BUSHkids Annual Report 2018-2019

CONVERSATIONS: WARWICK Brodie’s unique learning style receives support Parent: Meg* “We were first introduced to BUSHkids when Brodie was in kindy, where BUSHkids did a weekly program. Brodie’s an only child and his sharing and communication with other kids was not as good as other kids his age.Towards the end of that year, one of his teachers recommended Brodie take part in the Fun FRIENDS program.This helped him learn about other kids’ feelings better and how to read them.We’ve also had one-on-one sessions which I think have been a lot more successful for Brodie. “BUSHkids has helped him a lot. For us as parents it’s not only the joy of seeing Brodie improve, but BUSHkids has helped us understand him better and understand how we can support him at home. He talks about the tools and techniques he’s learned at BUSHkids. It might only be one or two little things that he’s picked up from a session, but they’re really helping him now he’s at school. He makes me laugh sometimes because he will take himself off and sit with his hands up and fingers together, knees crossed, breathing in and out, very Zen.They’re all tools that BUSHkids has given him to self-regulate, relax and refocus before coming back to the classroom to concentrate and learn a bit more. “I think there’s a stigma around kids needing help but when you look at Brodie and how he’s benefited from working with BUSHkids I realise how important it is. And it’s for anyone that needs help, not just the kids, it’s for parents that need help understanding their children.” Clinical: Kaitlin Hinchliffe, Psychologist Brodie was initially referred to BUSHkids in September 2017 and had taken part in a number of programs, had blocks of Speech Pathology to help his oral communication skills and Occupational Therapy focused on improving his handwriting and visual perception skills. I started working with Brodie in May 2019, to conduct psychoeducational assessment to further explore underlying reasons for his learning difficulties, help his parents and school understand his learning style, and draw everything together into a report to act as a ‘road map’ suggesting supports and strategies that will best help him.The assessment helped us understand that Brodie’s learning style is quite unique and fits with the lesser-known profile of Nonverbal Learning Disorder. He has a significant strength in verbal expression and reasoning, but has relative difficulty with the visual route to learning and all things related to the right hemisphere of the brain. Brodie’s confidence as a learner is growing, he has become more persistent with challenging tasks. His teacher has reported general improvements across the skill areas targeted, and our team and Brodie’s family have both observed improvements in his social skills from week to week as sessions progressed. He has become more capable of self-regulation, recognising when he is becoming distracted in class, and taking a ‘brain break’ to calm and re-focus, using his tools like deep breathing. This is a massive step! Brodie’s parents are such strong advocates for him, doing all they can to ensure he is receiving the support he needs at school. They have been very motivated to keep implementing and practising intervention strategies at home. This is where the real work happens, and we know Brodie needs repetition for learning to stick, so the improvements and generalisation in skills we’ve seen is a credit to Brodie and his family!

Volunteer profile: Warwick

Andrew Dunn has worked as a BUSHkids volunteer for two years and is now Deputy Chair of Friends of BUSHkids Warwick . He lives with his nine-year-old son Peter on a property in Deuchar, midway between Allora and Warwick on the Southern Downs.

“I started volunteering with BUSHkids after the sudden passing of my wife Catherine,” said Andrew. “She had been involved with BUSHkids since 2014 when our son Peter, then four years-old and at kindergarten in Allora, was having some difficulties with his fine motor skills. He had some sessions with the BUSHkids OT and it really helped him. “Both Catherine and I appreciated the service BUSHkids provided and she was happy to volunteer her time utilising her marketing skills to promote the cause. After Catherine’s passing I wanted to continue her work.” “Whilst we are a small FoBk group in Warwick, we have very enthusiastic people working hard to support the organisation. Fundraising events like our annual Multi-Draw Raffle can be hard yakka but it’s important in raising funds and it promotes BUSHkids’ brand within the community. “BUSHkids fills an important gap between the services provided by the Queensland education system and other government providers. In small school communities, there will always be children who ‘fall between the cracks’ of the system and BUSHkids is there as a safety net for those kids. For us it’s a matter of getting the BUSHkids brand out there. “This year we have communicated with school P&F groups within an hour’s radius of Warwick asking for an invitation to speak at their meetings to explain the services available at BUSHkids. This resulted from the realisation that not a lot of new teachers and parents were even aware of BUSHkids. So far, our presentation has been given to six or seven schools with a few more visits pencilled in later in Term 4 of the school year. “One of my favourite events is the annual FoBk Warwick BUSHdance fundraiser. In 2018 it was held at the local AFL clubroom. Lots of kids attended, some with physical and mental disabilities. When the kids were called up to hold hands to dance, my son took the hand of the young boy next to him. I was watching him, and he turned around with a look of shock but continued with the dance holding the boy’s hand. After the dance I realised the boy had deformed hands with extra fingers and it made me proud that Peter was inclusive, accepting and just carried on dancing and having fun. It also made me aware that no matter how hard done-by you think you are, there is always someone in a worse situation to your own. “Be thankful for what you’ve got, not what you’d like to have!”

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