Cowra Early Childhood Intervention Nurturing Your Childs Potential earlyintervention@cowraspecialneeds.org.au
Term 2 2017
Dates for your Diary
Dear Families
Professional Development Day @ ECI
1st July NDIS roll out
The Trauma Informed workshops held recently was attended by over 40 profession- als working with children and young adults. I would like to thank Vicki Nightingale (Senior Psychologist) and Anne Worrad (Orange Community Health) for their time and expertise.
MyTime—Every Friday School terms.
Let me take the opportunity to welcome all our new families who have joined us this term. Many children have come with plans already approved by the NDIA, so it’s been great to have a parent’s perspective on the planning process. Also, at the moment we have a full waiting list of referrals that we will be in touch with soon.
Term Break –3rd July14th July
The first of June marks a one month countdown of The National Disability Insurance Scheme starting in the Central Western region on July 1 st, 2017.
Our service has been preparing for this moment in many ways, such as implementing National Guidelines for Best Practices in Early Childhood Intervention, attending numerous workshops, undergoing Third Party Verification, meeting and talking to Peter DeNatris and Mary Hawkins(NDIS Scheme Design), Dr Robin MacWilliam (Routines Based Interviews), as well as building a stronger alliance with all Early Childhood Intervention Services such as Bathurst( BECIS), ODEEP (Orange), Young (LFE), Forbes (Little Learners) and Dubbo ( ORANA)
ECI Professional Development
For all our families who have received letters and phone calls from the Access Team we will try to keep you updated on progress as well as provide updates from the NDIS – as they are now coming thick and fast! These updates will be communi cated to you via newsletters, emails, and our Facebook page. We plan on holding our own NDIS informal get together sometime soon. If you have any questions in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact me. I will make myself available to you at all times.
Our service will be closed next Tuesday 6th of June as all staff will be
Stay tuned for an exciting announcement about the future from Early Childhood Intervention!
NDIA Provider meeting, Bathurst Frontline Complaint Handling, Orange Trauma Informed workshop
NDIS teleconference
Sue Larkey-ASD workshop
involved in staff training going over legislative requirements and service obligations set by the NDIA.
NDIS- Master Class
Within the next couple of weeks there will be an exciting public an-
NDIS– with Mary Hawkins
nouncement about the future of our service……..in the meantime its business
ECIA Regional meeting
as usual. Take heart that Cowra Early Childhood Intervention is in a great place to support you, your child, and your family as we transition to full scheme together. Kim Parris
1
Roll call ! ………………. from the Teachers Michelle Interactive games As part of our 6-8 years program, Katelyn and I have been building on social skills with children at CPS. Games are an excellent way to teach important social skills, including; communicating verbally, sharing, waiting, taking turns, and enjoying interaction with others. Games can foster the ability to focus, and lengthen your child's attention span by encouraging the completion of an exciting, enjoyable game. As an added bonus, games are rich in learning opportunities and build on skills such as; number and shape recognition, grouping and counting, letter recognition and reading, visual perception and colour recognition, eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity.
Most importantly, games are a fun way to spend time together with your child and nothing boosts their self-esteem more.
Book recommendation Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne Handa’s Surprise is a beautiful, culturally diverse book about a little girl, Handa, who decides to take seven pieces of delicious fruit to her friend, Akeyo, who lives in the neighbouring village. But as Handa wonders, “I wonder what fruit Akeyo will like best”?, a series of sneaky animals steal something from Handa's basket, which she's carrying on her head... A delightful surprise awaits both Handa and Akeyo when she arrives at the village to discover her basket is full of tangerines – Akeyo’s favourite fruit. Beautifully illustrated, this book is a wonderful introduction to the luscious fruits and cheeky wild animals of an African village, and children will long to tell Handa what is happening right behind her! This book provokes endless learning opportunities; Which animal took which fruit?
How many animals/fruits were there? Can you remember which animal comes next? Identify the smallest/biggest animal/fruit. Arrange animals/fruits smallest to biggest. Encourage children to identify and label each of the animals/fruits.
Discuss the colours/patterns/textures of the animals/fruits. Most importantly, sharing books together with your child promotes bonding and helps to build your relationship.
2
…..………… from Joy Transition to school group The children in the Transition to School groups are making good progress towards developing school readiness skills. Its now time for families to finalise their decision of where their children are going to school in 2018. Groups will continue in the same format for term 3.
