Common NDIS OT Terminology Explained in Plain English: A Comprehensive Guide for Participants and Families

Navigating the National Disability Insurance Scheme can feel like learning a completely new language. When your occupational therapist starts discussing proprioception, bilateral coordination, or instrumental activities of daily living during your planning meeting, you might find yourself nodding along whilst secretly wondering what these terms actually mean. For the 692,823 NDIS participants across Australia as of December 2024, understanding occupational therapy terminology isn’t just about keeping up with conversations—it directly impacts how your plan is developed, what supports you can access, and ultimately, how effectively you can work towards your goals.

The confusion is understandable. Occupational therapy terminology combines clinical precision with everyday concepts, creating a unique vocabulary that bridges medical assessment and daily living. Yet this terminology matters profoundly. When you understand what your therapist means by “sensory modulation” or “executive functioning,” you’re better equipped to articulate your needs, set meaningful goals, and advocate for appropriate supports. With 51% of NDIS participants under age 18 and families navigating therapy interventions for the first time, having common NDIS OT terminology explained in plain English becomes essential for informed decision-making.

Why Does Understanding OT Terminology Matter for Your NDIS Plan?

The language occupational therapists use directly shapes your NDIS planning process. When reports contain terms like “functional capacity” or “reasonable and necessary,” these aren’t merely professional jargon—they’re the specific language the National Disability Insurance Agency uses to determine funding eligibility.

Occupational therapy assessments inform which supports the NDIS considers reasonable and necessary under Section 34 of the NDIS Act 2013. This legislation requires that supports must relate to your disability, help pursue goals in your plan, facilitate social and economic participation, and represent value for money. When your OT documents that you have “difficulties with fine motor skills affecting instrumental activities of daily living,” they’re establishing the connection between your disability and your need for support.

Understanding this terminology empowers you to participate meaningfully in goal-setting. Research shows that 43% of participants aged 15 and over reported increased community and social participation after two years in the NDIS, whilst employment rates for ages 15-24 more than doubled from 10% at baseline to 23% at reassessment. These outcomes don’t happen by accident—they result from well-articulated goals built on clear understanding of functional abilities and limitations.

The connection between terminology and funding becomes particularly relevant when you consider that 21% of adult participant budgets remain unutilised. Often, this occurs because participants don’t fully understand what supports they’re entitled to access or how to articulate their needs using the language that aligns with NDIS criteria.

What Are the Essential Motor Skills Terms Every NDIS Participant Should Know?

Motor skills terminology appears frequently in occupational therapy reports and NDIS planning meetings, yet these terms describe abilities we use constantly throughout our day.

Gross motor skills involve coordinated physical movements using large muscle groups—your arms, legs, torso, and feet. Walking to the shops, climbing stairs, throwing a ball, or riding a bicycle all require gross motor skills. When your OT assesses gross motor abilities, they’re evaluating your capacity for mobility, balance, and participating in physical activities that support community engagement.

Fine motor skills describe small, controlled movements using the small muscles in your hands, fingers, wrists, lips, and tongue. Writing your name, buttoning a shirt, using cutlery, or typing on a keyboard require fine motor control. These skills are critical for self-care tasks and managing everyday objects independently. For the 69% of new NDIS participants under age 15 entering the scheme between July and December 2024, fine motor development often represents a key focus area for occupational therapy intervention.

Motor planning, also called praxis, describes your brain’s ability to conceive of, organise, sequence, and carry out unfamiliar and complex body movements in a coordinated manner. Think about learning to tie shoelaces for the first time—your brain must plan what movement to make, then execute it correctly. Dyspraxia, or deficient motor planning, can make learning new physical tasks significantly more challenging.

Bilateral coordination means using both sides of your body in an organised, smooth, and simultaneous manner. Clapping your hands, catching a ball, swimming, or tying shoelaces all require your left and right sides to work together effectively. This skill typically develops by age 4-5 years and forms the foundation for many daily activities.

Crossing midline describes the ability to move an arm or leg across the imaginary line dividing the two halves of your body when completing a task. Reaching across the middle of your body with one arm to complete an action, such as writing across a page or reaching for objects on opposite sides, requires this neurological skill that promotes coordination between left and right brain hemispheres.

Understanding these motor terms helps you recognise how occupational therapists break down complex daily activities into component skills, identifying precisely where support might be needed.

How Do Sensory Processing Terms Relate to Daily Living?

Sensory processing terminology describes how your nervous system receives information from your senses, organises it, and uses it to plan and execute appropriate responses. Rather than just the traditional five senses, occupational therapists consider eight sensory systems that continuously provide information about your body and environment.

The tactile system detects light touch, deep pressure, temperature, texture, vibration, and pain. This system helps with body awareness, hand use, and motor planning. Some individuals experience tactile defensiveness—a negative reaction to unexpected light touch—which might explain why certain clothing textures, labels, or unexpected touch feel overwhelming.

