Frequently Asked Questions
Booking a consultation is very easy. Firstly ensure you have spoken to your school's Gabadoo administrator or Principal about booking.
To book a consultation:
- Log into your school's Gabadoo Account - (There is one email that can be used to login)
- Ensure you have watched the instructional video on the dashboard as there are important details you must know about when completing the booking form.
- Click on the Lead Therapist you want to have a call with.
- Click on 'Book Consultation'
- Fill in the details as outlined in the video on the dashboard.
- A confirmation email will be sent to the email associated with your school's Gabadoo account. (This can be forwarded to your personal email if it makes accessing the consultation easier on the day)
- Join your consultation by clicking the link in the confirmation email.
It is very important to cancel your appointment if you cannot make it as your school will still be charged for it if you do not attend without providing at least 2 hours notice.
Yes, but there are a couple of thing you need to be aware of:
- You must have received parental/guardian consent - A form has been provided to your school which must be sent back to us before the consultation and a copy should also be kept on file in the school. This is only needed once and not for every consultation.
- We always recommend that the parent/guardian has a consultation with us first so the therapist has a holistic view of the child's home life also. We know this is not always possible and is at the descretion of the parent and school. There is a fee of €60 for the parent consultation.
- After the consultation, the Gaba Plan (strategy plan) that will be available on your school's dashboard will not contain any identifiable information for that specific child.
A Gaba Plan is what you will receive after each consultation. It will detail strategies to support that specific issue and will also include activity videos or other resources when appropriate. It may also include products that the therapist feels would be helpful and these are available from our product partner Thinking Toys.
Yes, that's no problem. Some staff want to show our therapists the classrooms or sensory spaces they have and using your phone is a great way to do it.
To get the most out of the consultation there should be no more than 2 staff members (Teacher & SNA as an example) on the call. Sometimes the Principal or Deputy Principal might sit in also which isn't a problem.
If there are no times that are suitable for you, email support@gabadoo.com with times you are looking for and I will see if we can open up some slots.
It is possible, but it depends on the therapists availability. If you email support@gabadoo.com with the times that are suitable we will see if we can arrange this for you.
We have made really easy for school's to have access to expert support from OTs and SLTs.
To get started we will:
- Have a call to discuss your schools needs
- During the call we will set up your schools dashboard
- We will also assign Lead Therapists to your school (Occupational Therapist, Speech & Language Therapist or both)
- Staff can book in for a consultation when they need to with the school's Lead Therapists to get support for a specific classroom situation or for a specific child.
- A Gaba Plan is created after the consultation which will include strategies and any relevant products from our product partner Thinking Toys.
It is free to set up your Gabadoo account and you only pay per consultation (€60). If you would like to get a Gabadoo account for your school, book a call using the link below.
Before the call you will need to:
- Have chosen a Gabadoo Administrator for your school. This is typically an SET, Principal etc.
- Have one email address that all correspondence will go through.
From speaking with many teachers and therapists while developing the school's plans, we found that even when a therapist was onsite to observe a child, most of the support provided was based on teacher feedback.
There are certain situations where a therapist being onsite is needed, but that is not something we provide at present. By using a collaborative approach with school staff, huge progress can be made without the need for a therapist to be at the school.
There are multiple research papers showing the effectiveness of teacher and therapist collaboration which can be found here https://www.gabadoo.com/pages/schools-support
1. Ensure you are using the email associated with your school's Gabadoo account, there is only one email that can be used to sign in. Ask your school's Gabadoo Admin if you are unsure of which email it is.
2. If you have the correct email, try to reset the password by click on Forgot Password. A password reset email will be sent to the email associated with your school's account.
If this doesn't work email support@gabadoo.com and include any relevant information
The list below outline what we can support schools with through Gabadoo. If the support you are looking for is not below, reach out to us at support@gabadoo.com and we will see if we can support you.
- Movement Breaks
- Listening and Attention
- Handwriting
- Fine Motor & Gross Motor Skills
- Organisational Skills
- Executive functioning skills
- Supports for Sensory Needs
- Emotional Regulation
- Behaviour*
- Independence with task completion, dressing etc.
