BUSHkids 2016-17 Annual Report

CENTRES

CEO2

Children’s Allied Health Services

Emerald The Emerald crew is one of our most travelled teams with a number of outlying regions identified as priorities for support and services. The team has a strong focus on supporting children in schools (partially funded by the Department of Education and Training), providing individual and group assessment and intervention support. Specific examples include: 1 Regular outreach to Dysart, Clermont and Gemfields With specific support to Gemfields – Anakie State School (individual assessment and intervention as well as provision of targeted programs for students in prep/grade two – PALS/Alert ® and Fingergym™) and Gemfields Playgroup – programming support, general developmental support, supporting families as kids transition to prep. 2 Support during ‘mini-school’ Capricornia School of Distance Education: families accessing SDE participate in a ‘mini-school’ once a term – families travel in from outlying properties. Emerald staff provided a series of home tutor education sessions based on needs identified by SDE teachers – communication, self-regulation, and general attention/concentration. 3 Stationery packs for donation to families The general cost of living for some families living in isolated regions was identified as having an impact on children’s access to general stationery items that provide opportunities to practice and develop skills needed for academic success; items were identified, purchased by BUSHkids and distributed. 4 Presentations at MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) The Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers’ group provided general development information, advice and avenues for referral to support for other concerns.

Mount Isa The Mount Isa team has experienced a number of staff changes during the year but has continued to focus on supporting the unique needs of the community. This Centre has been partially funded by the Department of Education and Training (Non-State Special Needs Organisations Program) since its initial establishment in the 1990s and has had a strong focus on supporting the needs of children from prep to grade two, in comjunction with parents/carers and educators/ education support staff. In late 2016 the Centre received DSS funding (Communities for Children Funding program) to provide community capacity-building via workforce support to playgroup and long-daycare educators. In early 2017 this extended to providing a series of education sessions for centre and playgroup staff from Ngukuthati Child & Family Centre, facilitated by Allied Health staff (OT and SLP) and Read and Grow educator training for long-daycare educators by the SLP. This team has focused on targeted responses to educational needs, collaborating with Townview State Primary School to facilitate group programs for students identified at risk of developmental difficulties, impacting their academic performance.

Handwriting before & after…

4 things you can do with a tennis ball to improve motor skills!

This grade 2 student was very conscious of writing being bigger and ‘messier’ than that of her peers. She has significant visual perceptual difficulties. She worked so hard every session and after 6 sessions she is able to write smaller and feels proud of her writing. She also mastered tying her shoelaces, which is something her younger sister was able to do, and the two girls now have lots of other things to bicker about!

Warwick The Warwick team (partially funded by Queensland Health) has demonstrated strong multidisciplinary family support and, like other BUSHkids teams, has emphasised broader, far-reaching services including capacity-building and group programs alongside individual support. This team’s achievements include: 1 Provision of targeted programs to kindergartens A focus on early intervention and preparation for children in Warwick and surrounds, such as PALS Program and Fun FRIENDS. 2 Working with DSS Early Intervention Facilitators In surrounding areas (Yelarbon) to provide developmental and Allied Health support/consultation for individual clients identified as at-risk or vulnerable. 3 Read and Grow training for educators and parents 4 Support for families in accessing other services Where BUSHkids has not been the most appropriate service or the family is seeking support outside BUSHkids’ scope of practice. 5 Development of family friendly home ideas

Cut a line, add some eyes and you have an eating game. These guys can eat rocks, marbles, smarties, whatever you can think of! Use 2 fingers to walk a tennis ball up and down your leg. (Hint - down is harder than up!) Stand on hands and feet and put tennis balls (or other objects) into a container – this is great for improving balance too! Make a maze on the floor with tape and try not to let the ball touch the tape as you roll it around!

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