LOCAL LIFE

by Lorna Gordon

School is back and for a whole year of kids that means going to school for the first time . Some little ones find this transition much harder than others , especially those who are on the Autistic Spectrum or have Developmental Disabilities .

Fit Kidz Foundation is a not for profit organisation which focuses on providing early intervention for families with children who come under these categories and strives to make these transitions easier for everyone .

The foundation came about when early childhood educator Melissa Scaife and her husband Michael realised there was a need for extra assistance for children with additional needs . Expanding their childcare centres to include a place to support the children and families seemed like the ideal way to help and Fit Kidz Foundation came into being .

What makes Fit Kidz so appealing is its ethos of a holistic approach to helping families . They believe that quality is better than quantity of treatment and have speech pathologists , occupational therapists , and psychologists in one place .

Together the team plans the therapy each child receives , making for a more cohesive treatment plan for each child .

Ellen Witzperger , Service Director , explained why this approach gets quicker outcomes than taking children to individual therapists .

“ Sometimes I will meet a family who are doing 20 hours of therapy , but it ends up being a piecemeal approach and no cohesion . The parents are burnt out with the constant appointments and the kids are confused .”

“ With our approach , everyone is involved with the same goals and strategies for that family and the more we repeat the therapy the faster the children and families learn and we can close the gaps quicker .”

Not only do the team work together for the best outcome , they do much of their one to one sessions in the child ’ s home , making for a more relaxed environment and one that is a natural setting for that family .

“ Our approach is focused on the family . We go to their home , support the family unit and work on their everyday routines instead of being in a clinic . If the family have difficulty with bed time routines , then we are there to focus on that , if it ’ s hard to get out of the door in the mornings , then we look at working on morning routines ,” Ellen explained .

“ We are there to work with the child and to upskill the primary caregivers , working in the natural settings and routines , that ’ s what is giving the biggest impact .”

As well as having a different approach to most services , as a not for profit they heavily subsidise the treatment plans for families , making it a more affordable option for many .

They do this by fundraising throughout the year to raise money , but

Fit Kidz Foundation helps young children on the Autistic Spectrum or with Developmental Disabilities .

like many charities , COVID-19 has hit them hard with their big fundraisers having been cancelled over the last couple of years .

Funding isn ’ t the only thing to have been impacted recently , the shortage of therapists means that they can ’ t grow as fast as they would like and they are looking for more people to join their team . As Ellen pointed out , the more staff they have , the more families they can help !

If you are interested in finding out more about Fit Kidz Foundation , either as a parent or a therapists , you can find them at www . fitkidzfoundation . org . au .

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THE HILLS INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 80 // FEBRUARY 2022 11