Getting started with Cooee
Your first appointment
Purpose
Our Client Journey Planning sessions is the first step in getting started with Cooee Speech Pathology. This helps to make sure you know what to expect as you go through the Journey with us. And makes sure our Therapists can get started straight away in ways that are meaningful for you and your child.
We understand that:
- all children are unique & require their own assessment and therapy journey
- some children have lots of background data, and key people or environments in their lives that are an important part of the therapy journey
- families value being able to speak with their therapists about their concerns without their children present
Your first appointment will create a confidential space for you to discuss your concerns about your child’s development, and receive an individualised plan for assessment and therapy, based on the information you provide.
It’s important you know that this first appointment is not a direct assessment of your child.
In this video Marion explains what you can expect as you start your journey with Cooee!
Details
The Client Journey Planning session is a 60min appointment for parents/guardians/carers to meet with a Therapist. Where necessary, in simple cases, this session can be shortened once the background data & relevant recommendations are complete.
In this session the therapist will gather important information from you to start to develop a plan for your Journey with Cooee. This will include detailed questions about your child’s history, both medical and educational, as well as information about their social and cultural environments.
This session is deliberately just for you and the Therapist, without your child present. This gives you an environment where you are able to speak freely about what you are experiencing. If your child does attend the appointment, the therapist will spend this session in discussion and collaboration with you.
What to expect
Before your first session you will have some paperwork to complete which will have come attached to the email you received.
Please arrive about 15mins before your first appointment where possible, giving yourself time to find us and take a little tour around our clinic with one of our Client Care Team.
We have spaces onsite for families, including coffee & tea facilities, space for breastfeeding privacy, and room to play.
At the end of your first session you will receive a 1 page document outlining written recommendations for:
a) any direct assessment/testing your child needs + the fees & time involved
b) any referrals/other recommendations
c) education & information about your child’s areas of concern
Our clinic
- Cooee Speech Pathology provides in clinic services located on the Northside of Brisbane at 468 Enoggera Road, Alderley.
- The best parking for Cooee is located off Elgin Street either on the
street or in our undercover parking spaces under our building. - Our Team of Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists as well as our Client Care Team are excited to meet you. You can have a look on our Team page to find out more about who your first appointment has been booked with.
Our approach to care
- We value and celebrate diversity! We are experienced in supporting multilingual families, and embrace the importance that each individual’s culture has on their communication and participation. We can support you to access interpreters if desired.
- We also take a neuro-affirming approach to clinical practice, meaning we support and recognise that all people think and perceive in different ways. We don’t aim to ‘fix’ or ‘cure’, but support each child’s individual development towards their own unique & meaningful goals.
- We value the journey. With over a decade of practice, we understand that sometimes the therapy process can be long term. We work with you to understand how the therapy process might unfold, across your child’s development.
- We collaborate with stakeholders, and value the importance of the right type of service delivery model to support achieving goals. For some families this means coordinating care across multiple providers and therapies, either within Cooee, or within the wider community.
- Read more about our values
We look forward to welcoming you to Cooee!