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Is your child with ASD moving on to

Secondary School next year?

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Planning

a Successful Transition to

SECONDARY SCHOOL

A workshop designed for the transition team (parents & teachers)to work

together to develop a shared understanding of the student and

discuss a transition plan that prepares for a positive start to secondary school

for the child, family and educators.

Tuesday 30th OCTOBER

Regional Office 109 Armstrong St

1.30 – 5.00

Contact Kris Schmidt for details

5337 8414 OR kks@netconnect.com.au

Newsletter AUGUST 2012

Hi Everyone

Term 3 has just started! Where has the

year gone!

I hope everyone who joined us at Gold

Rush Mini Golf enjoyed the afternoon! It

did appear that the cold weather didn’t

dampen anyone spirits. It is a great place

to go and work on our children’s social

skills, eg. the aspect of them possibly

losing a game, waiting, turn taking and

let’s not forget our motor skills.

The lovely people at Gold Rush Mini Golf

are so obliging, and the room was a great

space to eat, keep dry and warm.

BAN will hold something similar in the next

school holidays, as we did have a few

families let us know that holidays can be a

difficult time for their kids.

Parent Tips for TRANSITION

This newsletter I will revisit “ Starting

Secondary School”. It is a good idea if

your child is in Year 5/6 to start looking at

these strategies whilst still in the comfort

and support of the Primary School

environment. We can’t anticipate

everything that could be a trigger for a

meltdown, BUT being prepared as best we

can for these changes will help.

Our 14 year old son started Secondary

school in 2011 so I know first-hand how

unsettling it can be. He was over being at

Primary School but very apprehensive

about the change to High School.

These are some of the strategies that I

used to help our son with his transition.

Start preparing NOW

A SSG (Student Support Group) meeting

is a good start.

Plan with the teachers from both

the Primary and High School.

Write a profile about your child.

This helps teachers understand

YOUR child with ASD as they are

ALL different. Remember, having a

Student Profile on your child is like

having an action Plan for a child

who has Allergies or Asthma.

Teachers, aides and staff need to

know how to deal with your child

when they are about to become

distressed.

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You will receive a Transition

workbook that assists in building

your child’s profile when you attend

the Planning a Successful

Transition to Secondary School

workshop

CHANGES

Timetables – even Primary

Schools have classroom

timetables. Ask for a copy to be

placed on your child’s desk for a

reference to follow. Even the most

basic timetable can help to teach

them to read one

Map – of the new school to help

them to know their way around.

Make arrangements to visit the

new school, as often as it takes for

your child to feel reasonably

comfortable. (At least know where

to find toilets, office, library, and

safe quiet place.)

Most schools do have extra

orientation days that whoever

needs to can attend.

Go to the school at different times

of the day. There is a lot of noise

and traffic/crowds at bell times.

Lockers- it is always a good idea to

request that your child’s locker is

near a teacher’s staff room/office

or a quieter area.

ORGANISATION

Discuss with your child’s teacher

the importance of using these

methods for the rest of the year

and explain why.

Use folders with coloured

dividers with loose leaf paper.

Ask your child’s grade 6

teacher how they divide the

subjects.

This won’t take much for you

to set up and explain to your

child.

Have a pencil case with basic

writing

equipment.

You can find

these folders

at Big W and

Kmart. Get

your child

used to

using these so they will feel

confident before they start high

school.

IN THE HOLIDAYS REORGANISE THE

FOLDER TO SUIT SECONDARY

SCHOOL

TEXT BOOKS-

Colour code the

textbooks, novels

etc. the same colour

as the dividers for

the subject. Eg. If

the divider for maths

is red, get a red piece of paper and

use clear contact to stick it to the

spine of the maths textbook.

TIME TABLE- If a time table isn’t

available before the end of the

year, ask to have one emailed to

you in the holidays.

SCHOOL MAP- Colour code the

school map to the timetable by

room numbers.(not subject

colours)

Example of colour coded timetable

Period Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1 Maths Rm;7

English Rm;11

Maths Rm;8

Science Rm;3

Home Eco Rm;81 2 Japanese

Rm;1 Music M 82

VCD Rm74

RECESS

3 P.E Gym

Humanities Rm11

English/ Humanities Rm;11

P.E. Gym

Maths Rm;8

4 Maths Rm;2

LUNCH

5 English Rm; 11

Maths Rm4

Japanese Rm;11

VCD Rm;74

Maths Rm;2

6 Japanese Rm;1

Science Rm 4

Music Rm 82

Maths Rm;7

Music Rm 82

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Autism Spectrum Disorder: Planning a successful transition to PRIMARY school

Do you have a student with autism spectrum disorder enrolling in Prep class in 2013? A full day workshop designed for the transition team to work together to develop a shared understanding of the child and prepare a transition plan that prepares for a positive start to school for the child, family and educators.

