MOUNT ISA
THEYEAR IN GENERAL
It has been a good year. Two new
team members, Olivia and Jane,
complete our fantastic team, after
Sam and Lana sadly departed at
the beginning of the year. Having
Tash fundraising has made it a fun
year with lots of events which have
really promoted BUSHKIDS.
Service statistics are dynamic – we
have a continual flow of referrals,
the SLP waitlist is reducing, the
OT waitlist is rapidly growing, and
the FHSW programs are in high
demand.
AROUND OURAREA
Due to the constant turnover at
schools and new parents arriving in
town, we did a school tour earlier
this year to get the word out about
the service. This was very much
appreciated by the schools, and was
followed by a wave of referrals.
In other news around ‘the Isa’ –
•
Additional air services, with
Virgin now flying daily to Brisbane
•
Many beef growers in our area
were affected by the live export ban
• ‘
Chroming’ is still a big problem,
but suicide rates have dropped.
We have noticed that difficulties
in school attendance are affecting
clients participating in groups run
at the schools, and this issue will
need to be addressed.
ACTIVITYAND OUTPUTS
From OT Olivia Playford
In my first year at BUSHkids it has
been a time of learning curves, new
experiences and lots of fun!
I do not think we could have a
better team out here in Mount Isa
and having a happy workplace is
priceless. Some key points from my
perspective are set out here.
The OT waiting list has increased
continuously during the year, and
individual therapy sessions have
been the main focus throughout
2012,
to try to keep the waiting list
at a stable level.
A number of different programs
have been run during the year to
meet the needs of both individual
schools around Mount Isa as well
as clients, including:
Phonological
awareness for Literacy
,
Fine Motor
Skills
,
and
Handwriting
.
As a team we felt there has been a
need for a number of our clients to
receive a multi-disciplinary service
to ensure best possible outcomes
for the child and the family.
This has mostly involved Melissa
and I and James has also been a
great support for us and the family
if required.
Outreach this year has consisted
mostly of school visits for group
programs, however in special
circumstances individual therapy
sessions have also been completed
at the school. It is really gratifying
to see schools around Mount Isa
continue to provide their support
to BUSHkids by assisting in any
way to bring the children to their
therapy sessions.
Community support this year has
been excellent with our Rodeo
Queen raising funds to support the
running of our centre.
From SLP Melissa Bell
This year has seen the closure of
the speech pathology waiting list
in an attempt to decrease the ever-
growing number of clients waiting
for services. Therapy has mostly
been conducted on an individual
basis; however, one literacy group
was run for a school in the district
during term two. Additionally, we
have found the need to conduct
multi-disciplinary sessions with a
number of children to ensure the
best outcomes are obtained.
These have generally involved
Olivia and I; however, James has
been on-hand to provide both the
parents and ourselves with various
strategies to further assist the
children.
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