academic skills, and coping in the classroom environment. Early intervention helps children build the foundations — motor, sensory, attentional, and organisational — that underpin learning and participation at school.
Rest
Sleep routines and patterns. Good sleep is fundamental to a child’s development, learning, and regulation. Early intervention can support the establishment of healthy, consistent sleep routines.
OUR PROCESS
How Early Intervention Works at Advance Occupational Therapy
At Advance Occupational Therapy we take the time to understand each child fully. Here is what to expect from the early intervention process:
- Initial Enquiry. No referral is needed. Simply call (02) 9659 2666 or email prarthna@advanceot.com.au. Prarthna will discuss your child’s situation and confirm an appointment time that suits your family.
- Detailed Caregiver Consultation. Prarthna takes the time to discuss the caregiver’s concerns in detail, reviewing the child’s history across all occupational areas. Collaboration with preschool, daycare, or school is often discussed at this stage.
- Comprehensive Assessment. Assessments may involve standardised measures alongside play-based observational assessments, depending on what the areas of challenge are. Each client is individually tailored for with regard to intervention and goals set.
- School and Preschool Collaboration. At Advance Occupational Therapy we offer to collaborate with preschool, daycare, or school. This is often discussed in the initial consultation and may be an option if this is where the challenges for the child exist and if educators are open to it. Prarthna may contact or visit teachers and educators as part of the process.
- Individualised Intervention Plan. Based on all information gathered, an intervention plan is derived which consists of individualised goals. Customised OT programs are provided for the various environments the child interacts in, including home and school. We believe in being outcomes-based using the latest interventions.
- Ongoing Review and Monitoring. Goals are reviewed regularly so that the outcomes of therapy are always monitored. Parent education is a key part of the program — Prarthna works closely with families to ensure strategies extend beyond the clinic into everyday life.
SPECIALISED PROGRAMS
Early Intervention Programs Offered at Advance Occupational Therapy
In addition to direct occupational therapy, Advance Occupational Therapy incorporates the following specialised programs as part of individualised early intervention plans where appropriate.
Forbrain
Forbrain® is a Speech and Brain Training Headset engineered to enhance information processing in the brain. It harnesses technology to refine speech perception and cognitive abilities, transforming the way a person hears their own voice through two core mechanisms:
- Dynamic Filter: enhances specific speech frequencies, continually surprising the brain to elevate memory, attention, and sensory processing.
- Bone Conduction: transmits voice through vibrations of ear pads positioned in front of the ears, offering a natural and superior perception of the voice and consequently improving speech and overall perception.
Regular use of Forbrain improves the foundational elements of spoken language by refining auditory discrimination, phonological awareness, and sound articulation and fluency. It also amplifies attention span, sensory integration, energy and awareness, as well as verbal memory, focus and concentration, and reading and writing.
Forbrain is not suitable for children under 3 years, people with Parkinson’s disease, people with hearing loss in both ears of 80% (hearing aids must be removed before use), people carrying a cochlear implant, or people with epilepsy (except when supervised or if advised by a specialist).
Move to Learn
The Move to Learn movement program is a simple, flexible movement program based on the natural movements of babies and toddlers. It addresses the underlying functional deficits that children with various learning difficulties and disabilities have shown, integrating left and right brain functions and helping to mature the vestibular system as well as any retained primitive reflexes that should normally have disappeared by the time a child is attending school.
Comprising a warm-up and 9 simple movement sequences, Move to Learn covers all the essentials that every child needs to establish an effective foundation for academic learning, and in the right order. The program has been used extensively around the world and has been adopted by a growing number of professionals specialising in areas including learning difficulties, ADD, ADHD, Autism, Asperger’s, and physical disabilities.
Gymbaroo-Based Neurodevelopment
Prarthna is a qualified Toddler Kindy Gymbaroo teacher who taught parents and their babies and children the Gymbaroo program for eight years. While working at Gymbaroo, she developed a strong interest in the neurodevelopment of babies and children. Prarthna combines her Gymbaroo training to complement her occupational therapy skills, drawing on principles of neurodevelopment to support early intervention outcomes for each child.
WHY ADVANCE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
A Bespoke Early Intervention Service
Advance Occupational Therapy is a bespoke occupational therapy service which considers each client’s requirements on an individual basis. You will be seen by the owner of Advance Occupational Therapy, Prarthna Bhuta, during your child’s sessions. Prarthna will be your direct point of contact to help you through this journey.
Parent education, and customised individualised OT programs for the various environments that the child interacts in, are some of the unique features of the service at Advance Occupational Therapy. This makes OT sessions at Advance Occupational Therapy personalised and unique when compared to larger occupational therapy centres.
Prarthna as Your Key Worker
A key worker is a single, consistent professional who coordinates support across all the different therapists and services involved in a child’s care. Rather than families having to navigate separate relationships with each provider, the key worker acts as the central point of contact — liaising with other therapists, educators, and specialists, keeping everyone aligned, and ensuring the child’s goals are being addressed cohesively across all environments.
At Advance Occupational Therapy, Prarthna naturally fulfils this role. As the sole practitioner and your direct point of contact throughout the journey, she collaborates with your child’s preschool, school, daycare, and other therapists as part of the assessment and intervention process. She communicates with educators, gathers information from multiple sources, and ensures the strategies and goals developed in OT sessions extend into the environments where your child spends their time. For families navigating early intervention with multiple providers, this means one person holds the full picture — and you always know who to call.
About Prarthna Bhuta
Prarthna graduated from Sydney University with a Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) — her third degree. She also holds a Bachelors of Science (BSc) and a Masters of Public Health (MPH), and has worked in the areas of diabetes and cancer prevention and medical research. After the birth of her first child she qualified as a Toddler Kindy Gymbaroo teacher and Baby Massage instructor and taught the Gymbaroo program for eight years before returning to university to complete her OT degree. She combines this background with her occupational therapy training to achieve the best outcomes for each client. Prarthna has worked in the area of baby and child development for more than 15 years.
Credentials
- Registered NDIS Provider
- Registered Medicare Australia Provider
- Member, Occupational Therapy Australia
- Endorsed by Better Mental Health
- Meets yearly continuing professional development requirements
- Master of Occupational Therapy – Sydney University
- Bachelor of Science and Master of Public Health
- Qualified Toddler Kindy Gymbaroo Teacher
- Acts as Key Worker — single point of contact liaising across therapists, educators, and services
FUNDING AND REBATES
How to Fund Early Intervention
NDIS
Prarthna is a registered NDIS Provider. Early intervention occupational therapy can be funded through the NDIS. Advance Occupational Therapy works with agency-managed, plan-managed, and self-managed NDIS participants.
Enhanced Primary Care Plan and Mental Health Care Plan
These two rebates require a referral from your GP. Prarthna is a registered provider with Medicare Australia.
Private Health Insurance
If you have private health insurance for Occupational Therapy, please speak with your private health insurance provider to find out whether you are eligible for a rebate.
Fees are discussed transparently before intervention commences. Please contact Prarthna directly to discuss your child’s situation and the options available to your family.
GET IN TOUCH
Book an Early Intervention Appointment
No referral is needed. Contact Prarthna directly to discuss your child’s needs and arrange an appointment.
