Have you every struggled to make book reading a fun and exciting learning experience? Struggled with comprehension and understanding what you have read? How do books with less words and more pictures improve your child’s ability to learn?
Using principles from the Hanen program and the DIR-Floortime Framework to facilitate your child to engage, think, predict and learn. Tailored discussions about character qualities, emotional understanding and behavioural predictions. Facilitating thought, reasoning and problem solving in your child and expanding these ideas in a group setting.
FOR CHILDREN AGED 5 – 7 YEARS AND 8 – 12 YEARS.
Handwriting Heroes is a group designed to improve all areas of handwriting skills in fun, interactive, playful and enjoyable activities in a face-to-face or online group environment.
Look beneath the skills of writing into all the mechanical and developmental milestones that are necessary for clear, smooth, neat and enjoyable handwriting experiences.
If your child is avoiding writing tasks, complaining of a sore hand, rushing their work, writing all over the lines or writing their letters in different directions, they may qualify to become a Handwriting Hero! The aim of the group is to improve their handwriting without feeling like they are ‘doing work’.
FOR CHILDREN AGED 5 – 7 YEARS AND 8 – 12 YEARS.
Fine Motor Club’s mission is to debunk that fine motor is hard and boring. We are keen to change the minds of kids and their parents, and provide fun games to improve these skills without feeling like it’s work. Looking at developmental skills that lead to successful fine motor skills is the key to this program’s success. This program has successfully run with great results, and it is going online! Helping more kids and more families in our larger community.
Fine Motor club will use fundamental developmental milestones, reflex patterns, and gross motor skills to refine and develop dexterity, hand strength and muscular endurance essential for tricky skills like buttons, shoe laces, zippers, cutlery use.
FOR CHILDREN AGED 5 – 7 YEARS AND 8 – 10 YEARS.
Could you pick someone with low self-esteem out of a line-up? Did you know that headaches, insomnia, mood swings and fatigue can be signs of low self-esteem? Self-esteem does not need to be a taboo word, or something people see as an insult. We all have our challenges, and for some self-perception is difficult. It is so empowering for children, teens and adults to feel supported at any time in their lives. It is also empowering to know others are experiencing what you are.
The Esteem Team creates a safe, structured yet creative environment for kids and teens to learn about themselves, meet new people, grow and develop in good company. In this fun and supportive environment, our kids will learn about self-esteem, what it means to them, strategies to support themselves and language to use with others.
RUN BY A REGISTERED AND EXPERIENCED COUNSELLOR. FOR CHILDREN AGED 8 – 15 YEARS OLD.
Have you every struggled to make book reading a fun and exciting learning experience? Struggled with comprehension and understanding what you have read? How do books with less words and more pictures improve your child’s ability to learn?
In this program we look at social thinking skills through reading stories and practicing using these skills in a group setting. As well as building skills to identify their own thoughts and feelings, the children will turn into social detectives to identify what others may be thinking and feeling, and how best to use this information. We use a range of play-based methods in order to teach important skills involved with social thinking.
Ever wondered what worry, anxiety and stress looks like and the right way to cope? Children are provided with different strategies to help overcome these confronting feelings.
We work our magic to notice the worry and implement the strategy that will best help in the situation. We look at different interventions such as deep breathing, visualisation, externalisation and more. We provide innovative methods of mindfulness to help reduce stress, worry and anxiety, teaching children how to work their own magic using their mind.
FOR CHILDREN AGED 7 – 12 YEARS.
In this program we engage in parent education and self-care activities. It runs on a schedule of one week parent education and the next a self-care activity.
In the parent education sessions we reflect on the Dan Siegel’s Healthy Mind Platter and use this to understand self-care on a deeper level and how to implement it effectively especially when you are busy with your kids and other daily tasks.
Ever wondered what a unique way of encouraging your child’s development looks like? Messy Monsters provides education on the importance of sensory exposure and messy play. Messy play encourages curiosity, imagination, communication, and concentration. It develops independence and enables physical and language development.
Specifically tailored for children ages 2 and up, it supports cognitive growth, fine/gross motor skills, social interaction and much more! Our groups are organised between ‘sensory seekers’ and ‘sensory avoiders’ to create a comfortable environment to grow and learn.
FOR PRESCHOOL AGED CHILDREN – 15 YEAR OLDS.
A group that combines movement, self-awareness, self-regulation, and fun!
Developed from principals of sensory integration and movement-based regulation frameworks, this group is for those who LIKE to move or those who NEED to move.
For kids who can be safe around others, this group is run in our highly commended and favoured Jungle Gym, filled with swings and lofts and movement opportunities galore!
Crash’n’Move is a great program to attend in conjunction with regular intervention such as Counselling, Speech Pathology or Occupational Therapy. It is also an amazing program to keep bodies busy after school or in the school holidays. It is a great way to get active and meet new people! This program is filled with heavy work and other regulating movement patterns and sensory inputs. And, to top it all off, it is really fun!
FOR CHILDREN AGED 6 – 16 YEARS.
Does your child struggle to regulate themselves in certain situations? Do you want them to learn strategies to regulate their energy and attention levels? Engine Group aims to support self-regulation by helping your child understand their ability to be able to monitor, maintain or change their alertness so that the response is appropriate to their situation or task.
The group offers multiple strategies and activities to support appropriate regulation. These strategies and activities all aim to provide support for matching the required arousal level to the activity they are engaged in or plan to engage in.
FOR CHILDREN AGED 5 – 15 YEAR OLDS.
