Welcome to Autumn!
It feels a bit like summer hardly got started, and now we’re getting warm coats and gumboots out again. Some leaves are turning yellow, red and brown, while indigenous plants are putting on a burst of growth and greenery after a bit of rain.
It’s darker in the mornings now! There are lots of ways to get outside and enjoy the different colours, smells, and sounds as the season changes. See our article below for some great parks and playgrounds to visit.
In this newsletter:
Welcome to Autumn!
Director’s Reflections
Housekeeping
Things to do in Autumn
NDIS News
Our E-Books
My Therapy House – The Play House
Medicare Safety Net
My Therapy House® Website
Facebook Page
Director’s Reflections
Dear Families,
Where have the last 3 months gone?
Although I have been away from the clinic, I have been in constant contact with the staff and am aware of all the changes. Thank you to all the families and staff for pushing through.
We have welcomed our new Administration Assistant, Carolynne McLean, to the clinic, to help Christie with the ever-growing administration tasks we are obliged to conform with by our discipline regulators and NDIS, as well as for our Quality Assurance Frameworks. Carolynne has been able to integrate into our small team very quickly and is available to answer any questions about admin issues families may have.
Some of you may have also seen Isabela Vilela on-site. Isabela is completing her Community Disability Studies with us two days a week. She has been working to support children, families and therapists around the clinic – it is always so great having an extra pair of hands, especially during clean up and set up for sessions.
It was extremely sad for all of us when Georgina left the clinic due to personal family reasons. She was a lynchpin for many families, children and staff members. We are still saddened by her leaving, however are actively looking for more Occupational Therapists to join the team – so if you know of anyone or can suggest anyone, please let us know!
Finally, thank you very much to Christie and Alyssa for continuing the operations and management around clinical and administration tasks while I am away. It’s not an easy job and I know that without them it would have been impossible for me to have a break.
I am currently in Tasmania, travelling around with my husband in a camper. We decided, after my shoulder surgery, that we are not getting any younger and we need to do some things while I am still able to, as my shoulder is still giving me grief, unfortunately. Here are some photos of our journey.
I will be back in the clinic on Tuesday 4th April 2023.
Thank you everyone for being so flexible and patient around all the changes that have occurred in the clinic over the last few months. Don’t forget to always provide us feedback so we can make our service and experience for your child and yourselves even better!
Warmest regards,
Dana
Housekeeping
Vaccinations
We continue to require everyone aged 12 years and older who comes onto the My Therapy House® premises to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This includes all staff, all contractors, all clients, siblings, parents, support workers and caregivers. This is because we have immunocompromised children and adults who visit and work at the clinic and who are vulnerable to catching COVID-19 and suffering from long COVID-19 afterwards.
While we do not require COVID-19 vaccination for clients under 12, we continue to strongly recommend this, and some therapy may be restricted to vaccinated children only, most notably our dyad sessions where children from two or more families work together in groups.
How to show your COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate
When you log in to Medicare Express using your MyGov credentials you can view your certificate, and also choose to download it to your phone (saved securely in Google Pay or Apple Wallet), add a shortcut to your home screen (will require a PIN or other security measure to access), or give permission for the various different state check-in apps to show your certificate.
Please do not visit the clinic if you have flu-like or cold-like symptoms. These include runny nose, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, difficulty breathing, headache, stomach ache, nausea or diarrhoea. Call the clinic if you are unsure if you or your children are well enough to attend.
Staff Changes
Welcome, Carolynne!
Carolynne has joined our admin team, and is the first person to greet you when you arrive at My Therapy House. She is handling most reception tasks while Christie is working behind the scenes on quality control and general business operations. Carolynne has extensive experience in administration and client relationships.
Welcome, Isabela!
We welcome Isabela, who is doing her placement with us as she completes her studies in Community Services. Isabela has been observing and assisting the therapists in sessions, and has been learning about how we provide our services.
We would also like to say farewell to Brooke and Georgina.
Brooke has taken extended leave for health reasons. We wish her strength and healing and hope she is feeling well soon.
Georgina has left us to work closer to home to support her family. Toy can read her letter to families here: Farewell, Georgina
Things to do in Autumn
Are you looking for new places to explore? Here is a selection of some of the amazing playgrounds around Adelaide that cater to different ages, abilities, and activities. If you visit any of these playgrounds please let us know what you liked about them, and anything you’d like others to know about them.
Penfold Park Playground, Magill – This playground was recently given a fantastic upgrade. There are several different areas including space for nature play, stepping stones, wobbly planks, swings, and lots of climbing to do. There are also Communication Boards around the playground with symbols that some of you might find familiar!
