BUSHkids Annual Report 2019-20

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020

The delivery of group programs was also impacted by the closures, and restrictions on accessing schools and early childhood centres, but we were able to continue to providing sessions (like PALS) via teleHealth to small groups of children in their homes. The team also continued meeting virtually with educators to consult on children’s learning needs and provide skill-building to support social anxiety and early literacy. Although community engagement was severely restricted due to the pandemic, the team was also able to virtually attend the monthly Emerald ‘Connect 4 Children Action Group’ —an Education Department initiative targeting children aged 0-5 years with developmental vulnerabilities, to offer local solutions and access to the inter- agency networking group. An exciting development has been the recruitment of an Allied Health Assistant as a three-year pilot project, generously funded by our Friends of BUSHkids committee. Emerald • Case study: multidisciplinary The importance of emotional wellbeing Charlotte* is 10 and moved to Emerald with her family in 2018. She was born prematurely and had a history of language difficulties. A very shy girl, Charlotte lacks confidence and often avoids talking with people other than her immediate family, rarely speaking to classmates and teachers. A previous assessment suggested Charlotte had dyslexia, poor working memory and anxiety which made it difficult for her to take part in classroom learning and impacted her schoolwork. Her parents approached BUSHkids for support with her language and literacy difficulties, fine and gross motor skills development, and to address her anxiety. Our FHSW first conducted a Common Approach Wellbeing Wheel assessment to understand Charlotte and her family’s strengths and needs across different areas of functioning. A further, multidisciplinary assessment confirmed her previous diagnosis of dyslexia and dysgraphia, and identified executive functioning difficulties. This subsequently led to a paediatrician diagnosing ADHD Inattentive subtype, and Social Anxiety/Selective Mutism. Charlotte and her parents have been supported by BUSHkids’ Psychologists manage her anxiety, and multidisciplinary SP/OT sessions to improve her speech and fine motor skills. She has also taken part in BUSHkids’ ‘Stories for Life’ group program to build her resilience skills and Read3, an evidence-informed tertiary literacy intervention program.

Charlotte’s support has been provided via a mix of F2F sessions at BUSHkids’ Emerald Centre, school visits, and via teleHealth – the last particularly during the height of the COVID-19 restrictions. BUSHkids therapists have worked with Charlotte’s parents and schoolteachers to help them understand her needs and to put in place effective strategies to support her. With BUSHkids’ help Charlotte has made significant progress. Her Learning Support Teacher reported that our support recommendations have helped inform the development of an Individualised Education Plan and her class teacher has seen definite improvements in her confidence and ability to take part in classroom activities, plus significant improvements in her pencil grip, handwriting, and willingness to complete written tasks. Charlotte’s mum sent her thanks to the whole BUSHkids team saying, “the things I thought were important at the start, such as handwriting, actually weren’t the most important. She is doing a lot better, and she is using her own strategies. I feel I have lots of strategies, resources and tools now too. I’ve changed my reactions, I’ve learned to listen to what she wants and needs, and that has helped her confidence. Thank you so much.” “BUSHkids has helped me understand where she’s at, and what she needs most: the importance of her emotional wellbeing.” Emerald • Friends of BUSHkids Emerald FoBk has had another successful year. This year the major focus was again the annual Golf Day held in September, which attracted a record number of golfers, and the event is now a major fixture in Emerald’s golfing and social calendar.

With earnings from the day and donations we managed to raise over $35,000 dollars which is an amazing effort from our friends and the community. Once again thanks go to Matt and his team at the Emerald Golf Club , as well as Justin Benjamin , Mitre 10 and Doug Grey . I would also like to thank all our other major sponsors, especially Jellinbah Mine and Westpac . Thanks also to individuals who donated.It is wonderful to see the support ‘Bushies’ has in our community! Finally, thanks to all our Bushkids Friends for their ongoing support and help on the day. Our funds from last year were rolled-over into this Financial Year which has enabled us, with Bushkids’ assistance, to employ a part time Allied Health Assistant (AHA) for our clinicians. To that end, we have recently engaged Marcia Hayston – congratulations Marcia, and welcome to the BUSHkids team. In her AHA role, Marcia will be trained to provide group programs and will play a key role in identifying the needs of children and supporting families. This year our team is also looking at carrying out more renovation work on the BUSHkids Centre’s outdoor garden areas, aiming to make the areas more functional and workable for the clinical team. Finally, our dear friend Rachel Robertson is leaving ‘our office’ after working for BUSHkids and NDIS as the Emerald Office Manager. We are all going to miss her amazing energy and ability to always get things done and always with a smile. Rachel has been an integral part in the success of our FoBk group and we all wish her well in her new role at the Emerald Hospital. (Poor Rachel always had heart failure at the organisation – or apparent lack of it!– the week before the Golf Day.) She leaves more relaxed in the knowledge that it always comes together in the end. We sincerely hope she will remain a friend of BUSHkids. Charlie Wilson, Chair, FoBk Emerald

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