PRESENTED BY:

Kris Schmidt (Visiting Teacher Autism-Grampians Region DEECD) and Jodie

Drummond (Preschool Field Officer, Pinarc)

Monday 22nd October from 9.30 – 3.00 at the Ballarat Regional Office

Contact for further information:

Kris: Schmidt.kristine.k@edumail.vic.gov.au

Jodie Drummond: jdrummond@pinarc.org.au

When I did this for Thomas, I used

highlighters and textas and just marked

over the room number on the time table

and the room number on the map. I then,

laminated them back to back, and put

them in the back of his organiser, or you

can put it in their folder.

Teachers are usually back a week or two

before the holidays finish. If your child

really needs to go over the school grounds

again, call the school and arrange a time

to look around again with their time table

and map.

One thing the Special Education Teacher

did say to me was, ‘When all else fails, tell

them to follow the rest of the class!’. As

long as they have one or two other kids to

follow they will be fine.

Whatever stage or year your child is in at

school, Pre-School to Prep or the

transition from Primary school to High

school, remember that we need to show

some empathy and understanding towards

each other when dealing with our children.

We all need to work together to do what is

best for our children.

If you have any queries about this

information contact - Tricia Murphy

triciamurphy@live.com.au

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Social event for the whole family

Friday 17th August 6-8 pm

903 Doveton St Cost: $10 per family

Nibbles provided, café open

RSVP to Kris 53412 768

Or Email - kks@netconnect.com.au

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Amaze Early Days workshops for those with children aged 0-6 yrs with a

diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The Early Days Workshops are for

parents and carers of pre-school children with an ASD, or who are currently

undergoing assessment for an ASD. Autism Victoria trading as Amaze has been

awarded the government contract to run these workshops in Victoria.

The Introductory Workshop covers:

Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders: what your child’s autism spectrum disorder

means for you and your family

You can make a difference: how the everyday things you do as a parent can make a

difference to your child’s development

Early Intervention: why it is important to support your child’s development as early as possible

Choosing interventions and therapies: how to get the most out of services for children with

autism spectrum disorder and make decisions about which interventions will best support

your child’s development

Early Days Workshops in Ballarat – 21st and 22nd September. To attend these

workshops contact the Early Days Facilitator at Amaze on 1300 307 909 for details.

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MAKING FRIENDS Group -

SCOPE is running a group for young children who are experiencing difficulties

with social skills. Small groups are scheduled for 90 minutes for 5 days over

the school holidays and conducted by a team of SCOPE early intervention

workers including Speech pathologist and Occupational Therapist. A cost

applies but you can use Better Start for children with a Disability or Helping

children with Autism funding.

Contact for further information – Danielle Walker o 5331 3599

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Medicare Benefits Scheme:

Chronic Disease Management Plan Previously Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) plan The Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Plan provides: • Five sessions with an Allied Health Professional per calendar year • $4,250 worth of dental treatment if the doctor writing the referral feels that the chronic condition (ASD) is causing the dental problems People with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are eligible for the CDM Plan because ASD is a Chronic Condition. The CDM Plan can be written by your GP and

people with ASDs are eligible for five sessions

every calendar year. Once the initial plan has

been made, the GP will not need to write a

new plan each year, but may review the plan.

Better Access to Mental Health Plan Also known as Mental Health Care Plan This plan provides: • Six sessions of individual therapy with a Psychologist, Occupational Therapist or Social Worker. An additional four sessions are available (a maximum of ten sessions per calendar year, although six more services may be provided under "exceptional circumstances" between 1 March and 31 December 2012). • 10 Group Sessions of therapy with a Psychologist, Occupational Therapist, or Social Worker.

