Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology for Rowville Families

Kids Connect Therapy is west of Rowville at Unit 4, 12 Compark Circuit, Mulgrave — a straight run down Wellington Road.

Join our waitlist Call (03) 9807 1114

When your child is the one on the sidelines

Rowville is a sport-and-outdoors suburb, and a lot of the families who come to us from Knox arrive with a version of the same story: everyone else's kid is playing Auskick, or netball, or riding to school, and theirs isn't. Not because they don't want to — because it's genuinely hard, and because being visibly worse at it in front of other children is worse than not doing it.

Underneath that there is usually something specific and workable:

  • Coordination and motor planning — knowing what your body needs to do, in what order. Sometimes described as dyspraxia or developmental coordination disorder.
  • Core strength and postural control — the child who slumps, leans, fidgets constantly, or "can't sit still" is often working very hard just to hold themselves up.
  • Bilateral coordination — using two hands or two sides of the body together, which underpins catching, cutting, riding and handwriting.
  • Sensory processing — a child who finds fast movement terrifying, or who needs enormous amounts of it, will avoid or seek out activity in ways that look like behaviour and aren't.
  • Motor confidence — after enough failed attempts, avoidance becomes the sensible strategy. Rebuilding willingness to try is often the first goal.

Our occupational therapists assess what's actually going on and build a plan around it, including a home program that fits into a normal week rather than adding a second job to it.

Occupational therapy at Kids Connect →

Handwriting and the classroom

The same underlying skills show up at a desk. Handwriting endurance, pencil grip, scissor skills, sitting and attending, and organising a workspace are all core OT territory, and they're often what gets a child referred in the first place.

Speech pathology too

We're a multi-disciplinary clinic, so if your child needs speech pathology alongside OT — language, speech sounds, social communication, literacy — that happens in the same place with therapists who talk to each other.

Speech pathology → · Autism therapy → · Everything we help with →

Holiday programs

Our school holiday programs are worth a look for Rowville families — they combine skill-building with the social side of things, in a group setting designed for children who find groups hard.

School holiday programs → · Play and Social Language groups →

Getting here from Rowville

West along Wellington Road, then into the Compark Circuit precinct off Springvale Road. It's a straightforward run and there's free on-site parking at this end — no circling.

Unit 4, 12 Compark Circuit, Mulgrave VIC 3170 · 8:30am–5:00pm Mon–Sat · Directions →

Questions from Rowville families

Is my child just clumsy, or is this something?
Sometimes it's within normal range and sometimes it isn't. An OT assessment will tell you which, and if it's the former, you'll have peace of mind and a few useful strategies.

Will therapy make my child good at sport?
That's not the goal. The goal is a child who can participate, who is willing to try, and who doesn't opt out of physical activity for the rest of their life because it went badly at seven.

We're in Knox, not Monash. Does that change our NDIS pathway?
Your local partner may differ. Call the NDIS on 1800 800 110 to confirm your allocated partner — and call us either way, because we can see you regardless. More on the NDIS →

Also serving

Mulgrave · Wheelers Hill · Wantirna South · Dandenong North