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Option News Letter January 2010.

News from Jane

Usually, when I start to write a newsletter for Options, I am on a plane travelling for either a client visit or a workshop. This time, I am sitting in the office at the Petrie clinic surrounded by bags of rubbish and boxes of unused equipment destined for a new home. My brain is flooded with memories. In ten years of private practice here there have been so many wonderful happenings and so many inspiring people through these doors.Moving into Private Practice is, without doubt, the hardest thing a therapist can do but it is potentially the most satisfying.

Trying to find ways to assist people who do not have ready access to speech therapy and trying to challenge the way people view those who do not share the gift of speech, is a constant under current of frustration for me. The feedback from the clinical supervision, the mentoring and the workshops I have offered to date has been very positive. Responses to my two books have also been very encouraging. And whilst I love the clinical work it is simply near impossible to do the things I need to do, to write and present whilst trying to pay over heads and running costs for this business.

As I write this newsletter I know that my application for Sole Provider under the Helping Children with Autism Package has been approved. This year will determine how much additional demand there is for communication support from Options and what this means to the business plan. As it stands now, the Petrie clinic will be operational until October 2010 when the lease expires. I hope to have secured a new clinic soon after. The people who currently see Brooke and me will continue to receive activities and suggestions for maintaining and extending their communication skills but from July, I will no longer be running the Eight Mile Plains clinic. Lee-Anne's clients at Eight Mile Plains will be able to continue working with Lee-Anne as she will take over the operation of that clinic in her own business name.

In 2011, I hope to take some time out to present my workshops around Australia. The Training Brochure now includes a mentoring program which may be of interest to some of you. Full details will be available on the new web site in a few months. Some people have already suggested that in September 2010, we have a celebration concert at Pathways (North Lakes) where people can present some of their achievements in communication through song, instruments, spoken and written works. I will give this some thought but would appreciate your feedback.

In the mean time - its heads down and on with the work for this year

Music Therapy:
This year Music and Speech therapy will continue as joint sessions on Tuesdays. Rebecca is available on Mondays for Music therapy only sessions. Working with Rebecca has been one of the highlights of 2009 for me. Every now and then you find a therapist who is simply on the same page as you in sessions - who can predict where you are going with an activity and who demonstrates not only great knowledge and skill but also great flexibility. Thank you Rebecca for a great year!

Workshops:
Workshops will continue to be presented in the Brisbane area and also regional Queensland. I will be returning to Townsville to present the Introduction to AAC workshop again and also the Write Me A Story workshop. There will be Basic FCT workshops and two Advanced FCT workshops this year. The Advanced workshops will be held between April and December as a three successive day intensive and also a one day a month option. More details about the workshop schedule for 2010 are available on the web site or by emailing Jenny for a schedule and brochure.

Support Networks:
In my travels I get to meet some very inspiring people and organizations. In 2009 I was invited by the Department of Communities, working together with The Umbrella Network, in Townsville, to provide workshop training and consultations. Here is the Umbrella Networks description of themselves: The Umbrella Network grew out of an age old communication system ...the grapevine! Families talking to families and sharing their knowledge on the best way to access services, swap stories and offer support. By bringing a modern twist of the internet and emails we can network with Health professionals, Service Providers , Council services and other not for profits . This means families get better access to everything because the KNOW about it! We have no limiting criteria and believe that all of us , regardless of the diagnosis are going through similar things. Our children can achieve great things and we work together to make ourselves AND our community realise that too. Although we currently are based in Townsville we believe that every town should have a 'Network' of its own! More information

Supporting each other is so very important - no matter what area of our lives we are attending to. Helping people to live their lives through their best hopes rather than their worst fears is important. Sometimes there will be government funding, scholarships or grants to make to journey possible or easier. In 2009 the Federal Government released funding for children with autism. Whilst the intention was commendable, the mechanics of delivering the service and at the same time offering families 'choice' was not without teething problems. I am hopeful that sometime in 2010 I will receive approval for working as a Sole Provider for families who are eligible for this funding. The bulk of the funding under this scheme applies to children in Early Intervention. These children are at the critical age for language, learning and social skill development. However, there are needs at all the core stages of development. In December 2009, I met a couple of ladies who were embarking on a project to provide tertiary education for people with special needs who were leaving school and still needing to learn. Their project is The Tertiary PLACE Inc. PO Box 2413 RUNCORN QLD 4113 Phone: 0413 902 334 Email: thetertiaryplace@gmail.com or visit their website They will be having an Open Day mid January. Good luck with this much needed venture.

Congratulations!
There are so many people to congratulate this year. People who have achieved things that were not previously thought possible and people who have supported them through the rough and the smooth. Here are just a few whom I would like to mention.

Congratulations to Patrick, for writing such heart felt lyrics to a song about Autism and for then instructing Rebecca as to how the music should be written - and then sing/humming it all by himself!

Congratulations to Joanne, for telling me that she was ready to 'try 'conversation' and not just keep trying to say sounds. Thanks Joanne for steering my therapy program and for showing me that you could do more than I had anticipated.

Congratulations to Max and Ashleigh, for their patience with each other as they wait for their own session time and for achieving everything that was proposed. (And thanks goes to their parents too!)

Congratulations to Sarah, who is simply not the young lady whom I knew three years ago. I now have no idea what is possible! Thank goodness for positivity, determination and visualization.

Congratulations to Craig who hosts his 'at home' art exhibitions and whose potential to share his art and language skills with a wider community has not been fully tapped yet.

Congratulations to Keely Harper-Hill whom we continue to miss working at the Petrie Clinic and who has commenced her PhD and is looking for families who may be interested in assisting her research "Language Processing in Autism: performance as a Function of Modality". You can contact keely on 33466110 for information.

Interesting!
http://frontiersin.org/neuroscience/paper/10.3389/neiro.01/1.1.006.2007/html

Inclusive Learning Technologies Conference 2010

http://hoodamath.com/ http://www.monarchtt.com finally www.belifestyleretreats.com.au

Many years ago a colleague, Alice Owen, comments on the usefulness of a small device called a Franklin Spelling Ace. Thinking that a device with such a small keyboard wouldn't be of use for most of my clients and not seeing anyone actually use one deterred me. Regrettably, it's only now that I have several clients using the $40 device as a cheap and very portable alternative to a low tech display which we know can lead to far more errors being communicated than a device with visual or sound feedback.

Happy New Year Everyone!!! J!!!