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Inner West Paediatrics

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Leichhardt, NSW
Inner West Paediatrics

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We are a multidisciplinary practice providing tailored Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy Services in Sydney’s Inner West for children.

At Inner West Paediatrics, we specialise in providing individualised therapy for children who experience challenges with communication and social interactions, fine and gross motor skills, motor planning, sensory processing, interacting with and developing meaningful relationships with peers, play skills and behaviour. Our therapists use a holistic approach to assessment and intervention, and work closely with families and other stakeholders to set goals and implement tailored strategies in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

04/11/2026

SCHOOL READINESS TIP #6

✏️ Did you know that drawing is an important school readiness skill?

Before children learn to write, they often learn to draw.

Drawing helps develop many of the foundational skills needed for success at school, including:

🖐️ Fine motor skills
👀 Visual perceptual skills
🧠 Planning and problem-solving skills
💬 Communication and self-expression
✏️ Early writing skills

As children prepare for Kindergarten, we encourage opportunities to practise drawing so they can begin school feeling confident drawing recognisable pictures, such as a person and a house.

Drawing is a powerful learning tool that helps children organise their thoughts, understand new concepts, solve problems, demonstrate their understanding and remember what they’ve learned.

Here are some simple ways to support drawing skills at home:

🎨 Experiment with different drawing materials such as crayons, pencils, markers and paint

🧱 Create pictures using blocks or playdough and encourage your child to copy them

🖼️ Provide simple images or model step by step pictures for your child to look at and draw

🌟 Most importantly, keep it fun and focus on effort rather than perfection.

Every scribble, circle and stick figure is helping build important skills for learning and participation at school.

02/11/2026

📚 You Don't Have to Read Every Word on the Page!

Reading with your child doesn't have to mean reading every single word. Some of the best learning happens when you slow down, follow their lead and turn the story into a conversation.

Try:

💭 Talk about the pictures "What's happening here?" "I wonder where they're going?"

👀 Follow your child's interest "Yes, that is a blue truck!" "Can you see another truck?"

🗣️ Introduce new words "The boy is scared." "The boy is frightened."

🐘 Make connections to real life "Remember when we went to the zoo?" "That looks like the playground near our house!"

🦖 Act it out "Let's pretend to be dinosaurs" "Let's stomp like dinosaurs!" "Can you roar like the T-Rex?"

Books are a wonderful way to build language, imagination, connection and literacy skills, and you don't need to read every word to get the benefits.

📖 Speechie Shanelle has put together some of her favourite books here: ✨ Mr McGee 🐛The Very Hungry Caterpillar🌍 Pig the Tourist ➡️And More!

📚💙📖✨

30/10/2026

🐄 One Toy, 10 Therapy Goals

Farm Animals & Little People Play Set Edition 🚜🐷🐴

Did you know a simple farm play set can support a wide range of communication, play and learning goals?

Here are just some of the skills we can target with one toy:

🐮 Animal names and sounds
🏃 Action words (run, jump, eat, drink, push, kick)
🌈 Describing words (big, small, tall, scary, brown, yellow)
🦆 Categorising (animals with wings vs animals with legs)
🐑 Plurals (4 cows, 2 sheep, 3 chickens)
📍 Prepositions (in, on, under, next to, behind)
👂 Following instructions
🎭 Pretend play
🤝 Turn-taking
💬 Conversation and storytelling

The best toys aren't always the most expensive ones. Open-ended toys like farm sets can be used again and again to support language development, social skills, imagination and play.

✨ One toy. Endless opportunities for learning through play.

🐄🚜🐷🌾

27/10/2026

SCHOOL READINESS TIP #5

Helping your child learn to write their name doesn't need to only involve worksheets.