Thursdays
Group 1: 9.30am - 10.30 am
Group 2: 11.30am - 12.30 pm
19th July through until the 7th of September. Kindergarten orientation for St Raphael’s Catholic School begins on the 14th September. Dates and times for all other school Kindergarten orientations will be confirmed and in our next newsletter.
Hungry Caterpillars
Counting Sequencing
Pre-writing skills
A tip for parents/educators who have a child that has just started talking.. Use many different kinds of words when talking with your child. Make a point of highlighting a variety of word types when talking to your child, not just the names of things. It is important for your child to learn a variety of word types in order to talk in short sentences. Therefore, emphasize action words (sleep, eat, run, push, squeeze, break), descriptive words (soft, hot, big, sticky, funny, tired), location words (up, down, in, on, under), words about belonging (my, your, his, Mummy’s), and feeling words (sad, sick, happy, angry), as well nouns or names of things (dog, book, bed, cup). Repeat these words often and make them stand out when you use them by exaggerating your intonation and slowing down a bit. For example, “Mummy is very... TIRED (yawn). I must go to bed because I need to have a good sleep. Then I won’t be so tired.” http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Parent-Tips/Parent-Tips---Started-Talking.aspx
3
Therapists Tips & Tricks ……..……… from Lucy Pre-verbal Skills Pre-verbal skills provide a basis for future communication development. Turn-Taking Taking turns is a normal part of conservation. Turn-taking begins with motor turns, that is, taking turns using a toy……..
Ball. Take turns rolling a ball to your child. Try to make eye contact with your child before rolling the ball.
Car. Take turns rolling a car to your child. Try to make eye contact with your child before rolling the car.
Bubbles. Take turns blowing bubbles with your child.
Blocks. Take turns to ass blocks to build a tower.
Pop up toys. Eg. Jack-in-the-box. Take turns to press the button.
Flap books. Take turns to lift the flap on the book.
Joint Attention Joint attention means focusing on the same object at the same time. This begins with children showing interest in a toy you [resent to them……..
Noises makers. Attract your child’s attention with a rattle. Move the rattle to your eyes. When your child makes eyecontact, give them the rattle.
Bubbles. Blow some bubbles. Attract your child’s attention with the bubble wand.
Play Skills Play is one way your child explores his/her environment. Children will develop communications skills during play activities.
4
Dolls. Pretend to clothe, feed and wash the doll. You can make a cot using a cardboard box for a place for the doll to sleep.
Tea parties. Sit your child’s favourite dolls and teddy bears in a circle. Give wach pone a pretend drink and pretend food. Encourage your child to pour drinks and make pretend biscuits.
Farm animals. Encourage your child to build a fence and put different animals inside. You and your child can pretend to feed and wash the animals.
Dolls house. You can put furniture into different parts of the house, talk about what you do in each room, eg. you sleep in the bedroom and cook in the kitchen.
………………….. from Katelyn
Transitions between activities are hard for everyone, whether it be turning off the TV to prepare for the bedtime routine or getting out of a warm shower on a cold day! For a lot of kids, even small transitions between fun activities can be hard, because they don’t always fully understand that the activity will be returned to at another time; in their minds, it might not happen ever again, and this is scary! To help kids through these tricky times in the day, there are a few strategies that we can use:
Visual schedules: Having a series of pictures showing what will be happening and in what order helps kids to know what to expect, and prepare themselves for that next activity. Visual schedules can also help kids learn how to complete self-care activities, like dressing, so are invaluable resources to have around the home.
Do2Learn.com and VisualsForLearning.com are great websites to look at for more information.
Timers: Having a visual timer, like a count down or pie graph that disappears as time passes, can be a useful way of communicating when an activity is going to finish. Just remember to direct your child’s attention to the timer a few times before it finishes, so that they know how much time they can expect to have before the activity is over.
Verbal warning: Sometimes we don’t have access to visuals or timers when we’re out and about or on the run. At these times, it can be really helpful to give your child frequent warnings, such as “3 more then finished” so that they can begin to prepare themselves for a change in activities.
