Early Childhood Support

EARLY CHILDHOOD & FAMILY CENTERED SUPPORT

Early Childhood & Family Centered Support is for children aged under 7 with developmental delay or autism, and other additional needs.

At ABLE-i, our Early Childhood & Family Centered Support is delivered by an early childhood specialist using the Key Worker model.

The NDIS considers the Key Worker Model to be the best practice in the ‘Early Childhood Approach’. The Key Worker model can significantly reduce parental stress by ensuring consistency through a single point of contact, with services to support them to get what they need.
For more information click HERE.

ABLE-i embraces the child and family centered approach to therapy and together with best practices in early childhood intervention, deliver our early childhood supports.

Children and their families are at the center of everything our Early Childhood Key Workers do

Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) Key Workers at ABLE-i

Our ECI Key Workers are experienced early childhood teachers, specialist education teachers, social workers or allied health professionals. They draw on their expertise, knowledge, and skills they have gained over many years working within the disability and or education sector to help children and their family to build their capacity and improve opportunities.

They focus on supporting families and helping children to achieve their NDIS goals and reach their full potential. They prioritise working with children and their families in their ‘natural’ setting, (their home, childcare or education setting and or local community) to help them develop and learn new skills in environments that are most relevant and meaningful.

Together with families, the ECI Key Worker will:- Work with you to identify and prioritise your child’s goals.
- Make a plan to address a child’s unique developmental needs.
- Implement strategies to assist in meeting your child’s goals.
- Help you to identify the supports or therapies needed.
- Collaborate with other therapists and professionals.
- Share information and advice to assist you and your family to navigate services, and access support throughout the NDIS journey.
- Assist with school readiness and transition.

We are committed to ensuring your child has opportunities for growth and tailor programs to address their individual needs.

FAMILY SERVICE SUPPORT PLAN (FSSP)

The ECI Key Worker works with families to develop personalised treatment plans that are tailored to your child’s specific needs and NDIS goals. We call this our Family Service Support Plan (FSSP).
The ECI key worker will spend the first few weeks gathering information about your child, their routines, and daily life. They may arrange for formalised assessments to gain a more in-depth understanding of your child’s development and individual needs. This information will help formulate the Family Services Support Plan.

The ECI Key Worker may recommend and invite other professionals your child may need to further help them to achieve their goals and coordinate the care team.
We arrange care team meetings so that the child’s entire support network works collaboratively for the best interests of the child and family.

The ECI Key Worker can deliver a wide range of therapies relating to a child’s developmental needs in the following 5 key areas

Self-care skills

Important for child’s independence, routines, eating, sleeping, bathing, toilet training and more.

Physical development

Important for a child’s fine motor skills, (play, eating, writing, and self-help skills like dressing, drawing, and toileting) and gross motor skills (balance, coordination; like sitting, crawling, walking, running, jumping, climbing)

Cognitive Development

A children’s thinking and learning skills.

Behavioural Development

Important for social and emotional development, ability to regulate emotions and how it’s affected by physical and cognitive development, supporting the child to develop positive relationships, coping strategies, and develop positive behaviour strategies, social and other skills.

Speech & Language Development

Important for a child’s expressive and receptive language skills (following / listening to instructions, developing verbal and non-verbal communication skills and more).

FAMILY SUPPORT

At ABLE-i the ECI Key Workers work with and support the child’s family. They do this by making referrals to external providers that hold more specialised expertise, such as a Pediatrician or Psychologist who can assist with diagnoses and assessments. They can assist you to better understand the NDIS processes, help you to get the most from the plan and support you through preparing and or requesting a plan review.
We may, through consultation with families or individual family members, make referrals to other services to further support the family if required. Such as other family services within the community for families at risk of family violence or homelessness.

Please complete our referral form for Early Childhood Intervention

Therapy Assistant

A therapy assistant is usually someone who is studying in the field of allied health or has completed related certificates and or has had extensive experience.

