Our Regional team recently travelled to Karratha to support local families and communities in the beautiful Pilbara.
From the 2nd to the 5th of August, the team delivered workshops, training and therapy sessions, as well as consultation to families and community organisations, as part of our 2022 WA Regional Visits and Workshops.
“We did therapy sessions with some of our existing and new families,” said Team Leader and Senior Speech Pathologist Freya Millett. “We had lovely feedback from all of the families who are really pleased with the level of specialist knowledge we have about Autism and the point of difference we are able to deliver.”
Read all about our Karratha visit and the great feedback we received from the community below, and stay tuned for updates on our next stop – Kalgoorlie!
Meet the Team!
Introducing our Karratha team, who spent the first week in August supporting and educating families, professionals and community members:
- Sarah Hoy, Senior Occupational Therapist
- Marcella Teo, Speech Pathologist
- Freya Millett, Team Leader and Senior Speech Pathologist
- Lyndsey Gallagher, Senior Early Childhood Advisor
Community Workshops: Explaining Autism and Early Indicators
We had 11 people from a broad range of professions join us for our Early Indicators session at Millars Well Pavilion, Teesdale Place. Attendees worked in a variety of areas, from teaching to population health, nutrition, childcare and government therapy. Sessions like this help support professionals to identify the early signs of Autism and understand the pathways to diagnosis, as well as strategies to support parents to facilitate early learning for their child.
The Explaining Autism community information session saw 15 participants from families, friends and community members expand their knowledge of Autism. Our team provided them with opportunities to learn strategies to help support people of all ages.
“The information was relevant and useful,” said one participant. “The videos were all so interesting and a good addition. The team was so knowledgeable and provided useful information, insight and examples.”
KindiLink & Playgroup Training for Staff & Parents
KindiLink and Playgroup training sessions and consults were held throughout the week with Gumala 3a Playgroups in Roebourne and Karratha, South Hedland Primary School, the YMCA Tambrey Early Learning Centre Playgroup, and at Roebourne District High School.
Participants who attended these sessions learned about the early signs of Autism in young children, how to create inclusive playgroup environments, as well as lots of strategies to support children with Autism, and to encourage participation and inclusion.
On Thursday, 4th August, our KindiLink consult celebrated National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day, which is a time for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, communities and all Australians to celebrate the strengths and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. This year’s theme of ‘My Dreaming, My Future’ asked children what Dreaming means to them.
Therapy Sessions & Meeting the Community
Throughout the week, we ran therapy sessions with individuals in their homes, at schools, including Baynton West, Tambrey and Baler Primary Schools, and in the community, such as a horse-riding session along the Dampier coast!
Therapy in the classroom allowed our team to model strategies in the moment, and to work with teachers and support staff to best support their students, while providing valuable 1-to-1 therapy for children.
We also had a ball joining a football session with some of the children we support!
TAFE Student Training
The team connected with students from North Regional TAFE WA for a webinar on Tuesday, 2nd of August. The training enabled students to build a better awareness and understanding of how to support people with Autism in their future roles, such as Support Workers and Education Assistants.
The students showed lots of interest and asked questions about how they could implement strategies and support individuals with Autism well into their careers.
This is part of our initiative to work with local TAFEs to train and support Certificate III and IV students within the allied health and disability disciplines to work with children with disability and support local families.
Where to Next?
We will be running workshops in Kalgoorlie from the 12th to the 14th of September. If you or someone you know is interested in attending, we would love to meet you there! You can find more details and register here.