Learn about our approach and how we select the most appropriate services for your child
On this page, you will find a summary of all the services we offer, the tools we use and information about our approach and how we select the most appropriate services for your child.
No dream is too big for us, no problem too difficult, and no child too challenging. We push harder, we go further, and we try more. We exist to make the world a better place for everyone living with disability. – Chad Timmermans
The Timmermans Method
We use a three-step approach to therapy and rehabilitation, holistic assessment and planning.
Holistic Assessment & Planning
The Timmermans Method is a holistic approach to rehabilitation for children with disabilities. It is a combination of therapies to create a more tailored program for enhancing results.
At this stage, we will thoroughly assess your child's strengths and weaknesses and create a unique program that stimulates the healthy, working parts of the brain to take on the function of the damaged areas.
This new level of functioning can then be incorporated into purposeful movement, increased awareness, and higher levels of integration. – Read more.
In-clinic Intensive Therapy
Imagine an athlete only training once a week for 45min. They wouldn't show much improvement, yet this is what traditional therapy offers most kids. This is why many kids make slow progress with traditional therapy approaches.
Just like an athlete needs to train hard to achieve results, kids with disability need to work hard to achieve noticeable results.
Each of our kids receives a highly individualized program to help them achieve the maximum results possible in three weeks.
Duration: 3 hours, 5 days a week for 3 weeks, where we work hand in hand with the parent to help the children achieve the goals set out at the beginning of therapy. The key premise of The Timmermans Method is the utilization of intensive therapy and innovative techniques, whether that is done in the home or our clinic. Intensive therapy helps children strengthen their muscles, improve muscle tone, improve balance and even achieve new milestones depending on their abilities. - Read more.
On-going Support & Therapy
After the intensive therapy sessions, kids need to keep practising their new skills, this is where our guided home therapy program supports parents to continue therapy at home.
During intensive therapy sessions, the family are trained to help like therapy assistants. This results in them being able to carry out a high-quality home program.
While children will make progress during the intensive, the home program maintains these results and often builds upon them. Children who get the best results over time are also the ones who do the best home programs. - Read more.
Timmermans Method therapists strive to utilise innovative techniques for our clients. We continually search the globe for the latest methods to help children faster! We introduced to the concept of Intensive Therapy into Australia, the use of Therasuits, CME, PIASTM, and Power plate training for kids. This culture of innovation and advancement results in our families having access to the latest methods for children’s rehabilitation.
CME Therapy (Cuevas Medek Exercises)
CME is a dynamic and challenging set of exercises. The techniques can be used on children as young as three months to 12 years. The therapist creates a situation where children must respond to gravity to hold their head, trunk, and limbs against the forces of gravity.
Cuevas Medek Exercises (CME) is a powerful method of eliciting improvements in posture, balance, and motor control, for children with cerebral palsy and developmental conditions.
Therasuit Therapy
The Therasuit intensive therapy method is an individualized therapy program that accelerates functional progress. The program uses the Therasuit, a soft, dynamic orthotic suit with bungee-like cords. This helps children learn new correct patterns of movement through strengthening and functional skills practice.
The suit’s primary goal is to improve and change the pressure from the joints, muscles, ligaments, reduce pathological reflexes, restore physiological muscle synergy, and load the entire body with weight.
PIASTM - Soft Tissue Mobilisation
Paediatric Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization, or
PIASTM, is used to help children with Cerebral Palsy, and other muscle conditions gain improved range of motion, flexibility, and muscle activation.
It is used as the first stage of body relaxation during intensive therapy sessions.
It is practised by Paediatric Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, and Exercise Physiologists.
Hydrotherapy
Swimming and just being in water helps increase oxygen to the muscles and promotes recovery.
Hydrotherapy, when used correctly, is a fantastic tool.
It can teach children about their body through increasing proprioception, help them relax the stiffness in their body, as well as improve mobility and fitness.
Our therapists have all been trained in specialised special needs hydrotherapy techniques, including the Halliwick Method, the Claire Timmermans Method, and Watsu Water Therapy.
Power Plate / Vibration Therapy
Power Plate is a vibrating platform that helps children with Cerebral Palsy attain balance, core stability, and improve muscle spasticity.
This machine helps relax their muscles by mobilising fascial connective tissue, stimulating natural reflexes, and increasing muscle activation.
During rehabilitation, children are asked to perform movements and strengthening activities.
The effectiveness will be enhanced by performing those same movements on a Power Plate.
COGY Wheelchair
What if the wheelchair became an opportunity to help people move their legs again?
This is how the pedalling wheelchair “COGY” came to life.
For many patients, a life with a wheelchair means a life of giving up on the possibility of ever walking again.
The COGY helps improve leg function, strength, and fitness while allowing increased mobility.
Creepster Crawler
The Creepster crawler is a device similar to a walker, but it helps children crawl.
Initially invented in the USA, our clinic is the official supplier of Creepster Crawlers into Australia and New Zealand.
It also helps parents and therapists to teach their children to crawl without compromising their backs ergonomically.
