Unify Connections
OT
Building skills for life's journey, toget
Occupational Therapy
Can
Support Your Journey
Get to Know Us
At Unify Connections OT, we are dedicated to helping children, teenagers, and young adults reach their full potential.
We focus on providing neuroaffirming care tailored to each individual's unique needs.
Whether in-person or online, we strive to create a nurturing environment that empowers our clients and their families to develop the essential skills needed to navigate life's journey.
The Journey
"Learning together nurtures connection".
Linda Berka
Occupational Therapist/Director
"Together,
We collaborate to create personalised solutions".
Linda's Journey
Linda started her journey supporting neurodiverse children and adults in 2011, when she worked as an early intervention assistant.
She then transitioned to a support worker role while studying for her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy at Curtin University.
After graduating in 2018, Linda worked as a community-based Occupational Therapist in regional and rural settings, supporting a diverse range of people until 2020, when she discovered her passion for working with children and their families.
Linda has supported neurodiverse children and their families in developing various abilities through teletherapy and face-to-face appointments.
Linda's Interventional Approach Journey
Executive Functioning Skills
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Linda completed Professor Chris Chapparo's training on how to further support children with executive functioning difficulties in the school environment, using cognitive strategies to support skill acquisition.
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She has attended occupational performance coaching training with Dr Fiona Graham to learn how to further support parents and children in finding their solutions, which enables them to plan, act, and reflect on activities of daily living.
Self-Care Abilities: Toileting
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Linda completed Rebecca Khan's (an Australian-based Senior Occupational Therapist) extensive training on supporting families to help their children become toileting ready or manage toileting challenges.
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To learn more about Rebecca Khan's approach to toileting success. Click here.
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Interoception Awareness
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Linda is excited to incorporate Kelly Mahler's Interoception approaches into her therapy sessions, which help children and their families deepen their understanding and awareness of their internal body signals.
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Read Kelly Malher's blog, which explains the connection between interception awareness and self-regulation. Click here.
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Gross and Fine Motor Skills
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Linda recently completed training with Dr. Aine O'Dea to further understand the complexity of developmental coordination disorder (DCD)/dyspraxia and to learn best practice approaches to assessment and intervention.
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To learn more about the signs of DCD. Click here.
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She is enthusiastic about using rhythmic movements to assist brain maturation and integrate reflexes, which further develop children's gross and fine motor skills (such as dressing, sports, eating, and handwriting), as well as their social skills and executive functioning abilities to promote their everyday activities.
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To read more about the benefits of Rhythmic Movements. Click here.
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To understand more about the advantages of Reflex Integration. Click here.
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Social Skills
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Linda is committed to supporting strength-based approaches when helping children develop social awareness and their skills.
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To learn more about social thinking to promote Social Skills. Click here.
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Mental Well-Being
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Linda completed a Graduate Certificate in Children's and Adolescent Mental Health at Victoria University, which included training in Trauma-Informed Care approaches to mental well-being.
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To learn more about the importance of children's Mental Well-Being. Click here.
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She has training in the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) approach to assist with thoughts and behaviours associated with anxiety and depression.
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To read more about the benefits of CBT. Click here.
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Linda completed Dr Ross Greene's Collaborative Proactive Solutions (CPS) workshops, which empower families to find solutions to their "unresolved problems."
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To learn more about the strengths of CPS. Click here.
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Puberty
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Linda completed Rebecca Khan's (an Australian-based Senior Occupational Therapist) training to strengthen her understanding of providing education and support to tweens, teenagers, young adults, and their families through puberty.
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To learn more about aspects to consider when children are approaching or going through puberty. Click here.
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OUR SERVICES
Solution-Focused Parent Consultation
We work closely with parents to find personalised solutions that suit each family's individual needs.
Utilising a coaching approach centred around occupational activities (daily tasks, routines or social interactions), we support parents in developing skills that foster positive relationships and outcomes.
Solution-focused parent consultations can be one-offs, intermittent or regularly scheduled.
Online Therapy
Since 2020, we have been providing online appointments for children and their families. Online appointments can be an effective and practical way to ensure continuous care.
Online therapy appointments may be a good option for your child or family if you have limited financial resources, difficulties with travel, your child has sensory sensitivities, or concerns about unfamiliar people or environments.
Collaborative Approach
We collaborate with other allied health providers, teachers, and support staff to develop personalised solutions that benefit your child or family across environments.