(Image: Play & Go Adelaide)
Glenunga Hub Playground, Glenunga – This is a fully-fenced playground with lots of shade and covered areas. The playground has a Communication Board (The Burnside Council are installing these at many playgrounds across the council area), and an AMAZING sand and water-play area. We recommend taking a change of clothes!
(image: City of Burnside)
Wilfred Taylor Reserve Playground, Morphett Vale – This huge playground is divided into two main sections – a fully fenced farm-themed playground for younger children, and a more adventurous all-abilities playground. The area is decorated with Indigenous artworks, and has raised sensory play spaces and basket swings. The whole family can spin around together on the fully-accessible carousel. Other features of the larger reserve include a dog agility course and model train rides on selected Sundays.
(Image: City of Onkaparinga)
George St Reserve, Marion – Located not far from My Therapy House, on the other side of Marion Road, this quiet, partially-fenced playground could make a handy play stop after sessions. Features include a large climbing rock, a sand pit, tunnels and cubby houses, and even an accessible in-ground trampoline for extra jumping! Bigger kids might like to bring tennis equipment or a basketball.
(Image: City of Marion)
NDIS News
About Plan Managers
There are 3 different ways to manage NDIS funds and payments. You can read about each of the different methods here: Ways to manage your funding | NDIS.
One way to manage funding and payments is to have a Plan Manager do it for you. The cost for this is added to your NDIS Plan as an extra amount specifically designated for this purpose so it does not use up your child’s therapeutic or core budget. Different Plan Managers provide different levels of service and ways for you to check your budget so it’s important to pick one that suits your needs. You can change Plan Managers at any time during the NDIS Plan, as long as you let them know beforehand, and you have complete control over which Plan Manager you choose.
When our families use a Plan Manager we send their invoices to the Plan Manager directly for payment, which means families are not out of pocket while they wait for NDIS to reimburse funds.
Using a Plan Manager means you can access both unregistered and registered Providers (My Therapy House is a registered Provider) who cannot charge you above the NDIS capped rate for the service type.
We have created a downloadable table of some of the plan managers our families use, and the various features they offer. We can’t advise families which Plan Manager is best as everyone’s needs are different and Plan Managers are continually updating their services. We do recommend contacting any Plan Manager directly to find out what services are offered and how they can specifically help you.
If you use a Plan Manager to look after NDIS invoice payments then you need to ensure that you stay on top of communication with them. You should notify your Plan Manager whenever there are changes to your NDIS Plan, whether that is an extension, a rolled-over plan, or a completely new plan. If your Plan Manager does not have your current plan information they may not be able to pay our invoices, meaning you will then be responsible for paying these from your own money. You must also notify My Therapy House® of new NDIS Plan dates after any plan changes.
You can keep up with any changes to your NDIS Plans by logging in to the My Place portal.
Our eBooks
My Therapy House® has published a series of 12 e-books about animals performing different actions to help children learn language concepts through music and play.
When you buy any of the eBooks you can then access the free video corresponding to the particular book which has animal puppets performing the actions with the music and song. These videos have been very popular for modelling the actions and songs for children who learn best through video footage and music.
You can purchase these books through the links here: https://mytherapyhouse.com.au/books/
My Therapy House – The Play House
Acclaimed Australian author, Phil Cummings, has written a special book for us, beautifully illustrated by Egle Gudonyte, that we hope will help families and children when they come to My Therapy House®. You can read the book on our website, https://mytherapyhouse.com.au/the-play-house/, and download a copy to print at home.
Medicare Safety Net
If you need to see a doctor or Medicare provider regularly the Medicare Safety Net could help you reduce out-of-pocket costs.
When you spend more than a certain amount, out-of-pocket (after any Medicare rebate has been reimbursed), on medical expenses in a calendar year you will get a higher rebate. You can also register as a family to combine your Safety Nets. Safety Nets are calculated from January 1st to December 31st each year.
Using the Express Plus Medicare app can make it easier to keep track of your Safety Net Threshold. It also allows you to store a digital copy of your Medicare Card, make claims if a provider’s EFTPOS machine is offline, and access immunisation history for yourself and your children under 14.
To use the app you will need your MyGov login details and your Medicare Card number and expiry date.
Website Resources
We now have a page on our website dedicated to family resources, where you can find videos and further reading about many aspects of the services we provide. If you have any ideas for different sorts of things we could include please let us know!
Facebook Page
We post general NDIS information, news, and interesting articles on Facebook. This is a great way to get the bigger picture, and we’d love you to like our page to see what we share.
All the best from the My Therapy House® Team