Proprioception tells you where your body parts are and how they’re moving without needing to look. This “body awareness” sense comes from sensations in your joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Proprioception determines how much force your muscles need to use, whether you’re writing with a pencil, lifting a shopping bag, or climbing stairs. You use proprioception when you know where your feet are whilst climbing stairs without looking down.

The vestibular system, located in your inner ear, detects movement and gravity. This system maintains your balance, stabilises your head and body during movement, and maintains upright posture. The vestibular system contributes to gravitational security—feeling safe against falling. When functioning well, you can walk along a narrow curb or ride a bicycle confidently.

Interoception represents the eighth sensory system that tells you what’s happening inside your body—pain, hunger, coldness, heat, fullness, nausea, need for the toilet, and emotional states. This internal body awareness allows you to recognise you’re hungry or too hot without external cues, informing self-care and self-regulation.

Sensory modulation describes your brain’s ability to receive sensory input, process it, and produce an appropriate behavioural response. Some individuals are hypersensitive (over-responsive) to sensory stimuli, responding excessively—such as covering ears at normal conversation volume. Others are hyposensitive (under-responsive), with high pain thresholds or difficulty noticing injuries, often craving intense sensations to register input.

Understanding sensory processing terms within the context of common NDIS OT terminology explained in plain English helps participants recognise why certain environments feel overwhelming or why specific strategies support better functioning. With average plan budgets for adults at approximately $65,700-$66,000, allocating funding effectively for sensory-based interventions requires clear understanding of these foundational concepts.

What Do ADLs, IADLs, and Functional Capacity Really Mean?

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) represent fundamental concepts in occupational therapy that directly influence NDIS funding decisions and support allocation.

Basic ADLs encompass essential self-care activities people do every day: dressing, bathing or showering, toileting, eating or feeding, personal hygiene and grooming, and functional mobility (moving from one place to another). These are the “must-do” tasks to stay clean and fed. When your OT assesses ADLs, they’re documenting your level of independence in these fundamental self-care activities.

Instrumental ADLs involve more complex, meaningful activities that support independent living: preparing meals, shopping for groceries, managing finances and daily medications, cleaning and household maintenance, doing laundry, using communication devices, navigating transportation (driving or public transit), and managing appointments. IADLs represent the skills needed to manage a household and community independently, often forming the bridge between basic self-care and full community participation.

Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA) describes a comprehensive evaluation used to determine your level of functioning in various areas of daily living. This assessment gathers information about abilities, limitations, and support needs across domains including personal care, mobility, communication, social interaction, learning, decision-making, and work capacity. FCAs inform NDIS planning, determine types of support and services eligible for funding, document functional abilities and limitations, and identify goals and aspirations.

The distinction between ADLs and IADLs matters significantly for NDIS planning. Core Supports typically address basic ADL needs and personal care assistance, whilst Capacity Building supports focus on developing skills for IADLs and community participation. Understanding this distinction helps participants identify which support categories align with their goals.

Self-regulation describes your ability to adjust and control your energy level, alertness, emotions, behaviour, and attention in response to environmental demands. This skill is essential for everyday functioning, influencing how effectively you can participate in activities, manage frustration, and adapt to changing circumstances. Some individuals benefit from a sensory diet—a planned and scheduled activity programme that an occupational therapist develops to help a person become more self-regulated by providing multisensory experiences that satisfy their sensory needs.

How Do Executive Functioning and Visual Perceptual Skills Impact Independence?

Executive functioning and visual perceptual skills represent cognitive abilities that significantly influence independence in daily activities, yet these terms are frequently misunderstood within NDIS planning contexts.

Executive functioning encompasses a set of mental skills that enable planning, focusing, organising, and completing tasks or multiple tasks simultaneously. Think of executive functioning as your brain’s ability to plan, organise, and complete what you set out to do. The eight categories include impulse control (thinking before acting), emotional control (managing emotional responses appropriately), flexible thinking (adapting when plans change), working memory (holding and using information whilst doing an activity), self-monitoring (checking your own performance), planning and sequencing (organising steps to complete a task), task initiation (starting a task without difficulty), and organisation (arranging materials and information systematically).

Practical examples include making a to-do list and following it, changing plans if something unexpected happens, remembering directions whilst driving, or checking your work before submitting. Executive functioning difficulties can significantly impact capacity for employment, education, and independent living, making this terminology particularly relevant when setting NDIS goals around work, learning, or community participation domains.

