A NOTE FROM JESS

It has been a busy few months here at Explore and Soar. As always, I am so grateful for the opportunity to grow alongside our clients, families, and local communities. This has meant going through a transitional phase of growth. We have been developing our Mental Health Occupational Therapy programs, ready to welcome our new OTs to join our team, and creating safe spaces for our clients to receive intervention when it’s not achievable in their homes or local communities. 

We are thrilled to announce that we will soon have two more clinic rooms available for our clients in the next two months. One of our clinicians, Maddie, has already started seeing a couple of clients in one of the two newly built clinic rooms, and the clients, their families, and Maddie have been delighted with the space. We are so excited to be able to offer these new ways of consistently supporting our clients very soon! 

As we approach the end of the year, when everyone may begin to feel more tired, to-do lists are piling up, and the end-of-year planning is not far off, please reach out to us if you need any support or would like to review your family’s intervention models (fortnightly, monthly, intensive, or group programs) for therapy. We are here to support you.

As always, we want to express our gratitude for your continued support, understanding, and collaboration, which allows us to help your children and family achieve success to the best of our ability. We truly appreciate and love working with all of you!

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IMPORTANT DATES

• Commencement of Term 3 Appointments: 
  Monday, 22nd July 2024
• Term 3 Staff Professional Development Day: 
  Wednesday, 24th July 2024 
• R U OK day?: 
  Thursday, 12th September 2024
• Last Day of Term 3: 
  Friday 27th September
• Week 1 School Holiday Intensives: 
  Monday 31st September to Friday 4th October 
• Labour Day Public Holiday: 
  Monday 7th October 2024
• Week 2 School Holiday Intensives: 
  Tuesday 8th to Friday 11th October 2024
• World Mental Health Day: 
  Thursday, 10th October
• Commencement of Term 4 Appointments: 
  Monday, 14th October 2024

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“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney.

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THE LATEST INFORMATION

EXPLORE AND SOAR CLIENT UPDATES AND POLICY INFORMATION

Explore and Soar are dedicated to providing you with the most up-to-date information. To achieve this, we regularly review our client data, policies, and procedures.

All our clients received a client update form during their session this term. This form allows us the opportunity to check in with you to ensure that all the data we have is still correct and to add any extra data you provide. You will be provided with this quick form to review once every year. We would like to thank everyone who has promptly returned the form. If you have not yet had a chance to return it, please provide it to your therapist at your next session or scan/photo of the form and email it to admin@exploreandsoar.com.au.

Additionally, we have recently been working on a few of our policies and procedures to ensure they are clear and precise. One of these is the cancellation policy, in which we have outlined all costs and expectations in a clearer manner. Below is a portion of the new policy:

Cancellation With More Than 24 Hours’ Notice: There is no cancellation fee when 24 hours’ notice (1 business day) is provided.

Cancellation Within 24 hours of Scheduled Appointment: 100% of the appointment cost, excluding travel fees, when 24 hours’ notice (1 business day) is NOT provided. Payment is due within the subsequent billing cycle.

No-show Appointments (including cancellations within 30 minutes of the Appointment Commencement): 100% of the appointment cost, including travel fees, will be charged. Payment is due within the subsequent billing cycle.

• Attempts will be made to contact the client. If the client or family fails to contact or does not show up within 15 minutes of the session commencement time, the Clinicians or Therapeutic Assistants reserve the right to leave the appointment.
• If the client shows up to the appointment late but within 15 minutes of the appointment or notifies the Clinician that they will be late, the appointment will continue; however, it will still conclude at the originally scheduled time.
• Due to Clinicians’ travel to appointments, if the cancellation is received within 30 minutes prior to the commencement of the appointment, 100% of the appointment cost, including travel fees, will be applied.

Cancellation of Monday Appointments: Cancellations must be made by Friday at 12 pm (noon) prior to the appointment for no fee. After this time, 100% of the appointment cost, excluding travel fees, will apply.

