Paediatric Occupational Therapy to Support the Development and Wellbeing of Children and Their Families.

About Kindred Paediatric Occupational Therapy

Ellie Cassels-Kleinman is a paediatric occupational therapist and parent. Over the last decade she has worked with children, families, and educators as an occupational therapist, behaviour therapist, and educator.

Ellie has a Bachelor’s Degree with First Class Honours in Occupational Therapy and an Advanced Diploma in Rudolf Steiner / Waldorf Education. Ellie’s work is informed by training in Connect, Play, Learn, Occupational Performance Coaching, Tuning in to Kids^®, and Learn to Play therapy. She is registered with AHPRA and a member of Occupational Therapy Australia.

Ellie endeavours to work in a way that is family centred and informed by best practice guidelines in early childhood intervention. She is committed to providing therapy that deeply reflects the unique needs of each child and family she works with.

Ellie provides services to families residing in and around the City of Port Phillip including within Elwood, St Kilda, Ripponlea, Middle Park, South Melbourne, Albert Park, Brighton, and Elsternwick.

For more information about best practice in early childhood intervention you can download National Guidelines and information sheets here:

https://eciavic.org.au/Web/Web/For-Families/Resources/What-does-best-practice-look-like-.aspx?hkey=77e5eedb-3976-4e26-8532-3923541e8f98

For more information on family centred therapy:

Occupational Therapy

Ellie provides therapy in children’s natural environments: at home, kindergarten, child care, school, playground, soccer field etc.

She supports families in these areas:

Play and Socialising

Childcare, Kinder, and School Skills

Self Care (dressing, meals, bathing, toileting)

Sensory Processing and Emotional Regulation

Research shows that children develop best through the relationships they have with their parents and caregivers. For this reason, Ellie involves parents and caregivers in sessions and works collaboratively with them so that strategies can be used at home and in the community. When working with young children, Ellie uses play-based approaches and focuses on strengthening interactions between children and their caregivers as a starting point. Her aim is to support parents and caregivers to help children build skills and participate as fully as possible in family and community life.

Groups

Group programs to support emotional regulation and school readiness are run throughout the year. Register your interest here.

Capacity Building for Early Childhood Settings and Schools

Ellie provides tailored capacity building for caregivers, early childhood education settings, and schools.

Common themes she provides education and professional development on include:

Transition to school
Understanding and working with challenging behaviour
Emotional regulation
Play

To understand how we can support you or your organisation contact us here.

Fees and Rebates

Kindred Paediatric Occupational Therapy session fees are $193.99 per hour.

Funding Options

NDIS

Kindred Paediatric Occupational Therapy offers therapy to self managed and plan managed NDIS participants. You can speak to your NDIS planner if you are uncertain which type of plan you have. To find out more about the NDIS you can visit their website at www.ndis.gov.au or call the NDIS Helpline on 1800 800 110 for more information.

Medicare

You may be eligible for rebates from Medicare for occupational therapy with a Team Care Arrangement (TCA) or through a Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders plan. You can obtain a TCA in consultation with your GP or Paediatrician. Please note the Medicare rebate does not cover the entire session fee and you will have some out of pocket expenses if accessing therapy in this way.

For further information on eligibility:

Services Australia – Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders and eligible disabilities

Services Australia – Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders and eligible disabilities – Billing Requirements

Private Health Insurance

If you have private health insurance, you may be eligible for a rebate from your private health fund for occupational therapy. Please contact your private health insurer to determine your eligibility. Please note the rebates provided by your private health insurer will not cover the entire session fee and you will have some out of pocket expenses if accessing therapy in this way.