Welcome to Body and Mind Occupational Therapy

At Body and Mind Occupational Therapy, we provide neurodiversity-affirming, trauma-informed and evidence-based occupational therapy for individuals aged 16 and over.  

Located in Newtown, Geelong, we support clients across the Geelong, Bellarine and Surf Coast regions, with Telehealth available for flexible or remote access.

We support people with physical disabilities, neurological conditions, intellectual disability, neurodivergent individuals, individuals with invisible disabilities and chronic health conditions. 

We also provide tailored support for older adults and individuals accessing aged care services who require personalised, respectful and functional approaches to maintain independence and quality of life. 

We have a special interest in working with autistic individuals, people with ADHD, late-identified neurodivergent adults and neurodivergent parents. Our practice also supports individuals experiencing co-occurring mental health needs, including anxiety, depression and ADHD-related emotional regulation challenges. Therapy is grounded in a compassionate approach that honours each person’s natural neurotype, sensory needs and lived experience. 

With over 15 years of clinical experience and lived experience of neurodivergence and chronic health conditions, our practice blends expertise with authentic understanding. We help clients build confidence, functional skills, independence and wellbeing in ways that genuinely fit their lives.

Body and Mind Occupational Therapy is based in Geelong, Victoria. We provide services to individuals living across Geelong, the Bellarine and the Surf Coast regions.

Our clinic space is located in Newtown and offers a welcoming and sensory-considerate space for clients. 

Telehealth appointments are available for individuals who live outside the region or require remote access. 

For NDIS, Chronic Disease Management Plans and Privately Paying client, home visits can be arranged where clinically appropriate; however, service locations are limited, so please contact us if home-based sessions may be required. 

For Aged Care / Supports At Home clients - all Initial Assessment appointments are completed at the client's home, and review appointments are completed at the client's home or equipment supplier.

Our clinic space is wheelchair accessible.

  Neurodivergent Individuals (16+) with a special interest in:

• Autistic adults (including later in life diagnosed individuals) and individuals with ADHD
• Individuals navigating the NDIS for the first time
• Neurodivergent parents or carers needing empowerment, skill-building or sensory-friendly strategies to support their own disability needs
• Parents raising neurodivergent children
• Individuals with executive functioning, sensory processing or emotional regulation challenges
• People experiencing burnout, overwhelm or difficulty managing daily occupations      due to disability, neurodivergence or chronic illness

Physical Disability & Neurological Conditions:

• Spinal cord injury
• Acquired brain injury & stroke
• Progressive neurological conditions (Parkinson’s, MS, MND)
• Dementia
• Amputees
• People requiring complex equipment (e.g. wheelchairs, seating, pressure care)
• Individuals needing home modifications (e.g. bathrooms, rails, ramps)

Invisible & Chronic Health Conditions:

• POTS  
• Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)
• Vestibular and chronic migraine
• Endometriosis & Fibromyalgia
• Hypermobility spectrum conditions & EDS
• Chronic fatigue and chronic pain conditions
• Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS)

Intellectual Disability

• Life skills & independent living skill development
• Support with activities of daily living, routines, community participation and decision-making

Aged Care Home Care Package / Supports at Home

• Home Assessment and Screening
• Equipment prescription and trial
• Daily living skill development
• Falls prevention

Other Therapy Services:

• NDIS Functional capacity assessments (FCA) and report writing
• NDIS SIL and SDA assessment and report writing

Home Safety, Environment & Modifications

• Home safety assessments
   
• Falls prevention assessment, education and environmental modification
   
• Minor home modifications (e.g. grab rails, lever taps, threshold/step modifications)
   
• Major home modifications (e.g. ramps, bathroom modifications, kitchen access redesign)
   
• Functional layout reviews for improved mobility and home access
   
• Environmental accessibility assessments (bedroom, lounge, entryways, pathways)
   
• Housing recommendations (SDA, SIL, home environment suitability) and reports
   

Assistive Technology (AT)

• Basic AT assessment and prescription (e.g. shower chairs, over toilet frames, adaptive cutlery)
   
• Complex AT assessment and prescription (e.g. pressure care, electric beds, recliner chairs, hoists, transfer aids)
   
• Complex wheelchair and seating assessment and set-up
   
• Powered mobility assessments (electric wheelchairs, power add-ons)
   
• Scooter assessment, training and safety education
   
• Trialling, training and follow-up for prescribed equipment
   
• Pressure injury risk assessment, equipment provision and development of pressure injury management plans
   

Functional Assessment, Daily Living & Skill Development

• Comprehensive ADL and IADL assessments
   
• Self-care retraining (showering, grooming, toileting, feeding, dressing, medication management)
   
