Hi, I’m Rocky Roo!I’m here to let you know about the great work that Rocky Bay does in schools just like yours.

Every three months I’ll hop by to say hello and fill you in on the latest news. If there’s something specific you’d like to hear about or ideas you would like to share email Rona.Dean@rockybay.org.au

In this issue, you’ll• Read Roo’s Musings on

calmer classrooms• Learn about Dysphagia• Find out about Rocky Bay’s

school workshops• Access free resources in Helpful Hints

for working with Aboriginal people.

Would you like to be our featured school?

Rocky Roo’s NewsIssue 2 / Term 4 2017

This bulletin is designed to be read on-screen. Please consider the environment before printing.Articles of interest can be printed as single pages if required.

Get involved with Deloitte’s Impact days

We want every child to reach their potential.

Helpful Hints

Roo asks - ‘What is Dysphagia anyway?’

We’re enrolling for your school development days – are you?

About Rocky Bay

Stay tuned for free information sessions about Milo, a humanoid robot and therapy tool for children with autism.

Roo’s Musings on Calmer Classrooms - promoting safety and wellbeing

For the past 80 years, Rocky Bay has been enriching the lives of people living with disability and their families and carers. With facilities across metropolitan Perth and offering services throughout regional and rural WA, Rocky Bay is currently helping more than 3,000 individuals of all ages achieve their full potential.

Here at Rocky Bay, we work hard to:

• Enable access to curriculum in collaboration with schools

• Help individuals gain independence and develop relationships

• Help people access clinical expertise and equipment services

• Explore all possibilities and help people create their own plans for their lives

• Find and create jobs for people living with disability

Rocky Roo’sNews

About Rocky Bay

Rocky Bay provides a selection of ready-made packages or can tailor an event for your school development days. Our latest edition is ‘Every Voice Matters’, check out the details in this newsletter.

One hour events• Introduction to Key Word Sign• Basic swallowing issues explained

Three hour eventsThe Sensory World Around You (SWAY)• Provides school staff with guidelines that can

be incorporated into classrooms to support students with sensory processing challenges.

• Helps you to understand the importance of working as a team with each child and their networks, to achieve successful outcomes with sensory processing across different everyday environments.

Key Word Conversations (KWC)• Prerequisite attendance at a Key Word Sign

basic workshop. KWC provides a refresher and an opportunity for more complex interactions using key word sign.

Whole day eventsEvery Voice Matters

Let us bring our new and innovative workshop ‘Every Voice Matters’ for educators to your next pupil free day. This workshop is for staff supporting children with complex communication needs who use communication devices, books and other aids, also known as Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC).Participants will learn how to help students reach their full communication potential by:• Learning evidence based strategies that help

students use their communication aides (e.g. Aided Language Stimulation)

• Considering the varied communication styles of students and their own interaction style

• Understanding how to select and organise vocabulary in communication books and devices

• Considering students current competencies at using their communication aid and determining appropriate goals

• Learning how to support students literacy development using communication aids.

This workshop will be provided by a qualified Speech Pathologist and may be offered as a half or full day workshop depending on your school’s requirements.

Teacher Talk encouraging language development in early childhood settingsFor the early childhood settings, this one-day workshop can provide core strategies to help you create stimulating language-learning environments. Play and daily routines provide opportunities to create enriched environments that include all children. This training will discuss how to foster language development through daily interactions.

Basic Key Word SignThe Basic Key Word Sign workshop helps participants learn how and when to use key word signs and what the benefits are. Key Word Sign is a light-tech Augmentative and Alternative Comminucation (AAC) system. Participants will develop a basic vocabulary of signs to meet individual needs. Allows completion of KWC.

If you would like to find out more, please contact Clinical Projects Manager Rona Dean on (08) 6399 4124 or email RonaD@rockybay.org.au.

Rocky Roo’sNews

We’re enrolling for your school development days – are you?

The number of Aboriginal people who live with a disability and engage with disability services is very low for a variety of reasons. Rocky Bay seeks to raise awareness and improve access to disability services for indigenous people.

New resources for downloading and sharingWe are pleased to launch and share a series of resources created in collaboration with Aboriginal community members including:

• 11 audio bites, broadcasted on Noongar community radio

• Five posters• Three postcards• Magnets

• A ‘Finding Different Ways’ pathway to guide individuals through the process of identifying and diagnosing disability and accessing services

• Children’s book ‘Visiting My Mob’ to raise awareness of disability and autism in the local community

Rocky Roo’sNews

Helpful Hints

Tell your Doctor or Child Health Nurse you’re worried. You’re allowed to ask for help! They’ll have a check to see how things are going.

2. They might tell you to

‘keep an eye on things’.

Talk to them again if you’re still worried.

