ADHD Occupational Therapy in Kogarah, Sydney
ADHD occupational therapy at our Kogarah clinic — practical strategies for attention, organisation and school participation, for families across St George and the Sutherland Shire.
Our occupational therapists work with children with ADHD at our Kogarah clinic, and with families from Hurstville, Rockdale, Bexley, Carlton, Allawah and across the Sutherland Shire. School and home visits are available in these areas by arrangement.
ADHD isn't a lack of effort. It's a different way the brain manages attention, impulse, planning and energy — and the demands of school, friendships and family routines can be a lot to navigate without the right scaffolding.
Occupational therapy gives children with ADHD and their families a practical toolkit: strategies, routines and environmental tweaks that make daily life feel less exhausting and more successful.
Part of our paediatric OT services → Paediatric Occupational Therapy Kogarah
For teenagers and adults with ADHD, different challenges emerge around study, work and independent living — see our adult occupational therapy service.
Written work is often where attention and working memory load show up first — we look at why handwriting breaks down across a page and what helps.
Common reasons families come to us
- Difficulty focusing or completing tasks at school
- Mornings, transitions and bedtime that consistently fall apart
- Big emotions and meltdowns out of proportion to the trigger
- Losing belongings, missing instructions, forgetting homework
- Constant movement, fidgeting or interrupting
- Daydreaming, distractibility, struggling to start tasks
- Social challenges — impulse control, reading the room
How we help
- Assessment of attention, executive function and self-regulation
- Visual schedules, routines and environmental modifications
- Strategies to manage transitions, mornings and bedtime
- Movement and sensory-based regulation tools
- Parent coaching — the most powerful lever for change
- School liaison and classroom strategies
- Coordination with paediatricians, psychologists and other treating professionals
What ADHD looks like in everyday life
For some children, ADHD shows up as constant movement and impulsivity. For others, it's daydreaming, missing instructions or losing track of homework. Many children have a mix of both, and the way it shows up changes with age, environment and how regulated they feel that day.
Either way, the result is often the same — frustration, big emotions, lost school work, mornings that fall apart, and parents who feel like they're nagging all the time.
What OT does
Our OTs work with you and your child to understand the patterns — when does it work, when does it fall apart, and what would actually help. We then build strategies tailored to your child's age, interests and daily routines.
Most importantly, we coach you as the parent. The biggest changes come when the people around the child understand how to set them up to succeed.
School support across St George
School is often where ADHD challenges show up most. With your permission, we liaise with teachers and learning support staff so the strategies we develop in clinic are reinforced in the classroom — visual schedules, movement breaks, modified seating, executive function scaffolds.
School visits are available across the St George region and the Sutherland Shire by arrangement once your child is on caseload. Our clinic is at 4 Short Street, Kogarah, with free on-site parking and a short walk from Kogarah station.
How our team supports this
Occupational Therapy
Everyday skills — dressing, handwriting, play, coping with change — built around what your child wants to do.
Explore serviceSpeech Therapy
Speech pathology for clearer speech, understanding language, and getting thoughts into words.
Explore serviceSchool Readiness Assessments
A multidisciplinary look at your child's academic, motor, social and self-care skills before they start Kindergarten — using the Bracken (BSRA-4) and PDMS-3.
Explore serviceCommon questions from families
Which suburbs do you see children with ADHD from?
Our Kogarah clinic sees families from across the St George region — Hurstville, Rockdale, Bexley, Carlton, Brighton-Le-Sands, Allawah and Beverley Park — and from the Sutherland Shire.
What happens at the first appointment?
The first session is an assessment of attention, executive function and self-regulation, along with a conversation about your child's routines and what you want therapy to change. We then build a plan and practical strategies for home and school.
How does NDIS funding work for ADHD occupational therapy?
OT is generally funded under Capacity Building. We work with self-managed and plan-managed participants, and also accept Medicare CDM referrals, private health rebates and private pay.
Can occupational therapy help my child with ADHD?
Yes. OT for ADHD focuses on building executive function, self-regulation, sensory processing, and daily living skills. We work with children from preschool age through to adolescence.
Is OT for ADHD covered by NDIS or Medicare?
ADHD-related OT can be funded through NDIS (Capacity Building — self- and plan-managed participants) or Medicare's Chronic Disease Management plan (up to 5 sessions per year with a GP referral). We accept both.
Do I need a diagnosis before booking?
No formal ADHD diagnosis is needed to book an OT assessment. We can assess and support children who are awaiting diagnosis or who have been recently diagnosed.
Will OT replace medication?
OT and medication address different things. Medication can help the brain settle enough to access the strategies OT builds. Many families use both; some use one or the other. That's a conversation for you and your paediatrician.
How is this different from a tutor or counsellor?
OT focuses on the practical mechanics of how your child gets through their day — the routines, environments, regulation tools and executive function supports. A tutor focuses on academic content; a counsellor on emotional processing. They can all complement each other.
Can you talk to my child's school?
Yes, with your written consent. School liaison is often one of the highest-impact parts of our work with children with ADHD.
How is this funded?
NDIS (where the child has a plan), Medicare CDM referrals, private health rebates or private pay. We'll walk you through the options on a free intake call.
Ready to get started?
Speak directly with our director. No obligation — just a chat about how we can help.
Free call-backs and discovery calls are with our director, subject to availability, one per family, with no ongoing commitment.