Where Therapy Ends and Capacity Building Begins

Clarifying Roles, Scope, and Collaboration in Youth Disability Support

In youth disability support, good outcomes don’t come from good intentions alone.

They come from clarity of roles, scope, responsibility, and collaboration.

Recently, two Occupational Therapists offered insights that strongly align with how we approach ethical, effective youth support. One through a public post, and another through direct feedback after reviewing our work.

Together, they highlight a conversation the sector needs to keep having.

A Useful Comparison: OT is different to Teaching

Julia Tu Co-Director & Occupational Therapist at True Therapy shared this reflection:

OT at school ≠ teaching school work.

They explained a common misconception:

OTs don’t teach the curriculum.

They support the skills behind learning.

They don’t teach what to learn.

They support how learning happens.

This distinction matters.

It protects scope, manages expectations, and strengthens collaboration

The Same Principle Applies to Capacity Building

An OT who reviewed one of our blogs shared thoughtful feedback:

“In some aspects, your scope appears to encompass that of a therapist, which may make people wary if they haven’t met you yet.”

“Perhaps focus on delineation of your role, where does the buck end? When do you escalate? How do you stay within scope? What does effective communication look like?”

This feedback was fair, and important.

So let’s be very clear.

What We Do Not Do

At Supporting Communities Australia, and through The Upgrade Lab, we are not therapists.

We do not:

• Diagnose
• Clinically assess
• Prescribe therapeutic interventions
• Deliver therapy
• Replace allied health professionals

Those responsibilities sit appropriately with clinicians like OTs, psychologists, and behaviour practitioners.

What We Actually Do: Capacity Building in Real Life

Our role begins after therapy identifies the goal.

If therapy answers:

“What skills does this young person need?”

The Upgrade Lab answers:

“How do we help this young person practise, apply, and own those skills in everyday life?”

Just as OTs support the learner rather than teaching the lesson, we support the young person, not the clinical role.

The Upgrade Lab: Turning Plans Into Practice

The Upgrade Lab is a trauma-informed, strength-based, young person-centred capacity-building framework.

It is designed to help young people move from supported to self-led living by:

• Implementing therapist-identified goals in real-world environments
• Breaking goals into achievable steps using task analysis
• Supporting repetition, prompts, and consistency
• Helping skills generalise across home, school, and community
• Building confidence, autonomy, and follow-through

We don’t design the therapeutic plan.

We bring it to life.

A Real-World Example: Therapy + The Upgrade Lab in Action

A young person we supported needed help to manage her period independently. This included hygiene and product use. She also needed to recognize when changes were needed.

Therapy Role (OT)

The goal was identified and addressed by an Occupational Therapist, who worked with the young person on:

• Body awareness
• Sensory needs
• Product choice
• Skill sequencing

The OT recommended period underwear and developed:

• Step-by-step instructions
• Visual supports
• Clear guidance

At this point, the clinical work was ready for implementation.

Capacity Building Role: The Upgrade Lab

The plan was then handed over to us.

Our role was not to change the intervention or teach new concepts.

Our role was to:

• Prompt and remind the young person of each step
• Support consistency during her period in the home environment
• Observe how the strategy worked in real life
• Keep predictable routines and emotional safety

This is The Upgrade Lab in action, implementation, not assessment.

Observation and Escalation

Over time, challenges were observed:

• Overflowing occurred
• The young person struggled to recognise when period underwear needed changing
• She demonstrated clearer success when saturation cues were more visible

This information was documented and escalated back to the OT.

Therapy Review and Adjustment

Based on real-world feedback, the OT reviewed the strategy and adjusted the plan to sanitary pads, as the young person:

• More easily recognised when a change was needed
• Demonstrated greater independence
• Achieved better outcomes

This decision was made by the therapist, not us.

We did not redesign the plan.

We stayed within scope.

Where the Buck Ends (and When We Escalate)

Staying within scope is non-negotiable.

We:

• Work from therapist reports and recommendations
• Observe how strategies land in daily life
• Flag risks, barriers, or breakdowns early
• Escalate appropriately for review
• Adjust support delivery, not clinical direction

This ensures ethical, safe, and effective support.

What Effective Collaboration Looks Like

Strong outcomes happen when:

• Therapists design “the what”
• Capacity builders support “the how”
• Communication remains open and respectful

That includes:

• Clear handovers
• Regular updates
• Shared language
• Defined referral pathways
• The young person remaining at the centre

Supporting the Person, Not Competing with the Profession

Just as OT supports the skills needed to learn,

The Upgrade Lab supports the young person to use those skills in their day to day life.

We don’t blur roles.

We strengthen them.

Because when each professional stays in their lane:

• Young people don’t fall through gaps
• Skills are practised, not just prescribed
• Independence becomes sustainable

And that’s how real outcomes are built.

How referrals work

If you’re an OT, support coordinator, parent or guardian, referrals are simple:

• I can be added as a provider under your participant’s NDIS plan
• Services can be delivered in-home or in-community
• We co-design how The Upgrade Lab complements OT goals and NDIS funding

Referrals are accepted via phone, email, or through your participant’s support coordinator.

 info@supportingcommunitiesaustralia.com

 0480 800 521

When we collaborate intentionally, young people don’t just meet their goals they live them, every day.