• Cooking and meal preparation retraining
   
• Life skills and independent living skill development
   
• Community participation planning and retraining
   
• Routine development and task sequencing strategies
   
• Carer training for safe support of daily activities
   

Cognitive & Perceptual

• Cognitive screening and functional cognition assessment
   
• Assessment of cognitive impacts on safety and daily living
   
• Education, training and environmental adaptations for cognitive support
   
• Memory, attention and problem-solving strategies
   
• Fatigue management and pacing programs
   

Physical Rehabilitation & Mobility

• Upper limb rehabilitation post-stroke or neurological event
   
• Upper limb strengthening, coordination and functional retraining
   
• Functional mobility assessment and training (in home and community)
   
• Transfer technique assessment and training
   
• Seating, posture, and positioning intervention
   
• Motor planning, balance retraining and coordination programs
   
• Re-conditioning programs through use of daily occupations
   

Manual Handling

• Manual handling assessment
   
• Equipment prescription to reduce carer strain
   
• Carer education and training on safe manual handling specific to client needs
   
• Development of manual handling plans specific to client needs
   

Energy, Sensory & Fatigue Support

• Energy conservation and fatigue management education
   
• Task modification and adaptation
   
• Sensory strategies to support physical and cognitive functioning
   
• Pain management strategies
   

Community Access & Participation

• Community access assessments and interventions
   
• Transport training, journey planning, and accessibility problem-solving
   
• NDIS capacity building for independence, confidence and participation
   
• Accessing community groups, recreation and meaningful activities
   

Other:

• Return to work or volunteering preparation
   
• Technology supports for communication or independence (e.g. smart home accessibility)
   
• Falls recovery planning and post-fall intervention
   
• Discharge planning and transitional support for hospital → home in collaboration with hospital multidisciplinary team

 At Body and Mind Occupational Therapy, a sensory-based lens guides much of the therapeutic process. This approach recognises that every individual experiences, processes and responds to sensory information differently—and that these differences can significantly influence daily functioning, emotional regulation, communication and overall wellbeing.

Using a sensory-based framework, therapy focuses on understanding each person’s unique sensory profile, including their preferences, sensitivities and regulation needs. By identifying how sensory input impacts behaviour, stress levels, participation and performance, we can develop personalised strategies that support comfort, safety and engagement in everyday activities.

A sensory-informed approach is also invaluable for neurodivergent families. We work together to understand how each family member’s neurotype and sensory profile interacts with yours - delving deep into whether those needs complement each other or sometimes clash. This insight can help transform family dynamics by improving communication, reducing misunderstandings, and creating a more emotionally regulated and sensory-friendly home environment.

This therapeutic modality is especially supportive for autistic individuals, people with ADHD, those with trauma histories, chronic health conditions, pain, fatigue, EDS, fibromyalgia, POTS, vestibular migraine, MCAS and neurological conditions. 

Through sensory-informed intervention, clients learn to recognise their body’s cues, develop practical regulation strategies, and build routines that enhance independence, confidence and overall quality of life.

Neurodiversity-Affirming Assessment & Support

• Neuroaffirming functional assessments (sensory, executive functioning, daily living, emotional regulation)

• Understanding personal neurotype and how it influences daily life, routines and relationships

• Support to explore late diagnosis or self-identification

• Strengths-based profiles and personalised support plans
   

Sensory Processing & Regulation Support

• Sensory profiling and mapping individual sensory need

• Exploration of the impact individual sensory processing differences have on daily functioning and activity participation

• Sensory modulation strategies (proactive, active, passive strategies) and equipment to support sensory processing challenges that affect day to day function

• Creating sensory-friendly spaces at home, school, work or community

• Support with interoception (recognising internal body cues)
   
• Guidance on supporting multiple or competing sensory needs within families
   
• Collaborative sensory plans for home, school, or carers
   

Executive Functioning & Daily Living

• Cognitive screening and functional cognition assessment

• Assessment of cognitive impacts on safety and daily living

• Education, training and environmental adaptations for cognitive support

• Memory, attention and problem-solving strategies

• Task breakdown, sequencing and planning supports
   
• Building routines that are realistic, flexible and neuro-inclusive
   
• Executive functioning coaching (organisation, initiation, time-blindness, follow-through)
   
• Support with strategies to manage paperwork, appointments, task initiation and overwhelm
   
• ADHD and neurodiversity-friendly systems for home organisation, meal planning, medication routines and responsibilities
   
• Use of external supports: visual schedules, digital reminders, adaptive planning systems
   
