BUSHkids 2016-17 Annual Report

CEO2 Service snapshot: Allied Health teams A focus this year has been increasing service opportunities for children and families who, through geographical isolation and other circumstances, are experiencing access issues, making them at risk and more vulnerable to social, emotional, and developmental difficulties. Services provided have included regular outreach programs to prioritised outlying communities, provision of targeted group programs in educational settings, education sessions and community capacity building activities. These services have been provided alongside individualised child and family focused support provided by Family Health Support Workers, Psychologists, Occupational Therapists and Speech-Language Pathologists, with families accessing one or more disciplines depending on family needs and goals.

Bundaberg Situated in a larger regional town with a number of existing paediatric services, the Bundaberg team – partially funded by Queensland Health – has worked to ensure services provided are unique and responsive to community needs. Examples include: 1 Provision of outreach services to Gin Gin and Childers • Group programs for pre-prep-aged children combining key concepts from targeted programs, facilitated by an Occupational Therapist and Family Health Support Worker (FHSW) • PALS and Alert ® Programs – in response to feedback from kindergarten teachers seeking support for social skill and self-regulation skill development in children • Fingergym™ groups – in response to identified developmental needs of children due to commence prep in the following year. 2 Telehealth to provide support in response to school needs A referral enquiry from the Guidance Officer at Mundubbera State Primary regarding children experiencing self-regulation issues led to provision of Alert ® Program facilitated by the OT via videoconference to a small group of students, supported by the school’s Guidance officer. Travel to Mundubbera was not possible but the identified program could be adapted to videoconference presentation.

3 Provision of Read and Grow parent group • Facilitated by FHSW and Speech-Language Pathologist. 4 Provision of ADHD Parent Psychoeducation group

Dalby The Dalby centre has also been active in supporting outlying areas where families and children have limited access to services. Partially funded by Queensland Health, Dalby has had a focus on provision of education sessions, community capacity-building and outreach services in collaboration with key stakeholders in Dalby and surrounds. Some examples of Dalby’s work across the year include: 1 Outreach services to Chinchilla,Tara and Millmerran • Targeted programs including parenting programs – Circle of Security ® (providing support around parents building strong, positive relationships and attachments with children) have been regularly facilitated. FHSW Julie Rathmell has also been involved in videorecording sessions of these groups to assist in further training for staff; excellent feedback from attendees of her groups. • Home visits and school visits to support children with complex needs – provided by OT and SLP (in Millmerran). 2 A Steady Start to School (ASS2S) Program The Dalby team supported one of the first pilots of BUSHkids’ ASS2SP and we are now trained in facilitating the parent education session: a number of such sessions in Dalby and outlying areas are scheduled for term 4, 2017. 3 Education series Co-ordinated sessions with LIFT playgroup parents, educators and children (based at Dalby State School), with our Allied Health team presenting on communication, childhood development and importance of play.

Helping ‘Charlie’ and his family live with ASD

Born in Australia to a family from overseas, seven-year-old Charlie*lives with his parents and younger sister in rural Queensland. He had been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) but was ineligible to receive government-funded support because he was not an Australian citizen. The family came to BUSHkids with concerns about his social skills, attention difficulties at school, and inappropriate behaviour. His mum reported that his teacher had difficulties with Charlie, constantly repeating instructions, addressing him by name and telling him what ‘to do’ and ‘not to do’ in class. The BUSHkids team worked with Charlie’s mum to develop a clear and achievable support plan. This contained four goals, each detailing the progress made, how BUSHkids would support Charlie and his family, and how the family would support Charlie. His mum found the plan really helpful, saying ‘it was neat’ to see achievable goals set for Charlie. For the family the plan gave a clear understanding of how BUSHkids would provide support and what they needed to do in the interim to help Charlie reach his goals. Working with a BUSHkids psychologist, Charlie’s parents undertook a Triple P parenting program while Charlie took part in sessions to improve his social skills. As Charlie learned to use storyboards to prepare for and be successful in difficult social situations, his parents found the Triple P program gave them a better understanding of their parenting style and relationship, improving their behaviour management and communication as a couple. Staff investigated how Charlie responded to sensory information (for example, noise, touch, taste) to identify strengths and challenges in sensory processing which may have been affecting his behaviour. Following this, BUSHkids’ staff showed Charlie’s mum how to use strategies from the Alert Program ® and Zones of Regulation ® to help Charlie manage his behaviour in challenging experiences like loud or noisy social situations. Another assessment showed he had significant delays with the development of pretend play and, when on his own, he only engaged in constructive play with no storyline. Poor skills around pretend play can lead to a child having difficulty in social situations, so the team implemented a relationship-based therapy approach to help Charlie’s parents develop his pretend play. His mum and dad were encouraged to provide prompts to help Charlie create a storyline as he played and were amazed at how well he could play when they supported him, saying they had ‘never played with Charlie’ like they did in therapy. After only three sessions, Charlie played using creative storylines involving submarines, aeroplanes, and a treasure chest on an island with only an occasional question from his mum to help the story along! *Name changed

Dalby’s Provisional Psychologist John Nash stands next to the BUSHkids mural painted by students of Our Lady of the Southern Cross College.

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