How we work
We recognise that you and your support network of caregivers are the most important people in your child’s life they are also your child’s best teachers. So we support you to support your child by empowering you with strategies, ideas, knowledge, resources and confidence to extend your child’s skills and participation throughout their life.
We also know that children learn best in the environments where they spend the most time, so we provide an outreach therapeutic service to school, childcare, Kindergarten or at home, in a way that fits around your family’s needs and schedule.
Our services:
Occupational therapy
Make the Connection’s occupational therapists work with you and your child to build the skills and confidence to take part in everyday activities.
Our team of occupational therapists can help your child to:
Gain skills to become better at doing everyday things at home, kinder or school like using the toilet, brushing their teeth or getting dressed
Learn how to use fun games and activities to develop the social skills needed to join in and play with peers
Understand their senses by coping with loud noises or sensitivities to certain touch, smells or tastes
Improve their ability to focus and concentrate on the things they need or are expected to at home, kinder or school.
Speech pathology
Make the Connection speech pathologists specialise in assisting children who have difficulty understanding language or expressing themselves
Our skilled speech pathologists can help your child to:
Improve their ability to communicate their needs, wants and frustrations
Learn alternative communication techniques, such as Key Word Sign, Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) and Aided Language Displays.
Develop developmental play skills.
Use pragmatic language skills for interaction and communication.
Develop verbal and literacy skills.
Art Therapy
Make the Connection art therapists work with a wide range of mediums from clay, paint, charcoal and lego creating a space for children to express themselves and connect with feelings that they might not be able to verbalise.
Our therapists can help your child to:
Express and identify emotions to situations and to practice emotional regulation
Explore there inner superhero
Understand and start to identify where feelings are felt in the body. I.e Hot and flushed - I feel frustrated
Improve ability to communicate feelings and emotions
Social Skills Groups
Make the Connection social skills groups help children develop their social competencies to better connect with others, establish and maintain friendships and live happier more meaningful lives. Based on the work of world-renowned expert Michelle Garcia Winner, we teach social thinking skills ranging from perspective taking, which is understanding that others have "thoughts" separate from our own, to interpreting and responding to the nuances of verbal and non-verbal communication.
Our groups are tailored to pre-school and school age children who show signs of social learning challenges such as:
trouble making friends, keeping to him/herself
feeling socially anxious
trouble figuring out others' intentions
difficulties 'reading' body language, facial expressions, context etc
poor planning and organisational skills
difficulties initiating conversations and interacting socially
Our groups can benefit children with average to above average IQ who have social cognitive deficits as a result of an autism spectrum disorder, ADHD or those with no specific diagnosis.
How our groups work
Our groups are formed at the beginning of the school year and run throughout the year, however new students may enrol during the term depending on group availability. Each group include 4-6 students and meet for an hour, once a fortnight on a saturday during school term with a break over the school holidays.
Funding
There are a number of different ways you can pay for your Make the Connection services. We can also help you work out if you are eligible for funding.
Types of funding
Different government departments provide various funding schemes and packages. The below links help to determine participant eligibility.
We know this can often be confusing so feel free to call us to discuss your families' needs.
Fee for Service
Should you be ineligible for government funding, Make the Connection accept fee for service or private health cover. (Please check with your health care provider with regards to your specific rebates).
