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Early Bird Autumn Edition April 2013

Newsletter of the ACT Chapter of Early Childhood Intervention Australia Inc.


Presidents Report - Term 1 Newsletter 2013 Hello and welcome to the first edition of Early Bird for 2013. My name is Sandy Leitch and it is my absolute pleasure to be the newly elected President of the ECIA ACT branch.

Early Childhood Intervention ACT Inc PO Box 717 Mawson ACT 2607 Phone: (02) 6290 1984 [SHOUT] email: ecia_act@shout.org.au
Committee: President: Sandy Leitch Secretary: Carol- Anne Karas Treasurer: Annemarie Banks Committee Members: Sue Davies Jill Corcoran Maryanne Pease Anne Ellison Jean Walker Pam Cording Sue Finn

My experience in Early Intervention relates primarily to a previous position as an Inclusion Support Facilitator. In this role I worked closely with educators in childrens services to build their knowledge and skills relating to early intervention and the inclusion of all children in these settings. Through this position I became interested in working with other professionals to build the capacity of educators and saw the ECIA as a great way to advocate for families and children too. As with any new position, it will take a while to find my feet as President. Knowing, however, that I have the support and guidance of the highly experienced, knowledgeable committee will make all the difference. 2013 is shaping up to be very exciting for the ACT ECIA. This year will see the launch of a new National website that will include a link to the ACT branch. There are also some very exciting workshops being offered to our members, early intervention professionals, families, and of course friends of early intervention. On Saturday 6 April we ran the first of our exciting workshops. Leonie Cecich, composer of the You Gotta Get Up series, presented a very interactive, fun and hands on workshop at Malkara. The 40 plus audience greatly enjoyed the session and all went away feeling motivated and inspired by Leonies great presentation, fabulous songs and ideas. Due to popular demand, Matthew Armstrong will return this year to follow on from the workshop he presented at our AGM last year. Mary Louise Hemmeter is also returning this year and we hope to present Mary Louise to you in May so keep a close eye out for more details. On behalf on the entire committee and all of the ECIA members, I would like to express our appreciation to Pam, as the outgoing President, for all of the work she has done so far (and is continuing to do as I learn the ropes!). A big thankyou also to all of the committee who meet every month to plan and organise great professional learning opportunities and who keep us all informed of current issues relating to Early Childhood Intervention. Until next time, Sandy Leitch President ECIA ACT Branch 2013
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Early Bird Autumn Edition April 2013

Kids n Music
Fun and Funky Music for Early Intervention You Gotta Get Up On Saturday 6 April ECIA ACT ran their first workshop for the year. Leonie Cecich presented a fun session showcasing songs from her FABULOUS series of You Gotta Get Up Music Books and CDs. Leonie is a Primary School Music Specialist and mother to 3 children, one of whom has Down Syndrome. Her journey through the world of early intervention led her to composing fun and engaging songs specifically designed to support her sons therapy. It is from this beginning that her You Gotta Get Up series was born. Each of her songs have particular learning goals in mind. There are songs to help children learn to isolate fingers, songs to help with crossing the midline, songs to help reinforce concepts of wait and stop, and songs to encourage engagement and interaction just to name a few.
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As you can see from the photos, Leonies presentation was certainly interactive. The 40 plus audience was very involved and went away armed with plenty of songs and activity ideas. Thanks Leonie for a very enjoyable, entertaining and valuable learning session!

Early Bird Autumn Edition April 2013

Early Bird Autumn Edition April 2013

The President of the Angelman Syndrome Association of Australia would like to make sure that all are aware of the changes to the Better Start Programme set up by the Federal Government. From January 2013, children with Angelman Syndrome are now eligible for early intervention funding in this programme. Further information can be found on the AS website www.angelmansyndrome.org (click on news then February 2013 Newsletter for our National Presidents short informative article). There are lots of links and information included on the website, particularly relating to accessing the Clinic in Sydney. On a less formal note, I would like to encourage anyone caring for a child with AS to contact me on lynne_cousins20@hotmail.com as the association is very keen to support families or carers of people with AS wherever possible. We have a 19 year old son who is full of fun and games and always keeps us smiling! At the moment we are only really aware of two families in ACT. It can be lonely out there and I'd love to get to know other families! Lynne Cousins Vice President ACT Branch Angelman Syndrome Association