1. They might refer you to a child specialist (Paediatrician), asking them to find out more about your child.

Could be done by a: Speech Pathologist / Psychologist / Paediatrician. They will look at what

a child finds easy and what they find hard. Ask questions! They will send you and your GP a report at some point after the assessment.

There might not be a diagnosis. The Paediatrician will send you and your doctor this information. You might want to follow up again in the future if you’re still concerned.

This is the name of a disability or condition someone has. This information will be given to you in letters or reports.

Your Doctor can help you work out what it all means. Put the information somewhere safe. It can help you get funding and services.

Contact NDIS on 1800 800 110. Tell them you have a new diagnosis. They will tell you the next steps

to getting help. You can also call Rocky Bay for information on (08) 9383 5111.

FINDING WAYS

You pay for this, and might get a bit back from Medicare.FREE – You might wait a while (Hang in there, they will get to you and it’s

important to keep your appointment). This might be at the children’s hospital.

Not doing the same things as other kids?Not talking, playing or moving like the others?

NO

REF

ERRA

L

REFERRAL

PUBLIC CAREPRIVATE CARE

ASSESSMENT

NO DIAGNOSIS

DIAGNOSIS

NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME (NDIS)

(08) 9383 5111 www.rockybay.org.au/fdw

Finding Different Ways is an initiative of Rocky Bay funded by the Disability Services Commission.

3. Ask your GP if you

can access therapy

services using Medicare rebates.

4. You can pay for private

therapy services.

Ask your Child Health Nurse to help find

options.

5. You or your GP can refer your child to Child Development Services. Contact the children’s hospital for more information.

NDIS

You can’t always see disability

PATHWAYS

Help your children learn and grow

Disability affects families in different ways. If your family needs help speak to your doctor, child health nurse or Aboriginal Health Worker and let them know you’re worried. They can help you to get more information from disability services.

Don’t be shame to ask for help if you need it

(08) 9383 5111 www.rockybay.org.auRocky Bay would like to thank all community members who have contributed to the Finding Different Ways resources.

Finding Different Ways is an initiative of Rocky Bay funded by the Disability Services Commission.

FINDING WAYSArtwork by Gloria Kearing

FINDING WAYS

All resources are available for the public and organisations to download and share in order to reach families and the community. These resources contain valuable information and the encouragement to ask for support when needed.

Click to visit resources page

Click the book to read!

Dysphagia is the medical word for difficulties with eating, drinking or swallowing. Difficulty swallowing is common in people who live with a disability.

A person may have problems swallowing if they have weak or tight muscles, difficulty coordinating muscle movements, reduced sensation in the mouth or throat and/or behavioural difficulties.

How do we swallow? Even though we don’t seem to think about it, swallowing is complex. We must coordinate over 25 muscles and time our swallow with breathing – all in less than two seconds.

Before we swallow, food is chewed into a soft paste. The tongue then pushes the ball of food or liquid to the back of the throat, triggering a swallow. Muscles move the food or liquid through the throat to the food pipe, then to the stomach. At the same time, the airway is covered.

Speech Pathologists are trained to assess swallowing, eating and drinking skills. Management may include:

• Changing routines • Using safe swallowing strategies • Changing food textures • Changing drink thickness • Teaching clients, families, carers and support staff about safe swallowing • Requesting input from other health professionals • Requesting a swallow x-ray video • Offering ongoing monitoring and support

Roo asks... ‘What is Dysphagia anyway?’

Rocky Roo’sNews

The role of teachers, schools and support systemsIf a child can develop and maintain a positive attachment to school and gain an enthusiasm for learning, they will do so much better in their lives. The role of teachers in the lives of traumatised children cannot be underestimated. The Calmer Classrooms booklet encourages teachers and other school personnel to forge those attachments through two key mechanisms:

• Understanding traumatised children• Developing relationship based skillsTeachers who understand the effects of trauma on children’s education, who are able to develop teaching practices to help them and who participate actively and collaboratively in the systems designed to support traumatised children, will improve their educational outcomes and assist in their healing and recovery.

The Calmer Classrooms resource specifically aims to equip teachers with an understanding of the impact that trauma can cause to a child’s development, learning and engagement in school.

Rocky Roo’sNews

Roo’s Musings on Calmer Classrooms - promoting safety and wellbeing

Deloitte believes true business success is linked to wider social purpose. Held every year, Impact Day allows Deloitte’s staff to take one day out from their daily roles to contribute their skills and labour to one of many worthy community causes organised through The Deloitte Foundation.

• All Deloitte offices across Australia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste participate

• Last year Deloitte had 3,408 volunteers involved in 573 events• They provide hands-on and skilled volunteering as well as pro bono services

If you have any questions, please contact the National Mailbox impactday@deloitte.com.au

Get involved with Deloitte’s Impact Days

Rocky Roo’sNews