Allied Health Assistants at PATC

Sometimes the most helpful part of therapy is having more opportunities to actually practise the skills being worked on. Our Allied Health Assistants (AHAs) work with children, teens and young adults, providing practical support with goals developed by their Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist or Psychologist.

AHA sessions can complement regular therapy by providing additional time to practise skills, try strategies in different settings and build confidence using them in everyday life.

An Allied Health Assistant works under the guidance and supervision of a qualified allied health professional. The clinician remains responsible for assessment, goal setting and the overall intervention plan, while the AHA helps put that plan into practice.

Depending on the person and their goals, sessions might involve:

• Practising speech, language or communication activities
• Reading, spelling and literacy practice
• Fine motor and handwriting activities
• Gross motor, coordination and movement activities
• Practising everyday routines and independent living skills
• Using AAC, visual supports or other communication strategies
• Working on organisation, planning and executive functioning strategies
• Practising emotional regulation strategies developed with the treating clinician
• Building confidence participating in social and community activities
• Repeating and consolidating skills introduced during therapy

The activities used in AHA sessions are selected specifically for the individual rather than following a standard program.

Depending on the goals being worked on, AHA sessions may take place at PATC, at home, at school or in the community. Sometimes practising a skill in the environment where it is actually needed makes much more sense than practising it in a clinic room.

Your AHA and treating clinician work together. The clinician continues to review progress, make clinical decisions and update goals or strategies as needed. The AHA provides feedback about sessions so that support can change and develop alongside the individual. This allows us to provide practical, consistent support while making sure intervention remains appropriate and professionally supervised.

As with all PATC services, we respect different ways of communicating, learning, moving and engaging with the world. The focus of AHA support is on skills that genuinely make everyday life easier, increase independence or help someone participate in the things that matter to them.