- Play Skills
- Designing environments e.g sensory spaces, yards, classrooms
- Understanding diagnoses
- Differentiation of P.E exercises, writing tasks, fine motor skills.
- Communication Skills
*For consultations discussing a child's behaviour, we advise booking a double session.
When booking a consultation for a particular child, we also offer the parent/guardian a consultation. We highly recommend this if possible, but we leave it to the discretion of the parent/guardian and school.
If there has been a regression in a child’s behaviour and/or they are engaging in self-harming behaviours, their GP must be notified initially.
Gabadoo is an online platform that can support you with your intervention needs i.e. our team will guide you around practical supports and strategies you can use with your child at home or in school to support their everyday needs.
We do not offer diagnostic assessments with our team.
Gabadoo is ideal for accessing support while you wait for an assessment, during the process or after your child receives a diagnosis, as intervention is a key part of putting individualised supports in place for your child's needs.
There are community organisations that can guide you to teams who specifically provide diagnostic assessments:
Autism - https://asiam.ie/
ADHD - https://adhdireland.ie/
Dyslexia - https://dyslexia.ie/
DCD/ Dyspraxia - https://www.dyspraxia.ie/
When you are ready to start your intervention journey, we will be here to support you.
Pricing varies depending on the level of support you are looking for.
To get started, all families have a video consultation with one of our Lead Therapists and this is €70
After your consultation, the therapist will advise you on the what the best support going forward will be for your family. If that includes a recommendation to continue accessing support through Gabadoo, pricing ranges from €39 to €300.
We provide Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy support to families. We support babies right up to young adulthood.
A Gabadoo Review is the way in which you get individualised support from an OT or SLT.
When you are creating a Gabadoo Review, you include detailed notes about why you are looking for support for the 'Area of Focus' you selected e.g Handwriting.
You can include videos, images and voice notes also to highlight the issue so the therapist gets a really clear understanding of the challenges you are facing.
Once you submit the Gabadoo Review, a therapist who is experienced in the area you need support with will create a Gaba Plan (strategy plan) for you based on the information you provided (notes, videos, images), and this will outline tailored strategies to support you or your child at home and in school which you can access at any time.
Gabadoo Reviews have proven to be very effective as they give you time to gather the information you need. There is a lot of guidance available also through videos available when you are creating your Gabadoo Review, and also in our blogs section.
When creating a Gabadoo Review, you provide information such as:
- 'Area of Focus' for the review e.g Handwriting, Sensory, Social Skills, Homework etc
- Information about your child including age, gender and any previously diagnosed conditions they may have. (If you have a report, summarise the main points from that. There is no need to attach the assessment or report.)
- Information about the home environment.
- Videos and Images to highlight the area of concern e.g difficulty pronouncing a letter, certain movements that may concern you etc.
- Notes describing your question or concern
This information allows your therapist to provide the right strategies and support that is specific to you and your family through a Gaba Plan.
Gabadoo Reviews are an asynchronous means of getting support making it convenient and affordable.
A Gaba Plan is what you will get back after submitting a Gabadoo Review. The information you provided when creating your Gabadoo Review is used to provide you with tailored strategies, resources, and product recommendations which can be used at home and in school.
Families have found Gaba Plans incredibly helpful as they can refer back to them when needed.
Every Gaba Plan also includes 'Next Steps' so you know exactly what you need to do going forward.
Hear Joan's story of how she found Gabadoo beneficial for her son.
We typically have families on their initial consultation within 7 days
If you have Occupational Therapy or Speech and Language Therapy covered under your insurance policy, then you may be able to claim back a portion of the cost. Every policy is different so please read the T&Cs of your policy.
If you need a receipt for your insurer please let us know. (The payment receipt you receive after booking an appointment will not be accepted by your insurer.)
Yes, all of our therapists are registered with their appropriate governing body, insured and have a minimum of 3 years full time working experience in paediatrics.