Our Little Ones Playgroup provides families with a “soft place to land”

The program provides families with a soft entry to supports at a time when they are often feeling overwhelmed having recently found out that their baby or toddler has a disability or developmental delay.  This can be a point in time where hope has been taken away and the focus of the family can be that of grief and loss. Thoughts of “what could have been” and the dreams they had for their child all of a sudden seem unachievable. It can be incredibly isolating, and it is at this time that the Little Ones early intervention group is paramount in supporting parents.

The role of a parent of a child with a disability particularly a baby aged 0-4years is unrelenting and intense. The pressure to learn about a whole new world of their child’s disability, and navigate an unknown world of disability supports and services, whilst dealing with feelings of guilt and inadequacies can be overwhelming.

Very supportive, my child is definitely making progress

 

The Little Ones program is facilitated by  specialist Early Childhood Intervention Educators and provides:

• Play-based early intervention 2 hours per week during school terms
• Critical Information/support for families
• An individual family service plan formulated collaboratively with the family
• Individual support to parent/carers to discuss family strengths, needs, goals, objectives and strategies for their child.

Direct benefits of the Little Ones program include:

• A closer relationship between caregivers and their child
• A greater understanding of their child's disability and how to access and provide support to reach milestones
• Increased parent and family resilience
• Increased parent confidence in dealing with their child's learning difficulties
• Increased wellbeing of child and parent and social connectedness

Early childhood is a time of remarkable brain development where learning and development are most rapid. Future development is based on the child's learning during these early years. Providing quality early childhood intervention early in a baby/toddler’s life supports them to develop the skills they need to take part in everyday activities, be included in their family and community life, and reduce the number of supports needed in later life.

Program Details:

It is open to families with children 0-4 years with concerns about their development. This playgroup is facilitated by Specialist Educators.

Newcastle based playgroup:

Venue: Scots Kirk Church (Corner of Tudor Street and Murray Street, HAMILTON NSW)

Day/Time: Friday mornings from 9:30 am to 11:30 am during school terms.

Raymond Terraced based playgroup:

Venue: Raymond Terrace Community Church - 10 Richardson Road, Raymond Terrace

Day/Time: Thursday mornings from 9:30 am to 11:30 am during school terms.