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JCPSLP Volume 15, Number 3 2013 155
dry. There are also tip sheets relating to common concerns
for parents, such as bedwetting.
7 Feeding courses and resources
Holistic management of children with complex needs often
involves management of children with feeding issues,
particularly fussy eaters. Other team members will look to a
speech pathologist for guidance. Feeding management
tends to be a complex, specialist area for speech
pathologists and typically postgraduate training is sought.
Courses such as the SOS Approach to Feeding, run by Dr
Kay Toomey and Dr Erin Ross, have a great reputation
; but if attending a
course is not an option, there are other resources available.
For instance, one of my colleagues recommended
Pre-Feeding Skills: A Comprehensive Resource for
Mealtime Development (2nd ed.) by S. E. Morris & M. D.
Klein (2000; Pro-Ed, Austin, TX).
8 Raising Children Network
The Raising Children Network website (http://
) is bursting with parent-friendly
information and online videos relating to children aged from
birth to early teens. Information includes what to expect
with children’s physical, social, emotional and
communication development within each age bracket. The
website has tips and ideas for enhancing children’s
development and promoting positive parent–child
interactions, such as providing play ideas (e.g., choosing
toys) and encouraging good behaviour. These areas are
relevant across a range of disciplines. The website also lists
details of various Australian services and organisations,
which can help with the service coordination aspect of the
key worker role.
They are print-friendly, contain plenty of photos and cover
some key areas of development. Speech pathologists will
find the handouts for book-sharing and playing with
children particularly relevant. These can be provided to
parents or professionals to support early language
strategies. There are also handouts for teaching new skills
and promoting motor skill development, which contain
ideas for incorporating occupational therapy and
physiotherapy goals in sessions and family routines.
5 iPad
Controversial? Yes. Useful? Absolutely. When used
appropriately, the iPad is a great tool for targeting a range
of holistic goals. The phenomenal range of apps currently
available means there is an app for almost everything.
Some apps (e.g., Fluid) are great for sensory stimulation,
while other apps that involve tracing around letters and
shapes can also be used to target phonological awareness,
vocabulary development and fine motor skills. There are
also social story and augmentative and alternative
communication (AAC) apps available, including Sonoflex.
These are available via the iTunes app store (https://itunes.
).
The camera feature on the iPad is great for taking photos
of places, people and objects to make visuals and social
stories for children. The video camera feature can be used
to video children (with consent) to measure progress over
time. If the iPad is connected to wi-fi, users can access
the internet to search the web for visuals and information
about services, as well as send emails when away from the
office. This is essential for communicating with other team
members.
6 One Step at a Time toileting resource
The majority of families
referred to our service have
concerns surrounding toilet
training. Toileting tends to be
an occupational therapist’s
area of specialty but there are
a range of skills covered in the
One Step at a Time booklet
(available to download from
http://www.
resources/one-step-time) that
can benefit the practice of
speech pathologists working as key workers. The booklet is
designed to guide parents through each aspect of the toilet
training process, including raising awareness of wet and
9 Canadian Occupational Performance
Measure (COPM)
by M. Law, S. Baptiste, A. Carswell, M. A. McColl, H.
Polatajko, & N. Pollock. (2005). Canadian occupational
performance measure [COPM] (4th ed.). Ontario, Canada;
available from Occupational Therapy Australia, www.otaus.
The COPM is an outcome measurement and goal-setting
tool developed by occupational therapists and used by
our entire team. This tool helps to extract the key areas of
concern for the family regarding the child. Goals can then
be devised collaboratively between the professional and
the family based on the identified issues. A caregiver is
required to score the child’s current performance, their level
of satisfaction with the child’s current performance, and
the importance of the issue to them across each identified
area of concern. Reassessment occurs six months