What is an allied health assistant?

An Allied Health Assistant (AHA) is a trained,or currently training, support professional, who helps deliver therapy to children under the direction and supervision of a qualified therapist. At Milestones, this supervision is provided by a qualified Occupational Therapist or Speech Pathologist.

An AHA may still be studying at university or may hold a certification in support work, and their role is to provide day-to-day, hands-on support that makes therapy possible for many children. AHA’s can be a game changer in providing you the opportunity you need to start your child’s therapy journey, particularly when facing long waitlists for Occupational Therapy or Speech Pathology services.

AHA’s and qualified therapists work collaboratively to deliver optimal therapy and care for your children with fortnightly mentoring sessions and regular debriefing to ensure the most up-to-date and effective practice is being implemented with your child. This approach ensures everyone involved is aligned and working towards the same goals.

What can an Allied Health Assistant do?

Allied Health Assistants can play an integral role in a child’s therapy journey by providing quality intervention, especially for families who may otherwise be stuck on a waitlist. As part of their role, AHAs can:

• Implement therapy activities with children

• Carry out home or school programs

• Observe and document progress

• Support children in natural environments including schools, childcares, clinics or homes

• Assist with equipment recommendations guided by occupational therapists

• Prepare and set up therapy sessions

What can’t an Allied Health Assistant do?

To ensure ethical practice and appropriate care for families, there are clear guidelines outlining what an AHA cannot do. These include:

• Assess children

• Set therapy goals

• Diagnose conditions

• Independently change treatment plans

Some considerations for therapy with an Allied Health Assistant:

1. But I want my child to see a qualified therapist!

   • At Milestones, quality and ethical therapy is of the utmost importance! Children who see an AHA are still accessing therapy, however the approach provides access, allowing families who would otherwise be unable to access therapy financially or due to waitlists this opportunity. This process involves the following :
     

     • When a child comes to Milestones Kids Therapy Hub for the first time, they will be seen by the qualified therapist for an assessment, formulation of goals and of a plan.

     • These goals and plans are then provided to the AHA, who delivers therapy sessions using activities aligned with those goals.

     • The AHA documents all sessions for the qualified therapist to review and modify the plan where required.

     • AHA’s have monthly check ins with the qualified therapist via visual and virtual session observations and feedback is given.

     • This cycle continues throughout the plan until your child reaches their goals and are then reassessed by the therapist.
       

2. Cost effective sessions are available

   • Generally, a session with an allied health assistant is more cost effective than a session with a qualified therapist, meaning that therapy will be more accessible to families who may be private paying. This allows for equitable and quality interventions to be applied and therapy to start sooner for your child.
     

3. Your child can get off a waitlist sooner!

   • Having sessions with an AHA means that your child can get off that long waitlist! This is because a qualified therapist only has so much capacity and such little time in a day for a certain amount of children to be seen in therapy. In partnership with an AHA, more children will be able to be seen by a professional through the lens of an AHA, thus allowing for children with low-risk programs or early intervention programs to be seen sooner. This means that extra children can be seen, which definitely makes a difference for your child!