Early Bird Autumn Edition April 2013

Early Childhood Intervention Australia (ECIA) Biennial Conference


Some of our members were lucky enough to be sponsored to attend last years National ECIA Conference Pathways to Participation: Engagement and Choice for Children and Families Following is a short summary (put together by one of our attending members) of Pia Leemings workshop: Promoting Verbal Interaction for Children with Hearing Impairment at Home. Pia Leeming from the Telethon Speech and Hearing Centre (TSHC) for Children in Perth This session described the use of Language Environment Analysis (LENA), a system to quantify a childs oral language environment including child vocalisations, adult words, turns in conversations and the acoustic environment. Research from overseas on the content and quantity of language spoken to children from birth to three years has found that the greater the number of words spoken to a child, the better the long term academic outcomes, including increased IQ. In addition, the better the parents linguist ic input, the better the childs language development. This is of particular importance for children with hearing impairment who are learning to listen and speak with the use of improved technologies. Currently, the TSHC in Perth uses Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) to facilitate the development of spoken language in these children, with active parent involvement being a critical component of the program. Underpinning this are the beliefs that parents are the principal facilitators of listening, language and speech development; parents need to believe in what they are doing and that they are able to make a difference; and parents need to be building up a relationship with their child. The provision of appropriate coaching and guidance to parents to become their childs language facilitator is one of the keys to maximising positive outcomes. Being able to provide effective feedback on verbal interactions of parents and their child is seen as critical to auditory-verbal therapists. LENA is therefore used at the TSHC as an objective measure of parent-child interactions. The child wears a Digital Language Processor (DLP) for 16 hours. It is then plugged into the computer and a program analyses the auditory environment and the childs (and parents) vocalisations. At the TSHC this is done on a monthly basis and there is a regular feedback session with the parents about the data. The program gives data on the most active times of the day for interactions, the conversational turns the child has, and the acoustic environment such as how noisy it is (and therefore how difficult it is for the hearing impaired child to hear). Because it is seen as objective data, it is easier for a parent to see what happens in different environments and times of the day, and empowers them to work with the therapist on how to do things differently. For example, it may show that the parent talks less at the supermarket or it may show the impact TV has on the number and the quality of conversations. More information about LENA can be found on the following sites: http://www.lenababy.com http://www.child-psych.org/2009/04/lena-language-assessment-at-home

ECIA Queensland Chapter is pleased to announce that they are hosting the 11th Biennial ECIA National Conference at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from the 27th to the 30th of August 2014. Successful Intervention Practices from Diagnosis through to the Early Years of School Follow this link for more information: http://www.eciaconference2014.com/

Early Bird Autumn Edition April 2013

Another of our members attended a conference workshop presented by Amanda Corby and Rachel Carr iPads for Lifestyle and Learning At the ECIA National Conference in Perth I was very interested to attend a workshop presented by Amanda Corby and Rachel Carr from the Down Syndrome Association of Queensland. Amanda and Rachel enthusiastically demonstrated a range of iPad apps and talked about some ways of using them. Although they are working with children with Down Syndrome, these apps could be suitable for children with a wide range of special needs. If you havent met Talking Tom and his friends yet, check him out. Talking Tom repeats whatever is said to him in a funny voice. It is very interactive and can be used to encourage engagement and clearer speech, as well as an incentive to practise words, sounds or sentences. Just read them out loud to Tom. Free download RIDBC provides an app with150 key word signs with videos. Free download iReward chart (lite version 1 user free) or $4:99 multiple users. Set rewards, easily add stars, etc. Can purchase tangible rewards. Focus on one behaviour at a time Dexteria (developed by OTs) Users can pinch it, write it and tap it $5:49 Starfalls ABCs, ABC activities from Starfall.com $2:99. See, hear and interact with words, letters and sounds. Paint apps such as Doodle Buddy, Chalk board, Glow draw, Kid Art can be useful for reluctant writers. Practise letters and numbers, develop fine motor skills. Free download. DSAQ had a good thick stylus available to purchase for $10, or use a regular stylus and put foam tubing around it to make it thicker and easier to hold. Story Kit, good for writing news or social stories. Can make own books with photos and record voice. Free download Intro to Math, $5:49 good range of maths activities Counting Bear $0:99 (can add own images to count e.g. childs favourites) Counting caterpillar $1:99, or Counting Hungry Caterpillar $2:99 Special words, Based on the See and Learn Language and Reading resources from Down Syndrome Education International. Includes picture-picture, picture-word, and word-word matching activities. $14:99 ABA flashcards. Multiple apps available in this series. Each contains approximately 50 flash card images within a set category. Apps include: emotions, zoo animals, actions, vegetables and vehicles. Free download Sound Touch. 336 images and corresponding sounds. Tap the image to hear the sound. Categories include: animals, birds, vehicles, musical instruments and things around the home. Free version includes fewer images. Free or $3.99 A video version is also available. Pictello. Create talking photo albums and talking books. Each page can contain an image, up to 5 lines of text and audio (either recorded or text-to-speech). Books can be shared with others who have Pictello app. $19:99 This list gives just a few of the many apps which could be useful for your child. To see the complete lists visit http://www.dsaq.org.au/, click on free information booklets, then Technology. There are two lists available to download. Jill Corcoran

