Physiotherapy – Helping People with a Disability to Achieve Goals

What is Physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy assesses, diagnoses, and treats movement issues to enhance mobility, function, well-being, and quality of life.

How can Physiotherapy Help Someone with a Disability?

It can be a common misconception that physiotherapy is useful only to people recovering from an illness or injury. However, physiotherapy isn’t just about physical movement or pain management—it’s about helping people participate fully in life. Whether an individual needs support with:

• improving movement and mobility
• managing pain
• building social connections and participating in the community
• getting a job or transitioning to school
• enhancing independence and well-being.

The NDIS enables physiotherapists to support people with non-physical conditions, helping them fully participate in everyday life. For instance, individuals with autism, psychosocial, or intellectual disabilities can benefit from physiotherapy. The possibilities are endless. For example, teaching a child with autism to ride a bike can enhance their social skills, build friendships, and encourage healthy exercise habits for life.

Helping a person with an intellectual disability access a local gym or community sports program can support them in meeting the World Health Organisation’s recommended 150–300 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. Additionally, this not only improves their health but also helps them build friendships and feel safer as they become more familiar and connected with their local community.

How do you Support a Person with a Disability?

The support I provide depends on their goals, personal circumstances, and the strength of their support network. Some of the ways I help people to achieve their goals include:

• Conducting a physiotherapy assessment to determine how someone moves around their home and community daily. This includes assessments of how their body functions, such as the strength of muscles, joint movement, endurance or fitness and balance. I can make recommendations that make moving around at home and in their local community easier
• Collaborating with other therapists on an individual’s therapy team to create tailored strategies for long-lasting positive changes
• Helping children through key transitions, like starting preschool or school, to confidently navigate new environments and engage with peers
• Prescribing mobility equipment to help people stand, walk or move around more easily or independently within their home, school or local community. This can be anything from a walking stick to a highly specialised walking frame or wheelchair
• Tailoring exercises can help people achieve their goals by improving their mobility, skill level, muscle strength, flexibility, and fitness
• Supporting people with disabilities to access sports, or recreation opportunities in the community, such as team sports, PE lessons at school, local community classes or gym programs to increase social participation, physical health and well-being.

What Types of Conditions do you Treat?

I support people of all ages with physical conditions like Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis or lifelong injuries such as Spinal Cord Injury or Acquired Brain Injury.

I also work with people with activity restrictions caused by intellectual or psychosocial disability such as severe anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, depression, and Autism.

Getting Started with NDIS Physiotherapy

Call us at 1300 179 131 or complete an online form to start NDIS physiotherapy, and we’ll contact you to discuss your needs.