5
Inclusion Support …………....Jan’s Jottings Term 2 has been a busy term at Early Intervention, with lots going on. Kirstin Stephenson from HomeStart and I have facilitated two workshops for parents and carers. These were on Fussy Eaters and Sleep Problems. I think it is important to realize that both eating and sleeping are areas that lots of parents struggle with, especially in the early years of a child’s life. At the end of a busy day none of us want battles about eating dinner or going to bed! For those of you who couldn’t make the workshops, I am happy to talk with you about these topics and/or give you some of the handouts from the sessions. I am also including some information in this newsletter about Sleep Problems. This Term we have started our Transition Groups for those families whose children will be going to school next year. Kirstin from Homestart and I will be presenting a range of topics for parents, grandparents and carers over Terms I and 2. Topic areas to be covered include Practical Preparation for School, Communicating With Your Child’s School, Behaviour Strategies, Bringing Up Great Kids, and Mindfulness. This Term we have had a visit from Lou Bertolin, Learning Support and Wellbeing Officer, New South Wales Department of Education. Lou shared some valuable information on starting your child at school and the steps you need to take to ensure they have the best possible start to their school life. Lou is also available to meet with parents or talk with them on the phone to talk about any queries they may have or about any problems they make encounter. Just ask us for his phone number! Remember I am here at Early Intervention every Thursday to support you and your family in any way I can. I am happy to speak with you on the phone or in person. I can also visit you at home if that suits you better. Some ways I can assist you are with strategies for parenting and children’s behaviour management, building strong relationships within your family and acting as an advocate for you. I can provide you with a safe space to talk about any problems you have and that you would like to talk over.
So just give Early Intervention a call and book an appointment or ring me on a Thursday at Early Intervention on: 6342 2161
Lou Bertolin with Joy Webster our Transition to School Teacher , Robin Meiklejohn and Sally Gunn
6
CHILDREN AND SLEEP
It is reassuring to know that most families encounter problems with their children sleeping at some stage! .Knowing why your child is acting the way they do may help you understand. Sleep problems can be divided into three categories Habits – a “going to sleep routine” where they are dependent on Something external to help them get to sleep (eg bottle, toy, Mum or Dad with them) Then when they wake/or are in “light” sleep they need this “prop” to return to sleep. These habits are easily created, but of course harder to break! Fear – sleep disturbances (eg nightmares) Your child will seek closeness to you because they are afraid. A need for closeness –the most common and the most frustrating for parents! Children want to be close to those they love. Children who may be away from you during the day, especially for long hours need that extra closeness. They resist being separated at night. Some Sleep Tips for Parents Establish a regular predictable sleep routine Make sure the bedroom is comfortable (eg quiet and dark enough) Bedrooms are for sleep………. (TV’s and screens don’t belong in the bedroom) Warm milk or a snack before bed might help (then clean teeth!) Exercise promotes good sleep (but no active play for an hour before bed) Take care with the daytime naps If you are concerned – seek medical help
If you would like further information on children and sleep, please feel free to contact me at Early Intervention on a Thursday.
7
Conversation Corner………….. ………...Community Connections Compliments, Comments & Complaints Cowra Early Intervention is committed to providing quality services, To help us maintain this we need to know when things go wrong and also when things go right. As service user’s you can help us improve our services by your feedback. You can do this by: Writing a comment in our feedback book. Tell us what you think – placing a form in the feedback box. Follow the procedure set out in the Client Handbook Talk to a staff member you may feel comfortable with or Speak with our coordinator – Kim Parris or CSNS Manager – Tracy Ford
May -
TRAUMA WORKSHOP
Over thirty professionals attended the Cowra Early Childhood Intervention workshops on The Effects of Complex Trauma Upon Children and Young People. The presenters were Anne Worrad (Occupational Therapist) and Vicki Nightingale (Psychologist). The workshop explored the neurobiology of complex trauma and how it effects children’s development; the types of ongoing issues that these children and adolescence face, and strategies for adults and professionals to assist them. The workshops emphasised the importance of
Is your child unwell?? If your child is not feeling well or needs Panadol/
adults showing empathy and how positive relationships assist with healing.
Nurofen please keep them at home until they feel better. Cold like symptoms can be the start of many illnesses that can be contagious. If your child has had vomiting or diarrhoea they need to stay at home for 24 hours after the last episode. We practise hand hygiene and cough etiquette to minimise the risk of transmission of infectious diseases. We have tissues and hand sanitiser placed through the centre. Encourage your child to wash their hands after coughing or blowing their nose. Please make sure you have checked out and like our Face Book page. We are trying to use this as a means of communicating news, information and events to everyone …………..Search:
Cowra Early Childhood Intervention So spread the word and join us on our Face Book page!
8