A complete occupational therapy service

Hey Stacey Occupational Therapy offers a range of capacity assessments and intervention, including:

Capacity Assessments

Capacity assessments are often requested by funding bodies, such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), as well as injury schemes like the Lifetime Support Authority (LSA) and Return to Work SA (RTWSA).

“Functional capacity” refers to your ability to perform everyday tasks and activities, such as walking, having a shower, and making a meal. Your capacity reflects how well you can function in daily life, taking into account your physical, cognitive and social abilities. It’s about how you can do what you need or want to do in your daily routine.

Why have a Capacity Assessment?
Having an assessment of your functional capacity provides valuable insights about how you can do what you need or want to do in your daily routines and can lead to better outcomes by identifying what supports you would benefit from.

A capacity assessment report is provided which can be useful for:

• Personalising your care: By identifying your strengths and limitations, allowing for tailored support or rehabilitation plans.
• Promoting independence: By understanding your functional capacity, strategies can be developed to help you live more independently and improve your quality of life.
• Goal setting: A clear understanding of what you wish to achieve makes it easier to set realistic and achievable goals.
• Resource allocation: It helps you and your support network to allocate the right resources and supports based on your needs.
• Monitoring progress: Regular assessments can track improvements or changes over time, ensuring that interventions you receive are effective.
• Scheme needs: Schemes such as the NDIS, can use information for determining eligibility for entering the scheme and to ensure you have reasonable and necessary supports in your plan.

What does a functional assessment look like?
A functional assessment usually occurs over 1-2 visits, and typically involves a combination of interviews, observations, and standardised tests to get to know you. Here’s what it might look like:

• Interview: An Occupational Therapist will visit you at your home and chat with you and your family to gather information about your daily routines,  goals and challenges.
• Observation: The Occupational Therapist may observe you performing various tasks, like dressing or cooking, to see how you manage these activities in real life.
• Standardised tests: You may complete specific assessments that explore your physical and cognitive abilities. These can include problem solving and timed tasks.
• Self-Report Questionnaires: You and your family may fill out questionnaires that ask about your abilities and limitations in different areas of life.
• Environmental assessment: The Occupational Therapist may observe your living environment to identify any barriers or supports that could improve your functional capacity.
• Report: After gathering all the information, the Occupational Therapist will compile a report that outlines findings, including your strengths, areas for improvement, and provide recommendations for supports and intervention.

Tailored Interventions / Occupational Therapy

Therapy is simply a tailored treatment plan specific to your needs and goals. What’s even more useful in therapy, is to be able to use outcome measures to demonstrate if the therapy has been useful and contributed to your goals.

For cognitive impairments, such as brain injury, occupational therapy at Hey Stacey could include:

• Strategies to improve your organisation skills and memory.
• Strategies to manage fatigue and sensory overload.
• Doing more without aggravating your symptoms.
• Improving your sleep.
• Brain injury education for you and your support network.

For physical impairments, such as spinal cord injury, occupational therapy may include:

• Strategies to manage pain and fatigue.
• Modifying and adapting the way you do things.
• Using small aids through to complex equipment to enable you to be independent.
• Modifications to your environment.

A therapy treatment plan will be developed with you, based on your interests and goals and where you want to be in the future, and can focus on supporting you to do more of things you enjoy at home, getting out and about, and/or returning to work and education.