The role of Therapy Assistant can vary depending on the specific area of practice.

Therapy Assistant, work under the guidance of your ECI Key Worker or Allied Health Professionals (Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, and Speech Therapists), following their treatment plan to provide support and increasing the opportunities to practice skills between therapy sessions and improving goal outcomes.

Therapy Assistants receive ongoing training and supervision from our Allied Health Professionals to ensure that the work they perform is of a high standard and adheres to professional guidelines.

Using a therapy assistant allows you to get the most from your NDIS budget and enables you to practice skills more frequently at a lower cost.

Please complete our referral form for Therapy Assistant.

SUPPORT COORDINATION

Our Support Coordinators at ABLE-i can work with all ages and have specific expertise coordinating and understanding the needs of children.  They have a detailed understanding of NDIS planning and process, rules, and reporting requirements. They use their breadth of skills to develop contacts and knowledge about different ways to support your individual needs and preferences. This includes opportunities for accessing government, community, mainstream, and disability specific supports, and addressing any barriers.

They work with you one-on-one to support you and build your capability to

Understand and use your NDIS plan to pursue your goals

Connect with NDIS support providers, community representatives, and other services you need.

Build confidence and skills to use and coordinate your supports.

Understand and keep track of your NDIS plan budget.

Please complete our referral form for support coordination.

SUPPORT WORKER PEER MENTOR

At ABLE-i we provide active one-on-one support in your home for daily living activities you need assistance with and or assist you to access your community.

We try our best to match you with a support worker / Peer Mentor who will best suit your needs so that you can keep or develop your independence and easily reach your goals in the most comfortable and inclusive way.

At the first visit or initial meeting the support worker may ask you about you and your needs, interests and discuss with you how they can best provide you with the support you require.

If you want to meet the support worker first, we can arrange a 15-minute complementary meet and greet, usually offered over a video call platform.

If at any time you feel that the support worker, we have connected you with is not the right fit for you just let us know and we will try our best to find you someone who can accommodate your needs.

Please complete our referral form if you would like to find a support worker.

Skill Development Programs

Group Programs
School Holiday Inclusive Activities Program
Parent Programs & Support

More information coming soon

GROUP PROGRAMS

ABLE-i House – Avondale Heights

School Readiness Program

Play Therapy

Social & Life Skills program

Our Group Programs are designed to provide extra guidance and support needed to help with transition, accessing the community including school communities, improving social abilities, building relationships and increase confidence and independence.

Our Groups include all associated costs and, if specified, transport from your residence. We run the social skills groups at our ABLE-i House – Avondale Heights.

For more information or expression of interest about any of our groups or life skills programs please complete our referral form.

School Holiday Inclusive Activity Programs

Our school holiday program is designed to meet your child’s specific needs. We provide both one-on-one and small group activities. Our inclusive activity program takes place during the school holidays in Victoria.
If you're interested, we invite you to contact us soon, as spaces are limited.

For dates and details about the upcoming school holiday period, please visit HERE.

Short Term Accommodation (STA)

If you're seeking short or medium-term support, we can offer you short-stay respite options in our ABLE-i House in Avondale Heights and soon to be opened 2024 in our ABLE-i Portarlington House on the Bellarine. If these 2 options do not suit your needs, we can discuss other arrangements with you to fit your individual needs.

Short-term Accommodation (STA) allows time for families to take a break from their caregiving role; to renew their energy, relieve stress, and to do something special for yourself.

Please contact us for more information or expressions of interest.

More information coming soon

Parent Programs and Support

Here at ABLE-i we may periodically facilitate parent / carer get togethers where we can answer your questions or provide information that you want to know.

Let us know what is important for you to know or what you want to learn more about, and we will contact you when we next have a parent get together.

Respite Care
Whether you need an afternoon off or a longer break, we can look after your loved ones.

For further information regarding support for carers please head to the Victorian Government carer support services.