Visual perceptual skills describe the ability to interpret and make sense of what your eyes see. Importantly, these skills aren’t about eyesight—they’re about how your brain interprets visual information. Key visual perceptual skills include:

• Form constancy: Recognising a shape is the same regardless of size, rotation, or colour (recognising letter “A” whether it’s large or small, printed or handwritten)
• Visual discrimination: Differentiating between objects and forms, noticing subtle changes between similar items
• Figure-ground perception: Finding a specific item among many other items, such as locating your friend in a crowded room
• Visual closure: Looking at an incomplete shape or object and filling in missing components
• Visual memory: Recalling visual information from memory
• Visual-motor integration: Coordinating visual information with motor output for tasks like catching a ball or copying from a blackboard
• Spatial relations: Understanding proximity to or distance from objects and the relationship of body parts

These visual perceptual skills underpin reading, writing, navigating environments, recognising faces, and countless other daily activities. When occupational therapists assess visual perceptual skills, they’re evaluating cognitive processing abilities that impact learning, community participation, and independence.

What NDIS-Specific Terms Should Every Participant Understand?

Beyond clinical terminology, understanding NDIS-specific language empowers participants to navigate the scheme effectively and access appropriate supports.

Reasonable and necessary represents perhaps the most critical phrase in NDIS planning. According to Section 34 of the NDIS Act 2013, supports must meet specific criteria to be funded. The support must relate to your disability, help pursue goals in your NDIS plan, facilitate social and economic participation, represent value for money, be likely to be effective and beneficial, account for informal supports from family and community, be most appropriately funded by NDIS rather than other government services, and not duplicate other supports already funded.

Capacity Building describes NDIS supports focused on building your skills and capacity to increase independence. This funding category includes occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, behaviour support, support coordination, employment support, and education and learning support. The goal is enhancing your ability to develop new skills, increase independence, and reduce reliance on ongoing support over time. With the NDIS industry revenue estimated at $45.0 billion in 2025 and 21,387 registered providers across Australia, understanding which supports fall under Capacity Building helps participants navigate this complex marketplace.

Plan Management versus Support Coordination represents a commonly confused distinction. Plan managers handle financial administration—processing and paying invoices, keeping spending records, sending monthly budget reports, and claiming funds from the NDIS portal. Support coordinators help you understand and implement your plan—connecting with providers and services, designing support approaches, coaching and refining supports, crisis planning, and building capacity and resilience. Plan managers focus on money and paperwork; support coordinators focus on people and services. Many participants benefit from both services working together.

NDIS goals are specific, measurable, and individualised objectives that outline what you aim to achieve with scheme support. Goals give supports direction, help workers understand who you are as a person, and determine which supports will be funded. Participants need at least one goal for a plan to be approved. Goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Focus on outcomes rather than services—for example, “increase independence in cooking” rather than “attend day programme.”

Understanding these NDIS-specific terms within the broader context of common NDIS OT terminology explained in plain English creates a comprehensive foundation for effective scheme participation and self-advocacy.

Making Terminology Work for You

Understanding common NDIS OT terminology explained in plain English transforms how you engage with the scheme. This isn’t about memorising definitions—it’s about recognising that behind each clinical term lies a practical concept that affects your daily life and support access.

When your occupational therapist discusses bilateral coordination difficulties, they’re explaining why tying shoelaces feels impossible. When they document sensory modulation challenges, they’re establishing why shopping centres feel overwhelming. When they assess your executive functioning, they’re identifying why starting tasks independently presents challenges. Each term represents a piece of the puzzle that, when understood clearly, helps build a comprehensive picture of your strengths, challenges, and support needs.

The NDIS Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024, which came into effect in October 2024, introduced changes to what the scheme considers “NDIS support,” emphasising participant-first approaches whilst focusing on scheme sustainability. With cost growth targets moving from 18.9% in 2023-24 toward 8% by 2026-27, accurate documentation using appropriate terminology becomes increasingly important for accessing supports that genuinely meet the reasonable and necessary criteria.

For the 80% of participants aged 15 and over who report having more autonomy in their lives after joining the NDIS, this improved self-determination often connects directly to understanding the language that shapes their plans. Whether you’re accessing services in Brisbane, North Lakes, Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, or other regions, or utilising telehealth services across Australia, having common NDIS OT terminology explained in plain English provides the foundation for informed advocacy and meaningful participation.

Occupational therapy services are available through various providers across Australia. Many providers offer mobile services that bring assessment and intervention directly to participants’ homes and communities. This service model allows therapists to observe and assess within the actual environment where skills will be used, making terminology discussions more concrete and relevant.

The terminology you encounter in occupational therapy reports, NDIS plans, and planning meetings isn’t designed to confuse—it’s professional language that, when translated effectively, empowers you to understand your abilities, articulate your needs, and access supports that enhance independence and quality of life. As the NDIS continues evolving with 692,823 participants and 21,387 registered providers across Australia, clear communication using a shared understanding of terminology remains fundamental to effective scheme participation.