Sevices_ECI, Early Childhood Intervention





			Koorana is funded to provide a diverse range of early intervention programs to support the learning needs of children with a developmental delay and/or disability, including autism. Both centre-based and home-based options are available, staffed by Special Educators and Therapists. All programs aim to work in partnership with families to deliver programs that suit each child’s strengths and needs and each family’s priorities and concerns. Home Based Early Intervention Centre Based Early Intervention Autism Specific Programs Meeting Family Needs Working in Partnership with Families GENERAL EARLY CHILDHOOD INTERVENTION PROGRAMS Home-based Early Learning Programs Koorana offers a Home-based Early Learning program to families living in the Canterbury and Bankstown LGAs. Special Educators and Therapists visit the family in their home to resource parents and to support the early learning needs of young children with a disability. The program targets children who are not yet accessing an early childhood education setting. During these visits, the Special Educator and parent (or carer) talk about the family’s concerns. An individual program is developed, focusing on strengths as well as needs. Programs are practical, taking account of family dynamics and the factors that impose on their time. Time is spent talking through everyday routines to find ways of making things easier for everybody, and ways to create opportunities for learning. Where play activities are suggested, these are designed to be enjoyable for children and parents. Families participating in the Home Based Service can also participate in Koorana’s Communication Program. This program provides specialised input in the areas of: • communication (including speech and language development), • social interaction, and • feeding issues. If families receive the specialised services of a physiotherapist, occupational therapist or speech pathologist from another agency, the Home Based Special Educator works with the family to help them make the most of their input. With family permission, staff from Koorana and other agencies can work together as a team to support the family. Families are very welcome to participate in other Koorana activities and events where they can meet other parents and staff. Centre-based Early Learning Programs Koorana provides a range of centre-based services to provide small and large group settings for children with a diagnosed delay or disability. The focus is on developing a child’s social, play and educational skills within an inclusive group environment - Preschool Supported Placements (or Preschool Inclusion Support) Koorana’s preschools are inclusive of children with a disability. Each preschool provides five or six supported placements each day for children who have additional learning needs. Specialist staff including Special Educators and Therapists work with the preschool staff to develop an individual learning program for each child. - Preschool PREP The PREP program works within a small group setting for children with moderate to high support intervention needs. Koorana’s Preschool Preparation Program (‘Prep’) is a service for children who can benefit from a specialised centre-based program as a preparation for preschool or school. Children participate in group sessions twice a week, involving up to eight children. The Program aims to develop each child’s skills, especially in ways that will help them to participate in inclusive childcare or preschool settings. The Prep program is staffed by Early Childhood Educators with training and experience in special education. A Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist and Family Worker are part of the Prep program team. Each session includes: • opportunities to develop communication skills, • table and floor activities to develop hand skills and thinking skills, • group music and movement activities, • sensory play experiences, • free play and time to relax, • outdoor play, together with the preschool children, • morning tea and lunch in a group setting. The sessions are relatively structured and run to a regular routine so that children can quickly gain confidence and feel comfortable within the environment. Parents are very welcome to spend time in the room at drop-off and pick-up times. The program includes many opportunities to interact with children in the larger preschool group. These opportunities usually happen outside at first, with shared outdoor play times. As the year goes on, the Special Educators plan opportunities to support the children in an increasing range of activities with the larger group. Working closely with the family is an essential component of the Prep program. An Individual Family Service Plan is developed in collaboration with each family. Most families opt to have IFSP meetings twice a year, or more often if needed. - Early Connections A centre-based program for families who have a child who has recently been diagnosed with a delay or disability and waiting for intervention services. Staffed by experienced Early Childhood Educators, Therapists and Family Support Workers, this program provides play-based learning opportunities to develop children’s skills and there is a strong focus on providing information, resources and support to families. The Early Connections program is available to families living in the Bankstown LGA. Early Connections is an Early Intervention Playgroup offered to families living in the Bankstown area, who have a child under school age who has recently been diagnosed with a delay or disability and waiting for intervention services. Early Connections allows time for parents to participate in group discussions about children’s development with the Family Worker and a range of professionals. The aim of the project is to. assist families in building supportive social connections increase parental understanding of issues relating to their child’s learning & development resource and support families to assist their child’s learning at home resource families on intervention options and accessing them - Therapy Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists deliver a range of therapy programs through centre and home based programs. Speech pathology services at Koorana aim to develop a child’s communication and language skills through play-based activities, in order to increase their independence and participation in daily activities. Formal and informal assessments are conducted to provide information on the child’s current skills and are used in conjunction with the family’s priorities to develop appropriate goals. Speech Pathologists work within Koorana preschools to resource staff and effectively provide communication intervention for the children in supported placements. The focus is on functional goals that help the child to participate within the preschool day. On the Home-based program the Speech Pathologists work closely with the parents and Special Educators to provide suggestions and activities that can be carried out at home. We support parents to use what they have at home to maximise stimulation of their child’s communication skills. A Speech Pathologist also works as part of the multi-disciplinary teams in our two Early Intervention programs to help create a total communication environment and to target specific communication goals. Occupational Therapists (OT’s) work with children who have difficulty coping with everyday activities. Some children may need assistance to learn the skills needed for self care, play and school activities. Skills for self care include: Dressing, Bathing and Toileting Skills for play include: Catching balls, running, jumping, hopping, doing puzzles and taking turns. Skills for school include: Drawing, coloring, writing, cutting, copying and paying attention. The