Speech pathologists help babies and children learn to communicate. Speech pathologists can help with speech, language, literacy, voice and alternative communication e.g. signing, pictures and speech generating devices. They also help babies and children with feeding and swallowing challenges.

At PEDAL our speech pathologists are passionate about working with children and families to support children in reaching their communication and mealtime potential. We collaborate closely with our team members both within PEDAL and other services to provide the best outcomes for our families. We work with your family to develop goals that are meaningful for your child. We follow your child's strengths and endeavour to upskill parents, caregivers and educators in effective strategies and interventions for successful communication and reduced stress at mealtimes.

The role of a paediatric occupational therapist is to support a child to participate in everyday activities. At PEDAL we take a holistic, strengths-based and collaborative approach to support children and their families to reach their goals and develop life skills in all environments.

Occupational therapy can provide support to children in the following areas:

- Supporting co-regulators to understand children’s sensory differences and implement appropriate strategies and accommodations.

- Self-regulation strategies to help children to match level of alertness to the demands of an activity or environment.

- Developing awareness and understanding of body signals i.e hunger, thirst, temperature and how these relate to our emotions.

- Developing independence in self-care and daily living skills such as: toileting, brushing teeth, getting dressed, using cutlery.

- Participate in activities and routines at home, school, pre-school or in the community.

- Engage in play and leisure.

- Fine motor skills such as: playing with toys, developing a hand dominance, using two hands together, prewriting, buttoning clothes.

- Gross motor skills such as: body awareness, core strength, balance, ball skills.

- Visual skills such as: matching, scanning, recognising shapes, hand eye coordination.

- Exploring new foods.

The role of physiotherapy in early intervention is to promote early motor development for children with motor delays and/or disabilities in their natural environments e.g. home, preschool, school and play settings.

Early intervention physiotherapists work with the multidisciplinary team and family to provide family centred care for all children.

When children are younger the physiotherapist may be more intensively involved to promote and develop motor skills. As children gain greater independence and competence in their motor abilities the physiotherapist may play a smaller role in a child’s regular therapy program. In this instance the physiotherapist can offer to check in regularly and monitor progress in consultation with families.

At Pedal, the early intervention educators create individual learning sessions to support each child's needs and goals at preschool, school and at PEDAL. Collaborating with other team members is a strength of PEDAL and educators often work together to create programs to provide tailored learning. Educators assist with organising meetings to support learning at preschool and school as well as assisting with referrals to other services.

At PEDAL the role of the family support worker is to provide social assistance, advocacy and counselling to children and their families. This involves participation in therapy sessions as well as supporting our team of therapists and other stakeholders such as schools, preschools and other health professionals in the community.

The practice manager is responsible for meeting new families referred to PEDAL, balancing caseloads and supporting the team in their work with children. The role is hugely rewarding as we see children gain new skills or make progress towards their goals. Our staff draw upon a broad range of skills and expertise and work together to meet the therapeutic needs of children. Another highlight is working collaboratively with other service providers in our region, including NSW Health, NSW Department of Education, local schools and preschools.