Goodbye DisabilityCare

In a move which seems inexplicable for a Government who, when in opposition, extolled the virtues of frugality, the incoming Commonwealth Government has abandoned the name DisabilityCare and reverted to the title National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), giving the implementation agency the title of National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). This means that all the related signage, publicity materials, stationery, etc., previously prepared has to be changed. READ MORE

More Thoughts About The NDIS

From gossip I’ve heard, and, to a lesser extent, based on the precious little of what I’ve seen the NDIS so far, I think parents of children with Autism have cause to be concerned about the amount of service their children will receive under the scheme.Despite last year’s Government-sponsored report which identified ABA as the treatment of choice for children with Autism, as yet it seems no child in any of the launch sites has been funded for a “proper” ABA program. READ MORE

A monster day out for 5 lucky ISADD children!  (See photo section)

Wednesday October 6thfamilies. With very short notice ISADD were invited to rustle up five Monster Truck fans to attend a special viewing of these awesome machines. This crew places a huge emphasis on Autism awareness and all 26 Big Foot Monster Trucks carry the ‘Autism Speaks’ logo.The five families and two ISADD staff gathered at Perth Motorplex in Kwinana and were ushered into the centre of the arena. There was some waiting around as camera crews got themselves organised but the kids kept themselves entertained by playing with each other, trying on helmets, and interacting with the show’s crew.will hopefully be remembered for some time by five lucky ISADD READ MORE

A Little Note Of Congratulations By Larni

Josh, now aged 10, has a couple of things to be proud of that I’d like to share with readers. I’ve known Josh since he was 4 years old when he joined our program, and he continues to receive ongoing support with ISADD. Firstly, this year, after 6 and a half years of Education Support schooling, he has made the transition into full time mainstream school. READ MORE

Julian Poon – Work Experience

We have been very fortunate to have had Julian Poon on a work experience placement at theISADD office in Perth. Julian, who is now 17 years of age, started in an ISADD ABAprogramme at the age of 5 and has since moved on to high school at John XXIII College (nearing his completion of Grade 11). He has had a successful career (starting at age 13!) as an artist. In 2010 Julian became the youngest artist to have his works selected as part of the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition in London. READ MORE

A Wrap Up Of The Year That Has Been For Perth Psychologists

our service for diagnostic assessments and new counselling cases. We have tried to expand our service to provide more support to parents and families by offering counselling packages and we are continuing to refine and develop a new introductory training programme which will commence early 2014. Niketa Durack has been learning all about motherhood, and we eagerly anticipate her return to work early in 2014, where she will mostly service clients in our Mandurah region. READ MORE

Educational Section – Reinforcement – Making It Work For You

The success of the ABA and Discrete Trial Training approach rests with the effectiveness of the reinforcement used. It is good to remember the definition of reinforcement: “a stimulus following a particular behaviour which can increase the frequency of that behaviour recurring”. It is not something you choose to give the child, it is something the child chooses and seeks out more of. Relying on the common rewards used and not checking their effect is not going to lead to efficiency in teaching. READ MORE

HOLIDAY OFFICE CLOSURE

ISADD offices will be closed for the Christmas break between 4.pm December 20th. 2013 and 9.00 am January 6th 2014.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY GROUPS

From the second week of January, Psychologists and Case Managers here in Perth will be running a number of groups. Amanda and Larni will be trialling our first ever drama group so hopefully by Term 1 school holidays we will be able to broadening the group to different ages. We will continue with smaller social skills groups targeting specific skills, along with skill building groups such as cooking and ten pin bowling. After last holiday’s success with the kindy preparation group run by Case Manager, Audree Poff, we will again conduct these groups over the summer break. We are pleased to have Rochelle, a prac student on board with us, who is eager to run a sports carnival program over three weeks in January. Please be mindful that we put a lot of thought and ground word into grouping children with similar abilities, particularly language level. We do require the prerequisites of basic compliance, ability to follow instructions with the use of visuals and some language to aid social interaction. If you are interested in the groups and haven’t already spoken to your Case Manager, please refer to them first if you’re interested.

ONLINE GROCERY SHOPPING

For families who are interested in doing grocery shopping online with a local business (as opposed to Coles and Woolworths), Aussie Farmers is a great service according to parents who have become recent customers. They deliver to your door. Thanks to a kind mum, she has managed to liaise with Aussie Farmers who have agreed to give our families a $15 discount when you register with them. The discount code is GC15419. Go to www.aussiefarmers.com.au to register. They also have a phone app.

DID YOU KNOW?

ISADD has a Facebook page. For those who use the internet, both client families and personnel, you are encouraged to visit!

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER.

As from the next Edition, Rhubarb will be going electronic only. Subscription is via the front page of the website at www.isadd.org

SINGAPORE NEWS

Over the past few months, new local Director, Johnny Fok has been working with overseas directors Jura and Daryl on revising ISADD’s Singapore business model. This revision had been prompted by concerns over the service’s longer-term viability, which had been threatened by various challenges encountered over the past couple of years. A revised business model is now emerging, and once some final details are worked out, we will be advising both personnel and client families of hat the changes will mean for them. (Possibly, by the time you read this, everyone will have been advised.) Hopefully the changes will ensure that ISADD will be around to offer a high quality service for as long as people need it.

LITHUANIAN NEWS

Like Singapore, Lithuania’s business model is being revised, as was mentioned in the previous edition of Rhubarb. Jura visited again in November, and at a parent meeting it was announced that ISADD Lietuva will be working independently, and not through KITOKS VAIKAS the parent organization which initially sponsored us and made it possible for us to provide ABA service at such a distance. We will be operating on the new system as of January 1, 2014. The announcement was celebrated with a very large cake.

Next year will be 10 years since we first went to Lithuania at the invitation of a parent Egle Ducinskiene, who, together with a small group formed the organization, Kitoks Vaikas (the Special child). This made it possible for ISADD to get started using an ISADD Case Manager living in Scotland. The first Lithuanian therapist trained in Ireland with Isabella, then came to Australia for Case Manager training. Over the 10 years ISADD Lt has worked with over 80 children and trained 7 Case Managers, 5 of whom are still with us. None of this would have been possible without the organisational, and financial, support of Kitoks Vaikas, and especially its founder and president, Egle.

From here on ISADD Lt will be standing on its own feet, but also will be supporting Kitoks Vaikas in its advocacy role. There is a lot of work needed in Lithuania to promote a better understanding of Autism and of ABA.

INDONESIAN NEWS

IMPATI through its energetic leader Gayatri, (better known in Perth as a parent of a few years ago) has been working at gaining government support and promoting understanding of ASD and how it should be treated. Only last week IMPATI ran a series of workshops featuring YISADDI’s Program Manager, Dini and also an old friend and colleague Yusran, a Speech Therapist. The purpose was to educate potential workers. People from the Ministry attended.

Dini also will be involved in a government funded Autism Centre which will provide services for children who otherwise cannot afford them. This is a big first for Indonesia.