What is an Allied Health Assistant (AHA)?
Our Allied Health Assistants work closely alongside our Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Speech Therapists (STs) to support children to build skills and increase their independence.
OT AHAs may assist with practicing foundational skills such as handwriting, fine motor development or self-care tasks whereas ST AHAs can help with speech sounds, language, literacy and AAC use.
Why might I opt for AHA sessions?
There are many reasons your therapist may recommend AHA sessions in addition to or in replacement of OT or ST sessions. AHA sessions can be beneficial for children who have long-term goals requiring repetitive practice and benefit from continued support between reviews from therapists. It can be an economic option when support is needed over a longer period and accessing therapist led sessions each week is not practical.
How does it work?
What do Allied Health Assistants help with?
Handwriting
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Letter formation
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Spacing
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Placement of letters on the line
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Planning/idea generation
Self care skills
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Dressing
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Shoelaces
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Knife and fork use
Language
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Understanding what is said (including understanding stories, situations and instructions)
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Understanding and responding to questions
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Using appropriate vocabulary to communicate a message
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Using words in the correct order within sentences
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Telling stories about experiences
Speech
Skills
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Production of speech sounds
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Planning movements for speech
ST AHA
OT AHA
Literacy Skills
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Phonological awareness skills (including identifying individual sounds in words, syllables and rhyme)
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Reading fluency and reading comprehension
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Spelling and writing skills
Fine/Gross Motor skills
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Scissor skills
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Pre-writing skills (eg. colouring)
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Ball skills and participation in sports
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Eye-hand co-ordination and balance
Alternative and Augmentative communication
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Finding other ways to communicate using their bodies, not their words e.g. sign language, gestures and facial expressions
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Using aided communication e.g. visuals on boards or in books, computers, handheld devices or tablet devices that generate speech
Classroom/Home Skills
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Participating in routines
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Practicing sensory and emotional regulating activities
Both ST and OT AHAs can support Play and Social Navigation Skills!
For example:
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Connecting and interacting with others through play and conversation
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Perspective-taking and inferencing skills
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Emotional regulation