Hello friends and families,

Welcome to the March edition of the Early Start Australia - Brisbane Clinics Update. An especially big welcome to the new friends we made at the Brisbane Disability Connections Expo last weekend. It was lovely to chat to so many of you. We are glad you liked our cute mophead pens!

We love getting out and about in our community. As well as providing services in our many clinics across Brisbane, we also travel to homes, schools and childcare centres. We are happy to come to you, and love nothing more than being part of our local communities.

Next weekend we will be at the Moreton Kids Festival in Pine Rivers. We will be looking after the very important Quiet Zone - a safe space for kids to decompress and unwind before rejoining the busyness and excitement of the festival. If you're going, please come and say hi. You might just score one of our very cute mophead pens!

In this month's newsletter, we share with you our exciting range of holiday groups and all the activities we will be offering over the next school holidays.

Why are group programs so important?

All those wonderful skills your children are learning during their regular sessions can be fine-tuned and practiced in a safe and welcoming environment, with kids who are matched to their abilities. Groups are fun, effective, and an integral part of your child's therapy journey. Research shows that social skills groups improve social communication in school-aged children and adolescents (Gosling, Cartigny, 2022)*.

We are also offering assessment clinics over the upcoming holidays. If you are needing a Functional Capacity Assessment for NDIS, are exploring a possible diagnosis for your child, or would like some additional information and support in relation to some of the challenges your child is experiencing, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Take care and wishing you a great week ahead x

Liselle, Christine, Carissa, Fanoula & Kimberlee

(ESA Brisbane Practice Principals)

*Reference: Efficacy of psychosocial interventions for Autism spectrum disorder: an umbrella review, Gosling, Cartigny et al (2022)

DATES TO REMEMBER

Moreton Kids Festival - Sunday 19th March (see our Community Connections page for more info)

Harmony Day - Tuesday 21 March

Easter school holidays - Saturday 1 April – Sunday 16 April (clinics open except for Public Holidays)

Good Friday - 7 April (clinics closed)

Easter Monday - 10 April (clinics closed)

Can't make an appointment?

We will use the time we have set aside for you to work on other therapy activities as discussed with you at the beginning of your therapy journey with us. The most successful, effective therapy programs, incorporate more than just weekly or fortnightly therapy appointments.

It's important and necessary that your therapist:

collaborates with your child's other health care professionals, educators and other care givers
clearly documents progress and reviews your treatment plan regularly
provides feedback, education and support to parents
creates therapy resources, therapy aids and other tailored materials to support therapy at home

We will always aim to optimise your funding, work within your budget, and continue to work conscientiously towards your child's therapy goals by providing these additional services. These services are invoiced as 'non face to face ' time and we will always convert your cancelled appointment to time dedicated to your child where it is clinically appropriate. Please talk to our client services team or your therapist if you have any questions about your child's therapy program.

New to ESA? Here's a bit more about us.....

At Early Start Australia (ESA) our therapists provide therapy to children and young adults with developmental delays including autism spectrum disorder. Our therapists focus on all important life skills such as language development, and development of motor, cognitive, social, play and emotional skills. We also offer assessment services to assist with NDIS access and reviews, and diagnosis of ASD, ADHD, learning disorders, speech/ language disorders, intellectual disability, and other diagnosable conditions.

We are a registered NDIS provider.

ESA now has six clinics in the Greater Brisbane region - all offering both in-clinic, mobile and telehealth services including Psychology, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Language Pathology.

Click the links below for services available at each clinic.

Upper Mount Gravatt (formerly Boost)

Carina (formerly Child Aware)

Toowong (formerly Synchrony)

Murarrie (formerly Gateway Therapies)

Strathpine

Springfield

We also have clinics located in the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, and all Australian states and territories if you need services further afield.

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Contact our Client Care Team on 1300 372 439 to make an appointment today.

Issue 3 · 13 Mar 2023

In this issue