The Scoop Term 3

Foundations newsletter
Term 3, August 2015
the
www.mchs.org.au
S COO P
Dear Families
While winter is a time for bears
to hibernate….we continue to be
out and about visiting families,
childcare and kindergartens.
We have passed the 100 mark for
the number of families enrolled
with Foundations and welcome
many new families to our service
over the past couple of months.
program for a play, a sing, a
chat, a relax and a catch-up.
We are lucky to have the
services of a volunteer to help
us with the Children’s Book and
Toy Library. Our goals is
produce a Photo library of the
toys that are available for loan.
Georgia, our volunteer, and
You may have noticed a few new Caila, our program assistant,
faces in the team. Binhaifa (Bin) are working on this together
and we hope to have it
Walji, one of our Occupational
available for staff to share with
Therapists is on study leave for
families by the end of this term.
three months and is being
replaced by Stephanie Arena.
Eloise Dack, Speech Pathologist, We have also produced a short
video of the Foundations
has also joined the team four
days a week and both Eloise and service that will be going live on
our website later this month.
Stephanie have hit the ground
running.
As always, so please feel free to
talk with your Key Worker or
Our Move’n Groove’n program
myself at any time about any
continues to be great fun for all
issue.
at both our Thornbury site and
Team Leader
Dimboola Early Learning and
Speech Pathologist
Care Centre in Broadmeadows.
All families are welcome at either Pauline Nott
In this issue
1
Welcome
2
Welcome Eloise
Welcome Stephanie
3
National Disability
Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
4
Children with ASD &
Disability App
Toilet Timing
Move n’ Groove
2015 Term dates
Supported by
the Victorian
Government
Welcome Eloise!
About The Scoop
The Scoop is Foundations’
newsletter that is produced once
per term. Its aim is to keep
Foundations’ families informed
about upcoming events and topics
of interest.
About Foundations
We provide early childhood
intervention services for children
aged 0-6 years with developmental
delay and disabilities within the
Darebin, Hume and Moreland
regions. The program provides
support at home, centre based and
community settings such as
kindergarten and child care.
Mailing list
Would you like to be on our mailing
list? To subscribe to the
Foundations newsletter email
[email protected] and
let us know whether you would like
to receive it by email or in the mail.
Feedback
We value all feedback, as it allows
us to improve our communications
and publications. For comments,
compliments or feedback, contact
[email protected]
Contact us and site location
Foundations is located at
Thornbury.
There are a total of 10 Merri
Community Health Services sites
located across the northern
metropolitan region. For site
contact details, see page 4.
www.mchs.org.au
© All applicable copyrights reserved for
Merri Community Health Services. No part
of this publication may be replicated in any
manner or medium, without the permission
of Merri Community Health Services, except
as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968
(Cth).
“Hi, I joined the Foundations Early
Intervention team in June this year and
will be working 4 days a week. I have
worked as both a child speech
pathologist in the community health
sector and an adult speech pathologist
in the
hospital setting. I really love
working with children and their families and look forward to being a part
of your child’s learning. I grew up in Australia, Belgium and England and
really enjoy experiencing different cultures. Outside of work I have represented Victoria in Netball and England in Swimming. Most of all, I enjoy
creating music and eating a lot of chocolate!”
................................................
Welcome, Stephanie!
“Hi, I joined foundations Early Childhood Intervention team mid July
this year and am filling in for Bin
while she is on study leave for Term
3. I am passionate about working
with children and love being able to
help families in supporting their
child’s learning and development! I
have experience working within the
Community Health sector and Early
Intervention teams. I also love to
cook, try new
food, and travel!”
Images courtesy of Foundations Staff
Images courtesy of clipart
2
Merri Community Health Services
Foundations newsletter
NDIS- Disability funding is changing
NDIS is the National Disability Insurance
Scheme. It is a new way of funding support for children and adults with disability. Instead of funding service providers, like Foundations, the government
is moving to individualized funding.
What does this mean for you? Getting ready for NDIS
Things will change for you when the
NDIS rolls out in your area. A planner
with the NDIS will help you to plan
goals for your child and family. They
will help you identify the supports and
Stage 1: The NDIS began in 2013 with
funding needed to achieve these goals.
trial sites established around Australia. You can then choose who will provide
In Victoria, the trial site chosen was the your supports. You can purchase the
Barwon region. Since then all funding in supports from Foundations or from
Barwon,for children with a disability
other organisations.
has been managed through the NDIS.
Stage 2: In July 2016 the NDIS will roll
out progressively across all parts of
Australia and it is hoped this will be
completed by July 2019.
What does this mean for
Foundations?
Foundations will continue our commitment to supporting your child and family, and will be a registered NDIS provider of services for children with disability. Under NDIS we are looking forward
to building a service that provides a
greater choice of local and community–
based supports for you and your child.
We are preparing Foundations for NDIS
so that we can continue to provide services that are innovative, evidencebased, flexible and respond to your
individual needs.
What’s important to you is
what’s important to us.
To help us plan for a strong future under NDIS we are consulting with many
people. In particular, we want to hear
from you. Over the next couple of
months we will be asking what supports and services are important to
you? Your responses will guide our future services. We encourage you to use
every opportunity to have your say.
Keeping you informed...
NDIS is a big change for you and for us.
We will be providing you with information updates and support in the
coming months so that you and your
family will be fully prepared and confident for NDIS. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask you
Key Worker or call us at Foundations.
NDIS Access Checklist
http://www.ndis.gov.au/ndis-access-checklist
More Information