• Neurodiversity-friendly approaches to transitions and unexpected changes
   
• Cognitive fatigue management and pacing programs
   

Emotional Regulation & Burnout Support

• Identification of triggers, sensory overload and burnout cycles
   
• Strategies for pacing, boundaries and energy management (e.g. spoon theory, capacity mapping, battery theory)
   
• Nervous system regulation tools (movement, sensory breaks, grounding, sensory diets)
   
• Building self-advocacy and safety plans for overwhelm shutdowns or meltdowns
   
• Supporting recovery from autistic burnout and chronic overwhelm
   

Communication & Relationships

• Supporting masked vs unmasked identity and safe unmasking
   
• Social energy budgeting and social fatigue management using pacing and planning strategies
   
• Strategies for clearer communication within neurodivergent or mixed-neurotype families
   
• Support for understanding partners’ or children’s neurotypes to reduce conflict and sensory clashes
   
• Co-regulation strategies for parent–child or partner dynamics

• Exploration of sensory diet and adaptions to support social engagement, communication and social anxiety
   

Environment & Participation Supports

• Advocacy and support navigating school, university or work environments
   
• Workplace accommodations, executive functioning supports, sensory considerations
   
• Occupational participation planning and support to engage (hobbies, community activities, meaningful routines)
   
• Fatigue-informed participation in life roles
   

Parenting Support for Neurodivergent Parents

• Sensory-friendly parenting approaches
   
• Systems to reduce overwhelm (routine simplification, environmental supports)
   
• Supporting competing sensory needs within the home
   
• Emotional regulation support for parents during dysregulation episodes with children
   
• Strength-based strategies for navigating neurodivergent family life

Home Safety, Environment & Modifications

• Home safety assessments
• 
  
• Exploration of sensory, hypermobility and other factors that may affect falls and balance
   
• Falls prevention assessment, education and environmental modification
   
• Minor home modifications (e.g. grab rails, lever taps, threshold/step modifications)

• Home adaptions, functional layout and organisation to support executive functioning and aligning with sensory processing preference
   
• Housing recommendations (SDA, SIL, home environment suitability)
   

Assistive Technology (AT)

• Basic AT assessment and prescription (i.e. tab timer pill dispenser, noise cancelling earbuds / headphones)
   
• Complex AT assessment and prescription
   
• Trialling, training and follow-up for prescribed equipment
   

Functional Assessment, Daily Living & Skill Development

• Comprehensive ADL (activities of daily living) and IADL (instrumental activities of daily living) assessments
   
• Self-care retraining (showering, grooming, toileting, feeding, dressing, medication management)
   
• Cooking and meal preparation retraining
   
• Life skills and independent living skill development
   
• Routine development and task sequencing strategies
   
• Carer training for safe support of daily activities
   

Energy, Sensory & Fatigue Support

• Energy conservation and fatigue management education
   
• Task modification and adaptation
   
• Sensory strategies to support physical and cognitive functioning
   
• Pain management strategies
   

Community Access & Participation

• Community access assessments and retraining
   
• Public transport / taxi training, journey planning, and accessibility problem-solving
   
• Accessing and supporting engagement in community groups, recreation and meaningful activities
• Support with Accessing and Navigating OT Driving Assessments. Note: OT driving assessments are completed by specialist Occupational Therapists who have undertaken additional postgraduate training in driving assessment and rehabilitation. The assessment process involves several steps and can take time to coordinate. While Body and Mind Occupational Therapy does not complete OT driving assessments directly, we can support clients through the process of organising an assessment, understanding the required steps, and linking with an appropriate and qualified OT driving assessor.
  
  

Other:

• Return to work or volunteering preparation
   
• Technology supports for communication or independence 

• Ergonomic workplace and study assessment and recommendations

Tegan Allbutt — Director & Principal Occupational Therapist

Tegan is a passionate neurodiversity affirming Occupational Therapist with more than 15 years of experience supporting young people and adults with a broad range of physical, neurological, sensory and invisible disabilities.

She began her career in the public health sector, working across acute hospital care, inpatient rehabilitation, community rehabilitation, community health and the aged care sector. During this time, she developed extensive skills in neurological, spinal and amputee rehabilitation. Her areas of interest included complex equipment prescription (e.g. wheelchairs, seating, pressure care and bedding), upper limb assessment and rehabilitation, cognitive assessment and rehabilitation and complex home modifications.

Tegan has completed extensive additional training in home modifications, equipment prescription, upper limb treatment modalities - including Saebo interventions, Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT), electrical stimulation - and cognitive rehabilitation. Her public health experience enabled her to build strong skills in evidence-based practice, interdisciplinary collaboration and functional, goal-focused therapy.

