Kids Are Kids! has adopted a model of Family Centred Practice.This approach recognises the expertise of the family who knows their child’s needs the best.  Families and therapy professionals work together to set goals based on the families objectives.

With the aid of therapists, the families’ goals for the child are broken down into smaller achievable steps and a plan for achieving these steps is developed. Therapy may be provided in many settings including the home, day care, school, community settings, as well as within the centre context.

As part of this approach, parents and therapists are partners and both have responsibilities to meet the agreed goals set at the time of assessment.

It is natural that when parents are embarking on therapy for the first time they may need significant guidance from the therapy team.  It is hoped over time, by working with the therapists, and developing an understanding of the development of their child’s skills, parents will drive the goals of therapy.

For families this means:

• Identifying goals at the outset of therapy.
• Attending scheduled appointments.
• Following up with ideas for therapy at home (making it part of daily life).
• Participating in decisions about the frequency and intensity of therapy.

For therapists this means:

• Providing assessment information that will enable decisions to be made about goals for therapy.
• Providing intervention strategies and training to families and to significant others in the child’s life.
• Providing families with all the information they need to make decisions.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of intervention and making appropriate recommendations.

For more information regarding the Family Centred Practice model please ask your therapist for the resource
Fitting the Pieces Together: Handbook for families and therapists working with children (Joint Initiative of Therapy Focus, Cerebral Palsy Association and Edith Cowan University)