Early Bird Autumn Edition April 2013

Pegasus, Riding for the Disabled of ACT


Pegasus is a not for profit community organisation that provides equestrian activities for people with a disability. Pegasus has operated in Canberra now for 40 years. It offers weekly classes for some students from specialised schools in Canberra and a limited number for private riders. Pegasus currently serves over seventy children with a disability, while another one hundred children are on the waiting list. The Pegasus program provides both physical and emotional benefits. Children with a disability improve coordination, muscle development and fitness, while also building confidence, self-esteem, communication skills and trust. Pegasus has a small herd of wonderful horses, very carefully selected for their ability to meet the particular needs of such a program. It is hoped that through fund raising and community support the herd can be increased. The Management Committee and staff of Pegasus have worked hard for many years to provide a free service for the riders. The large number of wonderful people who volunteer their time to assist in many areas has been, and continues to be, crucial to the existence of Pegasus. Unfortunately economic circumstances have changed and now the time has arrived when the government funding which is received to help support the programs, is no longer enough. I had the privilege of taking a group of children to Pegasus in 2012 and over the year I watched the physical and emotional growth of the children involved. The commitment and the professionalism of the staff and the volunteers was something to behold. This year I am thrilled to be once more involved. We are so lucky to have Pegasus ACT and now Pegasus needs our help. To learn more about Pegasus and ways you can help to support this local treasure, please visit the website www.pegasus.com.au . Pam Cording

Art and Music at the Museum - 2013 Access programs


The National Museum of Australia continues its popular series of art and music workshops developed for adults with a disability and music programs for preschool children in 2013. FREE - Music at the Museum Facilitated by music therapist Julie Wright for pre-schoolers (0 to 5 years) and their families Monday 17 June, 10.30 am 11.30 am Bookings are essential for music and art workshops. Please phone (02) 6208 5021 weekdays, during business hours.

Early Bird Autumn Edition April 2013

Bits & Pieces

MY TIME FREE School Holiday Playgroups For Parents and Carers of Children with a Disability or Chronic Medical Condition
When: Monday 15 April to Friday 19 April 2013 10.00am 12.00midday Where: Gungahlin Child and Family Centre Fussell Lane (off Anthony Rolfe Avenue)

Who: These groups are for parents and carers (including mums, dads, grandparents or other principal carer) with children aged 0-12 with a disability or chronic medical condition. Siblings (under 12) are very welcome. A play leader will organise a range of structured and free play activities for children and their families/carers to have fun doing together. These include sensory activities, music, gross and fine motor play activities and stories. My time also gives parents the chance to socialise and share ideas with people in similar circumstances who can understand their childrens achievements, help with the challenges, and find out about available community support. For more information or to register for this group please contact Matthew or Debra at ACT Playgroups on 1800 171 882 or email playgroupsact@ixa.net.au

Malkara School Holiday Program For any child attending Primary School
When: Running through the April school holidays (excluding Anzac Day public holiday) 8.30am 5.30pm Where: Malkara School Wisdom St Garran ACT

Belconnen Community Service School Holiday Programs For children aged 5-12 years attending Primary School
When: Monday 15 Friday 26 April (except Thursday 25 April Anzac day) 8.00am 6.00pm
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Where:

Belconnen Community Centre / Evatt Kids Club / Cranleigh School

For more information or to enrol go to: http://www.bcsact.com.au/latest-news-a-events/251-the-all-new-bcs-holiday-program

Early Bird Autumn Edition April 2013

Early Bird Autumn Edition April 2013

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