Cancellation of Rescheduled Appointment: 100% cancellation fee, excluding travel fees, regardless of notice.

Cancellation Due to Emergencies or Medical Incidents: Fees are determined at the discretion of the Explore and Soar Management Team.

You will receive an email containing a copy of this policy and other important information. Please keep an eye out for the updated ‘Explore and Soar Welcome Pack/Parent Handout’

It is important to note that our ‘Explore and Soar Welcome Pack/Client Handbook‘, ‘Explore and Soar Service Options & Price Guide‘, and ‘Explore and Soar Comments, Feedback and Complaints‘ form are available on our website.

PARENT AND TEEN HANDOUT

Have you seen our latest blog, “EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ADOLESCENCE: NAVIGATING PUBERTY WITH CONFIDENCE AND SUPPORT”. We have also developed a handout for both Parents and Teens on what to look out for, different strategies and all the information you need to know from an Occupational Therapist’s perspective. Download it today!

THE LATEST INFORMATION

BUSINESS GROWTH –
CLINIC ROOMS AT KURRI KURRI OFFICE

Exciting news! Over the last couple of months, we have been making changes behind the scenes, adding some clinic rooms for our therapists and clients! Our main focus and goal is to continue to provide services within our local communities, within homes, preschools and community settings. However, for some of our families, this is not always an option and being able to travel to a clinic room is more achievable. We now have you covered!  

During Term 3, our clinicians will be working out of these purpose-built new rooms on certain days. If this interests you, please give us a call. Please note that there is currently limited availability, but more rooms and clinicians will be available in the near future!

Stay tuned for photos and stories from our new clinic space, which is located within The Hunter Region Business Hub at Kurri Kurri.

RECRUITMENT FOR NEW STAFF 

Explore and Soar has been actively recruiting, and we look forward to sharing our new team members with you in the near future. In the meantime, if you know of any great occupational therapists who would fit the culture and team at Explore and Soar, get in touch with us!

JULY SCHOOL HOLIDAY GROUP PROGRAM – WE HAD A BLAST!

If you haven’t seen our social posts yet, we shared the success and adventures from our 3 group programs – The Write Stuff, Game Changers, and Shake n Bake – which were held during the second week of the July School Holidays! You can check out our posts by clicking here!

If you are interested in our group programs for the January School Holidays, click here to express your interest through our online form. We will add you to our list and contact you once our group program agenda is finalised. 

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“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – Christopher Robin.

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CELEBRATING SUCCESS
Clients Achieving Their Goals and Soaring High!

We’re excited to share the fantastic progress we’ve seen in Mr. Explorer! It has been a joy having him join our school group program in January and July. In the last six months, we’ve witnessed a remarkable improvement in his social and regulatory skills.

Earlier this year, Mr Explorer faced difficulty in transitioning away from his family, often becoming overwhelmed and withdrawing during group activities. He sought consent assistance from therapists during gameplay and would self-regulate using linear movement such as moving back and forth due to overstimulation. 

Fast forward to now, and the change is truly remarkable.  Mr. Explore is now beaming with confidence, happily engaging in our July school holidays group program without the need for constant support. He actively engaged in group activities plans and stories, engaging with peers and building connections without therapists’ support. We are so proud of his social interactions, fostering connections with his peers in gameplay, ability to challenge peers’ thinking while advocating for self, appropriate jokes and playful interactions. 

His fatigue levels have decreased, and he’s confidently navigating obstacle courses and the air mattresses with ease. 

Mr Explorer has completed two Tomatis programs and continues to have fortnightly appointments at home.

It’s heartwarming to see his growth and the positive impact he’s making on his social and regulatory skills! Well done, Mr. Explorer! You are truly achieving success!

What’s next for Mr. Explore? 

– Expand these achievements into his everyday school environment 

– Continue with Tomatis programs 

– Maintain fortnightly appointments 

– Implement home programming for vestibular inputs to optimise arousal before school.

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THERAPIST FAVOURITE GAME