Stepping Box and Parallel Bars
Using the stepping box and parallel bars together is the primary tool we use to help children increase their gait and stepping ability.
Parallel bars are two bars that are height and width adjustable for the child. The bars may be raised or lowered to suit kids of various heights and abilities.
Stepping boxes, challenge the child’s gait, range of motion, trunk, body awareness, and makes them work harder than normal walking. This can increase muscular strength and help to improve balance and stepping ability.
Who can benefit from Intensive Therapy?
Our therapy is designed for children aged from three months to adults. We see clients with a wide range of conditions and movement difficulties including, but not limited to those listed below.
Down Syndrome and other genetic conditions
We provide intensive therapy for children with Down Syndrome. Intensive Therapy is used to build the strength, coordination, and endurance they need to reach gross motor milestones like sitting, crawling, and walking. Our therapy sessions for children with Down Syndrome put them in a loving setting where they are challenged to reach new developmental milestones.
Cerebral Palsy
We use a range of innovative and intensive techniques to help children with Cerebral Palsy achieve greater results and development than is normally achieved through standard therapy. This includes strength training and spasticity reduction.
Global Developmental Delay
Meeting developmental milestones is a complicated process; sometimes, children progress rapidly for a short time, then stop developing for months or even lose function. We tailor our therapy to work on identified key areas where a child requires stimulation. By stimulating their neural development we can help children with developmental delay make great progress.
Hypotonia
Hypotonia, or low muscle tone, is commonly discovered during infancy or early years of development. If your baby is born with Hypotonia, Intensive Therapy can help speed up progress for goals, such as sitting upright, crawling on tummy or hands and knees, and independent walking and dynamic movement.
Spina Bifida
Spina Bifida is a condition in which the spine and spinal cord don't form typically. Intensive Therapy is used to enhance gait, coordination, and balance. It can also aid in maintaining joint range of motion, strength development of weak muscles, and the improvement of flexibility in tight muscles. Typical goals include sitting up, crawling, and walking.
Near Drowning / Hypoxic Brain Injury
Most therapists who see children with a near-drowning brain injury don't know what to do with them or how to help. These children end up being "given up on" and receive therapy that is limited to prescription of wheelchairs and seating needs. The Timmermans Method has a focused program specifically for children with severe brain-injuries that stimulates their health, movement, and holistic rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation
Intensive Therapy can be used to improve the speed and effectiveness of rehabilitation following spinal injuries, stroke, traumatic brain damage, and post-operative rehabilitation for children, such as tendon releases, Botox, or Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR).
Sensory Processing
Sensory integration is designed to help children with sensory processing problems cope with their difficulties identifying, organising, and interpreting the sensory inputs. Sensory integration uses many different therapies such as deep pressure, brushing, vibration, balance stimulation, strength training, co-ordination exercises, and many more. Therapy sessions are mostly play and movement orientated.
Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR)
Our pre & post SDR program has been developed over the past 10 years of working with children internationally. We focus on both pre-operation strength and post-operation rehabilitation. By focusing on strength, balance, gait, and fear of falling, children can benefit more than from conventional therapy.
INTENSIVE THERAPY TREATMENT LOCATIONS
We have clinics located in Adelaide and Melbourne, with both locations providing the same core suite of services.
Adelaide Clinic
The Timmermans Method
490 Brighton Road
Brighton South Australia 5048
Ph 0411 696 839
Email: admin@timmermansmethod.com.au
Melbourne Clinic
The Timmermans Method
269-275 Centre Dandenong Road
Dingley Village, Victoria 3172
Ph 0411 696 839
Email: admin@timmermansmethod.com.au
How To Get Started
To enquire about our services you can visit our contact page and send us a message or if you are ready to book you can fill in our new client application form.
Intensive Therapy In Action
Our Experience
Chad Timmermans is an Exercise Physiologist and Applied Psychologist. He has been working internationally in paediatric rehabilitation for 22 years.
Chad grew up in his parents’ paediatric rehabilitation clinic. His family opened their paediatric therapy clinic in the 1960s, hence the name “The Timmermans Method” as Chad has carried on the work of his parents. Chad has spent his whole life around children with special needs. The result is a very diverse background of in-depth knowledge and experience.
Chad’s passion is helping children achieve their first; first step, first balance, first time sitting, first time crawling. To do this, Chad has dedicated his career to continually searching for new therapies to help kids achieve the next level of ability.
Funding
- Funding via NDIS is accepted by our clinic. We work with clients who are self-managed or plan managed.
- Our therapists are registered providers with Medicare Australia. Please speak to your GP for more information on plans and eligibility. We can provide you with a receipt for rebates.
- Our therapists are registered providers for private health care insurers.
PARENT EDUCATION
With our mission in helping children with special needs comes the responsibility to give the parents the proper support paired with necessary information.
Here, at The Timmermans Method, we place parent education at the core of what we do. We aim to educate and empower the families to help children achieve more.
Feel free to get to know us and how we do things through our videos below. We have meticulously compiled all of these to help prepare your family and child for intensive therapy. You’re in good hands with one of the best therapy centres in Australia.