BUSHkids Annual Report 2011-2012

DALBY

They also ran joint treatment plans for some individuals. Eleanor and Jane are also trialling treatment plans for children with difficulties in social skills and social problem solving. Each team member also ran groups with children on their separate waitlists, but the opportunity to run multidisciplinary groups and therapy sessions highlighted the value of working as a team and the overlap of each profession. We have harnessed this to provide a full-bodied service to the children and families within our community. Joshua also revised his case load management approach this year, successfully cutting his waitlist, and now conducts conducts regular screening clinics. IN OUR COMMUNITY We have been very fortunate to have a number of supporters within our community provide donations to our centre. All Dalby staff have been involved in fundraising events this year, including the BUSHkids Race Day, selling raffle tickets on weekends and supporting our sponsors at public events. We were very fortunate that Thiess chose to sponsor us for the life of their project in Dalby. Thiess has been very generous in its support and has initiated and participated in numerous fundraising events for our centre. Thiess is also planning renovations for our back therapy room to make it a more usable space for everyone. The Australian Army Band has also provided support, performing at schools in the area and at an end of year concert. Their performances amazed staff and teachers and definitely inspired the children! All proceeds from their end of term concert were donated to the Dalby centre.

Peranga, a very small town near Dalby made up of about 12 houses, celebrated the centenary of its post office, and donated proceeds from a raffle and gumboot-throwing competition to BUSHkids Dalby. Our increased liaison with schools in our community has highlighted the need to change our approach to service delivery to comprehensively address the needs of children, and provide more support before they reach school age. We intend to meet this need by adopting the early intervention principles of therapy, screening children younger and providing education to parents who have pre-school aged children in our community. Chelsea and Jane also had a catch- up networking session with the OT from Education Queensland and found it very interesting discussing our different roles. IN OUR OFFICE We have just celebrated Julie’s decade working at BUSHkids! She has been a great support to each of us as we started here and has remained a constant for BUSHkids in the community and in our team which is great. Julie has made – and continues to make – a positive difference and we had been so looking forward to thanking her for being here for all of us – staff and clients and community. We recently had solar panels installed on our roof which we hope will help to reduce our carbon footprint. The Thiess renovations to our back therapy room are eagerly anticipated, as this will provide a more versatile and usable space for everyone at the centre.

THEYEAR IN GENERAL 2012 has been a more stable year despite changes to staff roles and new developments in our area. Chelsea took on her new role as Clinical Services Manager and part-time Occupational Therapist. We also welcomed Jane Harling as our team’s new full time OT. The transition of roles was smooth. We have had some wonderful support and sponsorship this year to help improve and keep our centre going. The Dalby team has recognised the increased need to adopt a team approach to service delivery and have innovated and successfully delivered multidisciplinary groups and treatment sessions. This has increased our understanding of one another’s roles and has fostered positive team morale and promoted holistic, effective service delivery. AROUND OURAREA Noticeably more people sport the ‘ fluorescent shirt and steel-capped boots’ fashion with an increase in development and the number of mining sites around the region. Cotton crops started the year off well with extra floodwaters, but are now in need of some rain! ACTIVITYAND OUTPUTS Clients referred to our service are requiring more input from us than before. We recognise the need for a more holistic approach and have developed and delivered a number of multidisciplinary groups and therapy sessions. Family Health Support Worker Julie and psychologist Eleanor teamed up to run a successful anger management and social problem- solving group. Jane and speech pathologist Joshua created and delivered a successful literacy and handwriting group.

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