Therapy Team

Speech-Language Pathology

The Speech-Language Pathology team at Hume Valley School enables our students to access the curriculum by supporting the development of their communication skills.

We work mainly in the Junior and Primary sub schools, delivering whole class, small group and individual therapy. We support upper year level students by utilising a referral system and consultative approach to therapy.

We work with students, teachers and education support staff in the following areas:

• Assessments for students’ funding reviews
• Language
  • Receptive language (understanding language)
  • Expressive language (using language)
• Articulation (speech clarity and intelligibility)
• Pragmatics (social skills and social language use)
• Fluency (stuttering)
• Voice (vocal quality)

We also collaborate with parents and external providers to assist us in ensuring a consistent and holistic approach to speech-language therapy. 

Occupational Therapy Program

The Occupational Therapy (OT) program aims to identify and address issues preventing students from accessing and participating in everyday life. The initial focus with our Junior and Primary aged students is to support them in the areas that connect them to school and learning. This is important for them to develop and maintain a love of school which is a crucial component of our students achieving their potential.

Some of the key skills and areas that Occupational Therapists can support include:

• Fine motor skills
• Gross motor skills
• Self-care
• Feeding/eating
• Toileting
• Play and social skills
• Sensory processing and regulation (how we take in and interpret sensory information from our environment)

• Emotional regulation
• Community access and safety

We focus on intervention strategies in the  early years at Hume Valley School however referrals can be made by classroom teachers throughout the school for consultation or assessment if they have concerns for their students.

In addition to individual therapy sessions that may occur to support students with a specific identified goal the Occupational Therapy team also facilitate group sessions. Group session may occur where a common need is identified amongst a similar cohort. This is particularly useful when social and emotional regulation has been identified as the key skill gap.

Our Occupational Therapists are also able to offer teachers support in understanding the impact the classroom environment and layout can have on certain students. They may do observations and assessments to determine potential triggers and provide advice or equipment that may improve the students experience in the learning space.

We will use all the expertise and resources available to enable positive participate and success for students at Hume Valley School.