Visit ndis.gov.au
Email [email protected]
Call 1800 800 110
If you are a Speak and Listen (speech-to-speech relay) user—
phone 1800 555 727 then ask for 1800 800 110
 If you are an internet relay user—visit the National Relay Service
website and ask for 1800 800 110.
Images courtesy of clipart
Images courtesy of www.freedigitalimages.net
NDIS Article courtesy of http://www.ndis.gov.au/document/739
NDIS poster courtesy of www.everyaustraliancounts.com.au
Merri Community Health Services
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Foundations newsletter
Children with ASD & Disability App
Toilet Timing
By Sue Larkey
You can use the Children with Autism & Disability app before
and after a child is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) or disability.
With this free app, you can:
 use pathfinder to navigate each stage of funding, services
and support before and after diagnosis
 connect to ASD or disability services in your area with a
mapping tool and key contacts directory
 navigate the Australian services
system with step-by-step expert guidance
 learn from other parents’ experiences
through parent videos
get more information about disability and
ASD from up-to-date, evidence-based
articles.
For more information visit:
www.raisingchildren.net.au
Move n’ Groove
Come and join in a play, a
sing, a chat, a relax and a
catch-up at ...
Broadmeadows
(Mondays 9.30 - 11.00am)
Dimboola Early Learning Centre
30-54 Johnstone Street,
Broadmeadows VIC 3047
Thornbury
(Thursdays 9.30 - 11.00am)
Foundations ECI
298 Victoria Rd,
Thornbury VIC 3071
Create good routines around
toilet timing. Have set times
when the child must go to the
toilet. Examples include




When they get up in the morning
Before leaving the house
Before bed
Any time they may not be able to access a
toilet for an hour or more.
 Before going into any water (bath, swimming
pool, etc.)
 Before getting into the car.
 Before eating i.e. toilet, wash hands
For more great tips on toileting or other
Practical strategies for ASD, visit
www.suelarkey.com
2015 TERM DATES
TERM 1 - 28 Jan - 27 March
TERM 2 - 13 April - 26 June
TERM 3 - 13 July - 18 Sept
TERM 4 - 5 Oct - 18 Dec
Contact Us
298 Victoria Road
Thornbury, VIC 3071
Ph: (03) 9484 5314
Fax: (03) 8419 2611
Merri Community Health Services
offer a range of services for
children, adults, older people,
people with disabilities and car
cers. For further information
about our other sites and ser
vices, visit www.mchs.org.au
Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is provided by Merri Community Health Services and is for general information purposes only. While
information is current at the time of publication, subsequent changes to events may occur. MCHS ventures to provide current and accurate information and we
make no representations or warranties, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, or availability, with respect to this publication. Any
reliance you place on such information is therefore at your own risk. In no event will MCHS and its employees be responsible or liable for any loss or damage
including without limitation, indirect or significant loss or damage, or any type loss or damage whatsoever, suffered by any person as the result of reliance on
information contained in this publication.
Images courtesy of clipart
Images courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net
Images courtesy of www.raisingchildren.net.au
Merri Community Health Services
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