Autism Association of WA 2020 Annual Report

Regional Services

The Regional Therapy program is growing significantly, supporting families from 15 regional and remote areas throughout Western Australia in the last 12 months.

This year we continued to develop our services as well as offer several therapy services to regional families including: teletherapy, intensive holiday programs, online training and most recently, youth diagnosis via telehealth for those in remote areas. The program expanded to include families with children between 8 and 18 years of age. Training and support were provided to families, teachers, allied health professionals and community organisations. We visited regional areas to deliver workshops and consultancy on support strategies, linkages, resources, and other information. In addition, we also delivered Getting to Know NDIS workshops to individuals and families transitioning to the NDIS. In collaboration with Parenting Connection WA and their Goldfields Parenting Partnership Coordinator (Anglicare), the Regional Therapy team provided workshops to the Kalgoorlie-Boulder region. This included local community workshops on Autism, training to health professionals, as well as training to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Group. We also continued to work in partnership with the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia which is aimed at increasing awareness of Autism in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The 1-week intensive holiday program for regional families also continued in high demand this year. The focus of the program is equipping families to undertake skill development with their child at home. The program is delivered during school holidays and includes the development of an individual program plan for each child based on an assessment with our multidisciplinary team. Families receive coaching and support to implement the plan at home, school, and in the community. In addition to the child-focus, families are supported to establish strong connections with other regional families so they can build natural support networks. Following the success of the First Steps Early Intervention program for children aged up to 7 years old, a School Aged Therapy program for students aged 8 to 18 years and their families has been added to the regional program.

Autism Association of Western Australia - Annual Report 2020

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