About Excel
Excel has been part of the Coffs Coast community since 2017, when Lily and Kyle Bodenham started the practice with a simple goal: to support kids to do more of what is meaningful to them.
Since then, we've grown from a small Occupational Therapy practice into a team of 17+ Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, Allied Health Assistants and support staff, working across two clinics in the Coffs Coast region.
Today, we support children and young people in lots of different ways. We work with individuals and families, as well as schools, preschools, organisations and other services, providing therapy, programs, practical support, education and coaching.
We've also taken the ideas and experience from our clinical work beyond the therapy room through Regulated & Ready, our resource and education brand, creating practical tools and resources for the people supporting kids every day.
While Excel has grown and evolved, the heart of what we do hasn't changed.
What we believe
Kids do well if they can.
We believe children aren't choosing to struggle. When something isn't working, there is usually a reason.
We get curious about what might be getting in the way, celebrate individual differences and work alongside children and the people around them to find what helps.
Our work is play.
We use play, connection, curiosity and children's interests to make support meaningful and engaging.
Whether we're working one-to-one, in a group, in a school or preschool, or alongside another service, we want support to feel relevant to real life.
Connection comes first.
We believe relationships are at the heart of meaningful support. We listen to children, value their voice and work collaboratively with the people who know them best.
There’s no wrong way to be a kid.
Every child is different, and that's something to celebrate. Kids have their own personalities, interests, ways of communicating, ways of playing and ways of experiencing the world.
We don't expect childhood to look one particular way. We celebrate kids for who they are, exactly as they are.
We support strengths, not fix differences.
We take a strengths-based approach to our work. We look at what a child can do, what they enjoy, what motivates them and what they're already good at, and use those strengths to support areas that might be harder.
We don't believe kids need fixing. We believe they deserve support that helps them participate, connect, communicate and do more of what matters to them.
Support should fit the child.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Sometimes the right support is individual therapy. Sometimes it's a group, an intensive, an AHA program, support within a school or preschool, or building the confidence of the adults around a child.
We meet kids and the people around them where they are.
We want them to excel.
Not by asking children to become someone they're not.
But by helping them build on their strengths and do more of what is meaningful to them.
That's what Excel means to us.
