Beyond Resources
We are more than a supplier of clinical assessment tools, therapy resources, and learning materials.
We are committed to supporting professionals through quality resources, professional training, and evidence-informed practice. We believe that having the right tools is only part of the process; appropriate knowledge and training are essential to using them effectively. By equipping professionals with the right skills and understanding, we aim to maximise the value and effectiveness of assessment and therapy resources, support more accurate assessment outcomes, and contribute to meaningful therapy outcomes for the individuals we serve.
Workshops and Professional Development Programmes
Therapy Resources organises and supports workshops and professional development programmes for allied health professionals, mental health professionals, educators and special needs educators — including ADOS-2, the SOS Approach to Feeding and OPT™. The posters below are examples of programmes we have organised.
What is OPT™?
Oral Placement Therapy (OPT™) is a speech therapy which utilizes a combination of auditory stimulation, visual stimulation and tactile stimulation to the mouth to improve speech clarity.
OPT is an addition to traditional speech therapy
OPT is an important addition to traditional speech treatment methods for clients with placement and movement deficits. It is a tactile-proprioceptive teaching technique which accompanies traditional therapy, which is primarily auditory and visual. Clients with motor and/or sensory impairments benefit from tactile and proprioceptive components because speech is a tactile-proprioceptive act.
Which clients can benefit?
OPT can be used with clients of many ages and ability levels. It can be incorporated into program plans for many types of speech disorders (for example dysarthria, apraxia of speech, voice disorders, fluency disorders and post-CVA clients, as well as clients with mild-to-profound levels of hearing loss). Before introducing any OPT techniques, the client’s motor functioning for speech and feeding should be thoroughly assessed.
How does it work?
OPT teaches oral structural placement to clients who cannot produce or imitate speech sounds using traditional auditory or visual input. For these clients, it is critical to expand speech sound production from phonemes and other similar oral movements the client can already produce. OPT is used to improve articulator awareness, placement, stability and muscle memory — all of these are necessary for the development of speech clarity.
OPT is only a small part of a comprehensive speech and language program and should not be done in isolation. The activities are carefully selected to stimulate the same movements used in the targeted speech production. They can be completed in under 15 minutes and can be used to refocus attention and concentration from a sensory processing perspective.
You can watch more Speech Clarity Evaluations for Therapy Planning videos here.
Want to attend a workshop or arrange training for your team?