We offer practical recommendations to encourage participation in everyday activities.
Pediatric Therapy
Our pediatric therapy services are tailored to meet the unique needs of children.
We focus on aspects such as
regulation, sleep, self-care tasks (including toileting, dressing, and personal hygiene), transitions, emotional development, sensory integration, motor skills, as well as play and social abilities.
Individualised Assessment
We offer individualised assessments to evaluate your child's motor skills, sensory integration, visual perception skills, and level of independence in everyday activities.
The assessment process typically takes 2 to 4 sessions, depending on your child's specific needs and your family's unique circumstances.
This process includes discussions with parents to gather information, the completion of standardised assessments, parent questionnaires, and a clinical observation session with your child, all of which inform the final report.
Adolescent Therapy
We provide individualised therapy for adolescents as they move from childhood into their teenage years, aged 12 to 17.
We offer support to focus on challenges such as transitioning to high school, self-regulation, navigating interpersonal relationships, emotional regulation, puberty, developing organisational skills, enhancing problem-solving and decision-making abilities, and encouraging participation in daily living activities.
Customised Functional Paediatric Assessment
We provide customised pediatric functional capacity assessments specifically designed to meet your child's unique needs.
Our services include both standardised and non-standardised assessments, an analysis of the assessment results, and a thorough report that outlines the challenges your child and family are facing when there are changes in your child's circumstances and/or support requirements.
We recommend allocating up to 15 hours of funding to complete the assessment process and to prepare the comprehensive report.
As a specialised paediatric service, our focus is on therapeutic intervention; therefore, we are unable to assist with NDIS eligibility, equipment prescription, home and car modifications, and applications for supported independent living options and individualised living options.
Young Adult Therapy
We provide support to young adults aged 18 to 25 as they transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Our therapy focuses on helping young adults further gain independence by continuing to develop essential life skills.
We work in partnership with young adults to establish and maintain routines, enhance their problem-solving and decision-making abilities, overcome challenges in interpersonal relationships, and encourage community engagement.
Tracey, Melbourne
“Linda's flexibility, accommodations and understanding have fostered a collaborative environment, facilitating effective support.
I highly recommend Linda to enhance your support journey ."
Jamie, Victoria
"Linda has been working with our son, who is on the autism spectrum and has ADHD, for the past five years.
Over this time, Linda has developed an excellent working relationship with our child and with us as parents.
She has consistently adapted her therapy to meet his changing needs as he has grown through adolescence.
We are fortunate to have had her expertise and support over the years."
Nathan and Amy, Geelong
“We have been working with Linda for the past 6 years.
Linda has not only been amazing with our son but has also taught us, as parents and armed us with tools to help our son and our family.
We highly recommend Linda to anyone seeking an OT .”
Services Delivery
We offer a range of service delivery options to meet your unique needs, family circumstances, and funding requirements.
Locations of face-to-face appointments for service delivery included
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Wanneroo and the surrounding area up to 15 minutes,
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Albany and Mt Barker in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
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Types of
Online Appointments
2
Locations of
In-person Appointments
A combination of
in-person and online appointments
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Solution-focused parent consultations
In the Clinic
Therapy
At School*
Case Conferences
In the Community*
Talk to your therapist
about its
suitability for your circumstances*
Assessment
At Home*
* Addtional Travel fees apply
Fee Structure
At Unify Connections OT, we provide services for privately paying clients and NDIS participants who are self-managed or plan-managed.
All fees are based on the NDIS standard Occupational Therapy rate of $193.99 per hour.
Travel incurs an additional fee. Whenever possible, we aim to split travel costs between clients seen on the same day.
For privately paying and NDIS self-managed clients, payments are processed immediately after the session using Stripe, a secure payment method.
*Online Appointment
Standard Fee
1. 60-minute standard appointment for consultations, meetings, and therapy,
2. 15 minutes of documentation as legally required,
3. 15-minute email regarding strategies discussed, if required.
*Location Appointment
Standard Fee
1. **Travel to the appointment: up to 30 mins,
2. 60-minute standard appointment for consultations, intervention/therapy,
3. 15 minutes of documentation as legally required,
4. 15-minute email regarding strategies discussed, if required.
* All appointments will be charged according to the time taken,
**Travel fees may incur an additional return travel charge depending on the number of clients being seen on the day of the appointment. **
*All communication will be charged according to the time taken, with the exception of appointment bookings.