Following the birth of her two children, Tegan transitioned into the private sector, where her passion for supporting neurodivergent individuals truly flourished. Her work is deeply shaped by her own lived experience as a late-diagnosed neurodivergent clinician, alongside managing chronic health conditions such as POTS, vestibular migraine, MCAS and hypermobility. As a parent to two neurodivergent children, Tegan also understands the realities of navigating competing sensory needs, advocating across systems, managing burnout, and creating supportive environments where everyone can thrive.

This combination of clinical expertise and meaningful lived experience has guided Tegan’s development of a neurodiversity-affirming, sensory-informed and compassionate therapeutic approach. She is committed to creating spaces where clients feel safe to unmask, supported to regulate, and empowered to build confidence, independence and wellbeing in ways that honour their unique neurotype, strengths and sensory profile.

Tegan also provides services to support individuals accessing government funded aged care supports at home (now known as the Supports at Home program). Her above-mentioned experience provides the foundations to work with complex client presentations and complex equipment and home modification needs.

Tegan has carefully shaped her clinic space to support comfort, authenticity and sensory wellbeing. When you attend a session, you can expect:

• A space where you can be fully yourself — unmasking is welcomed, and the environment is set up to minimise sensory overload, with the option to dim lights or keep the space quiet and low-stim.  
• Choice in how you engage — whether you prefer a relaxed, homely setting or a more structured table-based space, both options are available.  
• A calming, home-like environment that supports safety, comfort and emotional regulation.  
• Access to a wide range of sensory tools to explore during sessions for grounding, focus or emotional regulation.  
• Freedom to move and stim — stretching, fidgeting, pacing, sitting on the floor or shifting positions is always encouraged. Tegan models this herself and works in ways that support her own attention and regulation.  
• Sensory breaks whenever needed, with a flexible session pace driven by your comfort level.  

Tegan’s goal is to create a therapeutic experience where clients feel seen, respected and supported—an environment where meaningful progress happens naturally and at a pace that honours each person’s needs. 

 Tegan believes that meaningful progress happens when everyone involved in a person’s care is working together. A multidisciplinary approach allows clients to be supported in all areas of life—physical, emotional, sensory, cognitive and social—without having to continually retell their story or navigate services alone.

She works closely with GPs, physiotherapists, psychologists, speech pathologists, support coordinators, behavioural clinicians and other medical specialists. Tegan prioritises respectful communication, collaborative goal-setting and consistent follow-through. She actively shares insights, seeks input from others and ensures recommendations complement rather than conflict with the wider team. This creates a unified, neuroaffirming support network that reflects the client’s goals, strengths and lived experience.

NDIS Participants (Capacity Building Supports)

Please note that we are not an NDIS registered provider. As such, we can only accept referrals for clients that have funding that is either self-managed or plan managed

We support NDIS participants aged 16+, including:

• Capacity Building (Improved Daily Living)
   
• Sensory, functional and psychosocial supports
   
• Assessments and reports (FCA, SIL, SDA)
   
• Skill development, independence-building and daily living support

Aged Care Supports at Home (Formally Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC) Packages)

• Our focus is on maintaining independence, safety, functional capacity and quality of life through goal-directed assessment and intervention. 

Privately Funded Clients

GP Chronic Condition Management Plan (formerly EPC) 

• You may be eligible for up to 5 discounted sessions per year via a Chronic Disease Management Plan.
• Medicare provides a partial rebate for each OT session (clients pay the gap fee)
• Your GP completes a detail assessment to determine suitability. If you are eligible - they will complete the paperwork for the care plan. 
• Contact your GP clinic to determine suitability for assessment. 
• Please note that these assessments are typically done via a specialised consultation with the GP and a practice nurse and typically require a longer time to complete. As such, ensure you speak with the clinic first before booking with your GP as they.
   

➡ See below link for further details as to whether you might be eligible for this funding:
Requirements for a chronic condition management plan - Health professionals - Services Australia 

Transport Accident Commission 

• We provide OT services for TAC clients, including assessment, equipment prescription, home modifications and functional retraining.
   

Mental Health Care Plans

• We are not yet able to accept Mental Health Care Plans, but we are actively working toward mental health accreditation and expect availability mid-2026.

If you would like to place a referral, please contact the clinic on the below number, or alternatively click on the below link to complete our referral form. Once received we will be in contact with you to chat further.

https://body-and-mind-occupational-therapy.splose.com/public-form/09b8d8be-7faf-4dd4-8915-3bcdb9809db7