aim of OT is to assist in developing new or existing skills and improve a child’s ability to perform specific skills so that they can participate fully in everyday activities. Intervention involves getting to know each child and their individual needs, then working within a group or individually to increase participation and skill level. - Parent Training Dependent upon the needs of families enrolled in Koorana’s programs, a range of information sessions are offered and include such topics as Transition to School, Communication Strategies and Sensory Processing. BACK TO TOP AUTISM SPECIFIC SERVICES Koorana provides intervention programs and individual therapy for children who have a diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder. Children must be registered with the Autism Advisor program, a component of the FaHCSIA funded “Helping Children with Autism” package. - Playlinks The Playlinks Program is a small intervention group specifically planned for children with a diagnosis of autism. Located at Phillip Street Pre-school, 22 Phillip Street, Roselands A 12 month, intensive autism specific preschool program for 8 children who will attend two days per week (Thursdays and Fridays) in a small group setting. This package also includes initial comprehensive assessment by the multi-disciplinary team, general family support, an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) incorporating an individual education plan (IEP), school transition support and parent support and training. Enrolment is for a school year. - Preschool PREP The PREP program works within a small group setting for children with moderate to high support intervention needs. PREP is a basic skills program for children with moderate to high support needs: including autism. This small group of around 8 children attend 3 days a week (Monday-Wednesday). It is a structured program designed to support children’s transition into larger inclusive mainstream settings such as preschool. Although this program successfully supports children with an ASD, it is not autism specific. - Therapy Individual Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy intervention is offered: In the home or extended educational setting or Centre-based at Koorana’s Belmore or Bankstown therapy rooms or from a Koorana Preschool Speech pathology services at Koorana aim to develop a child’s communication and language skills through play-based activities, in order to increase their independence and participation in daily activities. Formal and informal assessments are conducted to provide information on the child’s current skills and are used in conjunction with the family’s priorities to develop appropriate goals. The focus is on functional goals that help the child to participate within their daily activities. Speech Pathologists work closely with the parents to provide suggestions and activities that can be carried out at home. We support parents to use what they have at home to maximise stimulation of their child’s communication skills, including setting up visual systems to encourage communication. A Speech Pathologist also works as part of the multi-disciplinary teams in our two Early Intervention programs to help create a total communication environment and to target specific communication goals. Occupational Therapists (OT’s) work with children who have difficulty coping with everyday activities. Some children may need assistance to learn the skills needed for self care, play and school activities. Skills for self care include: Dressing, Bathing and Toileting Skills for play include: Catching balls, running, jumping, hopping, doing puzzles and taking turns. Skills for school include: Drawing, coloring, writing, cutting, copying and paying attention. The aim of OT is to assist in developing new or existing skills and improve a child’s ability to perform specific skills so that they can participate fully in everyday activities. Intervention involves getting to know each child and their individual needs, then working within a group or individually to increase participation and skill level. - Outreach Education A Special Educator provides support to children with Autism in their home, in schools or other early childhood settings. An individualized program offered over 10 weekly sessions and delivered by a Special Educator where individual educational goals will be delivered in consultation with the family and other professionals. N.B-For Children who are not able to access the Helping Children with Autism Package there is an existing Home Based Program available through other funding sources. Other Information on Autism Specific Programs at Koorana: Helping Children with Autism Package: click on link Koorana’s Fee Structure for Autism Specific Programs: click on link BACK TO TOP Meeting Family Needs Under the Disability Services Act, [click on link] all funded services are required to conform to ten essential standards to ensure that family needs are met. These standards are related to service access and equity, individual need and family focus, decision making, choice and involvement, privacy and confidentiality, complaints handling, service management and protection. Koorana has a specific policy related to each of these standards. To best respond to the needs and priorities of families, Koorana follows the principles of family-centred practice. Your priorities and concerns, as a family, are the starting point for our partnership with you. We develop an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) for each family, which sets out what you would like to achieve and how we will work together over the coming months. Working in Partnership with Families When a child has additional needs, there can be decisions to make over and above the usual parenting decisions. People outside the family may also become involved in the decision making process – for example doctors, early intervention teachers, therapists and preschool teachers. Individual Family Service Plans (IFSPs) are a way to coordinate the process of making decisions and ensuring that everyone involved works as a team to carry those decisions through. While professionals are usually involved, the family is at the centre of the IFSP process. Families have the right to make decisions for themselves and their child. The role of professionals is to provide information which supports families in their decision making, and then provide services in ways which reflect families’ priorities. While the IFSP process is on-going, with decisions made as needed in response to progress and change, it is usual to have meetings from time to time. Meetings allow everyone involved to talk face to face, and help to build a sense of teamwork. It is up to the family to decide whether or not they would like to have a meeting. Families can either organise the meeting themselves, or delegate this task to someone else. Koorana organises many IFSP meetings on behalf of families, and is very happy to do so. Families let us know whom they would like to invite to the meeting. We aim to be flexible about times and dates, but have some limitations here. If your family does not want to have a meeting, we still work with you towards an individual plan. IFSP meetings usually begin with some discussion about recent progress and achievement, and then move on to consider the family’s priorities and concerns at this point of time. These priorities form the agenda for the rest of the meeting. Concerns may not be limited to the child’s development: many families have broader issues with which they need support. Often, the IFSP meeting decides on the most important goals for the coming months, and then the child’s individual program is worked out in finer detail at a later date. IFSP meetings are always documented, with copies going to everyone who attends. BACK TO TOP