Run in the community, this program includes planned activities such as water parks, river walks, rock climbing, flip out, escape rooms, bowling, laser tag and more. The program aims to foster social skills, confidence, self-esteem, life skills and self-regulation in a community setting.
The Adventure Weekly Program runs weekly during the school term and is designed for teens; (participants receive a budget and organise the activities of their choice including planning and booking).
The Adventure Holiday Program is a week-long program, where the planning is done for them.
The kids just show up, learn, socialise, challenge their boundaries and have fun! There are 3 programs:
THE EARLY EXPLORERS: FOR CHILDREN AGED 3 – 6 YEARS
THE WILDERNESS WARRIORS: FOR CHILDREN AGED 7 – 9 YEARS
THE TEENAGE TRAILBLAZERS: FOR CHILDREN AGED 10 YEAR+
Attention Autism is an intervention developed by Gina Davies, Speech and Language Therapist. It is designed to develop attention for two key skills: learning and communication.
Pupils with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) can have difficulties with their attention skills. People need to have developed attention and listening skills in order to understand and use language, communicate with those around them, and to learn in a group in a classroom. Sessions can be led by teaching or therapy staff; all staff have been trained by Speech and Language Therapists.
Attention for classroom learning:
Pupils need secure attention skills in order to be able to access whole-class learning independently. Attention Autism is designed to offer an irresistible invitation to learn using activities which children are extremely motivated by in order to develop these skills. During Attention Autism sessions pupils are not prompted to sit and watch, instead the pupils want to watch. Attention Autism can be used in any subject, curriculum areas or specific topic-vocabulary.
Attention for communication:
The basis of all communication is attention on another person, and Attention Autism sessions can show children that adults are intrinsically interesting and that language can be used for fun; it originates from the idea that successful communication is dynamic, engaging and joyful. Attention Autism builds upon the strengths of a child in order to develop new skills. As such, communication development can be targeted and nurtured within Attention Autism sessions for children at all communicative levels.
What is Attention Autism?
Attention Autism is a structured intervention run in the classroom in four distinct stages. The stages are developmental, and a child moves from Stage 1-4 as they develop the skills.
| Stage 1 | Attention Grabber | Pupils focus on lead adult who pulls 2-3 motivating toys from a bucket in quick succession. The toys are intrinsically interesting. Pupils are not prompted to do anything, supporting adults model and watch the bucket. |
| Stage 2 | Attention Builder | Pupils focus on lead adult who completes one activity which is motivating to watch. The activities are often messy which pupils want to touch, but they do not. Again, pupils are not prompted to do anything, supporting adults model and watch the bucket. |
| Stage 3 | Attention Shifter | Pupils learn two key skills: taking turns and watching peers. The lead adults completes a short activity and then invites some, but not all, pupils to take turns one at a time. The child is only spoken to directly by the leader when it is their turn and required. |
| Stage 4 | Re-engaging Attention | All pupils are spoken to by group leader as a group. Pupils complete an independent activity that was modelled by leader. Learning the setup of ‘typical’ classroom where teacher models and then pupil completes activity. All pupils then return to the group to finish the session. |
General goals:
- engage attention,
- improve joint attention,
- develop shared enjoyment in group activities,
- increase attention in adult-led activities,
- encourage spontaneous interaction in a natural group setting,
- increase non-verbal and verbal communication through commenting,
- build a wealth and depth of vocabulary,
- take turns in a small group setting
A School readiness program planned by our Psychologists and Occupational Therapists!
Aimed to align with the typical kindergarten school curriculum, Big School Bandits introduces and prepares our kindy kids with things like morning routines, transitions, listening skills, waiting, lining up, roll call, joining games, recess routines, taking turns, structured gross motor games, fine motor skills, pre-literacy, social thinking, play skills, social stories, a report card.
A great way for our little school goers to get some practice before the big first day!
FOR CHILDREN AGED 4-6 YEARS.
Master builders is a group intervention that is based on the principles of Lego® Therapy by Daniel LeGeoff. Master Builders uses play-based tasks (i.e building lego) to target a variety of speech, language, and communication skills. LEGO therapy is a skill building approach. LEGO therapy can be held in both individual and group sessions during which natural opportunities are used to practice social communication, social support, social problem-solving and conflict resolution skills.
Master Builders is for a wide range of children and young people. The nature of the program means it is highly adaptable and can be changed to suit the individual strengths, needs and interest of each group.
General goals:
- positive interactions,
- develop their understanding of instructions,
- develop their ability to give instructions,
- learn new concepts,
- develop their understanding of prepositions
- take turns with a peer,
- develop problem solving skills,
- develop negotiation and more complex social skills,
- engage in a shred activity in a group
- ask for help
Run in the community, this program includes planned activities such as water parks, river walks, rock climbing, flip out, escape rooms, bowling, laser tag and more. The program aims to foster social skills, confidence, self-esteem, life skills and self-regulation in a community setting.
The Adventure Weekly Program runs weekly during the school term and is designed for teens; (participants receive a budget and organise the activities of their choice including planning and booking).
The Adventure Holiday Program is a week-long program, where the planning is done for them.
The kids just show up, learn, socialise, challenge their boundaries and have fun! There are 3 programs:
THE EARLY EXPLORERS: FOR CHILDREN AGED 3 – 6 YEARS
THE WILDERNESS WARRIORS: FOR CHILDREN AGED 7 – 9 YEARS
THE TEENAGE TRAILBLAZERS: FOR CHILDREN AGED 10 YEAR+
Financial Assistance Available