Try these playful ideas:

🌈 Write letters in sand, shaving foam or playdough

🧱 Build letters using blocks or sticks

🎨 Paint letters with a brush and water outdoors

✏️ Trace over highlighted letters

🌱 Model the letters one at a time, for your child to then copy

💙 Practise for a few minutes at a time

Short, enjoyable practice sessions are often more effective than long periods of writing.

26/10/2026

🎯 Goal setting is one of the foundations of effective therapy.

Goals help children, young people, families and therapists work together toward meaningful outcomes while ensuring therapy remains focused, individualised and relevant to everyday life.

They also provide a way to measure progress over time, which is particularly important for NDIS-funded supports and other insurance-funded services where demonstrating outcomes and participation is essential.

At Inner West Paediatrics, we work closely with children, young people and families to develop goals that are meaningful, achievable and connected to real-life participation at home, school and in the community.

✨ Because great therapy supports aren't just about what happens in a session. It's about helping children, young people and families do the things that matter most to them.

🎯📈🌱

23/10/2026

Wondering what an Allied Health Assistant (AHA) program and sessions look like?

Here’s a peek:

📝 Your child’s therapist develops a therapy plan.

🙋‍♀️ The AHA runs fun, goal-focused activities with your child.

💬 The therapist checks in regularly and adjusts the plan as your child progresses.

AHA sessions are engaging, play-based, and highly individualised - designed to make learning fun and meaningful!

🌟 They’re a great way to boost practice time, confidence, and to support generalisation of skills in natural environments.

Learn more on our blog on our website: Why an AHA Could Be the Right Next Step in Your Child’s OT or Speech Therapy Journey | Inner West Paediatrics

21/10/2026

SCHOOL READINESS TIP #4

Getting ready for Kindy doesn’t have to feel like “teaching”.

One of the best things you can do?

Read together for 10-15 minutes a day

Ask questions, talk about the pictures, guess what happens next.

It all counts - and it builds so much more than just reading skills.

19/10/2026

Toy Recommendation: Marbles!

Philippa loves integrating marbles into her speech sessions.

A simple game with so many opportunities for learning! Playing marbles can help children develop many skills, including turn-taking, following instructions, expanding vocabulary, problem-solving and fine motor skills.

Marbles are also a fun way to practise speech sounds in a motivating, play-based activity. For example, you might target /m/ in marble, /r/ in roll, /s/ in shoot, or /f/ in four.

Sometimes, the simplest toys create the best opportunities for learning!

16/10/2026

Independence isn't something that happens overnight. It develops through everyday opportunities to practise, problem-solve and build confidence.

Occupational therapists support children and young people to develop the skills needed for daily routines such as:

✅ Getting dressed independently
✅ Brushing their teeth
✅ Feeding themselves at mealtimes
✅ Helping with household chores
✅ Preparing simple snacks and meals

✅ Developing independence with toileting

Breaking tasks into manageable steps and providing the right level of support can help children experience success while developing lifelong skills.

Every child and young person develops at their own pace, but with practice, encouragement and the right support, independence can grow one small achievement at a time.

14/10/2026

SCHOOL READINESS TIP #3

Colouring in builds pencil control, develops attention, and develops visual motor control. Try these fun ways to build colouring skills before your child transitions to school:

1. Use different colouring implements such as crayons, pencils or paint sticks

2. Colour on vertical surfaces (like easels or paper on the wall)

3. Turn it into a game - colour by number, water painting or rainbow challenges

4. Incorporate their interests - Spiderman, dinosaurs, Peppa Pig. Whatever gets them excited.

5. Colouring most of the picture and get them to finish the last part - this reduces the demand and helps build feelings of success.

Keep bursts of practice short and fun!

Address

Level 1, 256 Norton Street
Leichhardt, NSW
2040

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 6pm
Tuesday	8am - 6pm
Wednesday	8am - 6pm
Thursday	8am - 6pm
Friday	8am - 6pm

Telephone

+61295608905

Website

https://linktr.ee/innerwestpaediatrics, http://innerwestpaediatrics.com.au/

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