About
Louise is a nationally registered Occupational Therapist specialising in Paediatrics. She has a Bachelor of Health Science in Occupational Therapy from Sydney University and a Masters degree (Special Education) from Macquarie University. Louise is an engaging evidence based therapist who is positive and passionate about connecting with families and educators in assisting children to be happy and grow towards their possibilities. She is Sydney based and has over 30 years of extensive Occupational Therapy experience working with children in schools/ preschools and with families to integrate therapy into the child’s learning environment.
Louise is providing Occupational Therapy services to rural families/ children in the Hunter New England Health region. This is a flexible model of service delivery which has been developed to meet the needs of rural families.
Louise will visit the Tamworth Clinic regularly to assess, review and provide therapy to children face to face and to touch base with the families. Therapy sessions will then be offered via Teletherapy online from the child’s home or school. Parent coaching is an integral cornerstone of Louise's approach.
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Louise is an advocate for children who may be experiencing difficulties related to school participation and inclusion.
Louise Yarham
Occupational Therapist
Educational Consultant
B.App.Sc (Occupational Therapy)
MA (Education) MAAOT
Services Offered
Assessment:
After initial contact is made, assessment will be provided according to the child’s needs. This can be done through an interview style and/or with formal assessment tools.
This will be provided with an extensive dialogue with the family with focus upon key functional areas of child development.
It is a holistic approach to gathering information and assists with setting goals with families.
Sensory Processing
& Emotional Regulation
For positive learning and development, a calm regulated sense of self is needed. Sensory processing, self-regulation and emotional regulation are terms which relate to the child’s ability to increase and decrease their energy levels, alertness or arousal, to fit the situation and/or environment. It is an important skill for children to learn, and can be improved with co-regulation.
Therapy
The objective of therapy is for it to be engaging and fun and relate directly to the goals set by the families. The sessions are collaborative with parents/ caregivers or teaching staff depending upon the setting choice.
It is most often child led and fun and can head in different directions through the session depending upon the child’s interest and needs.
Executive Function Skills
Executive functioning is a process of higher brain functioning and involves organising and managing our thoughts, actions and emotions to complete a task. It is utilised at home in everyday activities as well as during academic learning in the school environment. In a child it may been seen with difficulties in: initiating a task, impulse control, flexible thinking, planning or sequencing, organisation skills or self-monitoring through a task.
Parent Coaching
School Readiness
School readiness is developing necessary skills which allow children to learn in an effective and relaxed manner at school. These skills include: social interaction/ skills, play, language, emotional regulation, physical skills, literacy and fine motor skills.
Educator Coaching
Louise has worked with teaching staff in many Schools and Preschools. This has been accomplished with presentations through Professional Development, and also with individual coaching within the classroom environment. She is available for consultations and coaching to develop individual professional skills.
Occupational performance coaching (OPC) is “an intervention for working with parents to achieve occupational performance goals for themselves and their children” It empowers parents to make positive change and guides parents with strategies and supports to meet self identified goals.
Occupational Therapist Mentoring
Occupational Therapy mentoring is offered to experienced therapists (or new graduates) with the philosophy of partnership and an Occupational Performance model is used with goal setting. It can be provided either face to face (when in Tamworth) or via video conferencing.
Fine &
Gross Motor Skills
Fine motor skills/ dexterity are the refined movements of the hands, fingers, and wrists which enable precision and dexterity of movement, such as threading, construction, and self-care skills such as buttons/ zippers, pincer grip and handedness. They are the foundational skills required for school activities such as writing, using scissors and pencils.
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Gross motor skill development involves the larger muscles in the arms, legs and trunk (core muscles). Gross motor activities are important to everyday physical activities like walking, running, ball skills, stair climbing and kicking. Core muscle development is important for providing a stable base of support for fine motor skill development.
Functional
& Self Care Skills
Self-care skills are those everyday skills which assist children to enhance independence and success in their everyday life. These skills are dependent upon the skill level and age of the child, but can be developed at any age, depending upon the family goals. For example: teeth brushing, putting shoes on/off, independent toileting and dressing.
Play Skills
Play is a complex activity and important to child development. Play skills involve the planning and sequencing of activities (including new activities), to problem solve the challenges and generalise skills from one activity or toy to another. The therapist is able to facilitate this play, as well as the ability of the parent to ‘read’ their child’s play and enjoy playing with their child.