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The Helping Children with Autism Access to Diagnosis and Treatment Plan This provides the following: • Four Appointments for Private Diagnosis referred by a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist to a Psychologist, Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Audiologist, Optometrist, Orthoptist or Physiotherapist. This is called the ‘Helping Children with Autism Increased Access To Diagnosis’ • 20 Sessions with a Psychologist, Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Audiologist, Optometrist, Orthoptist or Physiotherapist. This is called the’ Helping Children With Autism Treatment Plan’

Families have the option of using the

Medicare rebate system to help pay for

private assessments. The family’s

paediatrician or psychiatrist can diagnose the

child with autism, in collaboration with the

allied health professionals. The rebate allows

a total of four sessions with these

professionals (together not each). With a

diagnosis of a Pervasive Developmental

Disorder, the child will be eligible for 20

sessions of therapy with one of the above

listed allied health professionals.. These

rebates can only be used once in the child’s

life time, they must be written by their 13th

birthday, and used by their 15th birthday

Autism Spectrum Positive

Behaviour Victoria State Plan:

ASPECT Behaviour Support What is ASD Positive Behaviour Support

Victoria?

It is a FREE program to help support families

and Teachers with the tools to help

children/teens and young adult (6 to 25years)

with ASD, and their challenging behaviours.

This FREE program is a part of Autism State

Plan.

What does this FREE Program involve and

provide?

It involves intense BUT extremely helpful

workshops, to provide Parents with the skills to

help manage their child’s challenging

behaviours. The Parents are encouraged to

invite other professionals, involved in their

child’s development so ALL are going in the

same direction. EG; Parents can invite their

child’s teacher, aide, special education co-

ordinator, phycis, speech path etc, so the

same language is followed as far as the

behaviour management is concerned.

How will ASD Behaviour Management Plan

be rolled out?

This FREE Behaviour Management Plan will

be rolled out in partnership with Victorian State

Government, DHS Victoria and ASPECT

Australia. ASPECT is a N.S.W based entity

that has developed and run this highly

successful behaviour program in NSW, for

several years. So all the kinks will have been

ironed out!

There will be 3 levels involved in the roll out of

this FREE behaviour management program.

The first level will be for the

Parents/Professional workshop, opened to all

families, whom meet the criteria of having a

FORMAL diagnosis of ASD, and between the

ages of 6-25 years of age.

These workshops will be on a supply and

demand basis. Once you have registered on-

line, you will get into these workshop, although

there may be a wait.

Levels 2-3 are for more challenging

behaviours. They will be available on a case

by case basis for these families, but only after

the families have completed level 1.

You can register on line at for those

Registrations have not open as yet, BUT keep

checking the website to get some practice get

in and out of the site.

www.autismspectrum.org.au

Contact Aspect Victoria on 9377 6600 for

further inquiries.

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Useful Web sites

www.raisingchildren.net.au/autism

for parents of young children with

autism

www.autismtraining.com.au

Positive Partnerships National program

support for schools and parents

www.autismhelp.info Autism Help is an information site in question answer format for parents, teachers and other workers Also Google ACT-NOW project for great fact sheets from Monash Uni.

Ballarat Autism Network Committee –Raising awareness and promoting understanding in our

community about autism spectrum disorder- a voluntary group of parents who plan

events, autism information sessions & family activities

Meetings monthly on the 2nd Monday of the month at Eastwood Leisure Centre.

Interested parents are welcome to join anytime Contact Kris for future meeting date

s on 5341 2768 or email: kks@netconnect.com.au

The Pinarc Toy Library is closing but the Ballarat Autism Network library is still available

as our resources will remain at the Pinarc Resource Centre in King St Ballarat. FREE!

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Ballarat Autism Spectrum Disorder Support Group (BASDSG)

A support group for families who have a family member with an

autism spectrum disorder.

A great place to share information and new ideas for helping the

special person in your life.

Meets monthly on the 3rd Monday of the month

At: Eureka Family Resource Centre at 507 Humffray St Sth.

Time: 1-3pm

For more information contact Emma on 0417 136 517

ballaratasdsupportgroup@hotmail.com Also on facebook

Pinarc Parent Support Worker:

Melissa Delaland-Desfosses 5329 1361

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Bacchus Marsh Autism Awareness Group

Contact Deb Doyle on 5367 4460 or email:bmaa@iprimus.com.

____________________________________________________

Myrniong EMBRACE ASD –Parent support volunteer Amber Durante

Phone: 5368 7549 or Mobile: 0430 343 473

Email: adurante@bigpond.com

________________________________________________________ Teen League—Asperger social group—Pinarc Support Services Providing social and recreational activities

for children and teenagers aged between 8—

18 years with Asperger

Syndrome. Activities run

two times during the

school term.

Contact—Pinarc PH: 5329

1300 Email: admin@pinarc.org.au

Asperger Adults social group meet the first

Saturday of the month at Eureka Pizza Pasta

for lunch at 12.00– an informal social

gathering that welcomes all newcomers.

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Heroes HQ

A fabulous place full of comics,

clothing, collectables and other

cool stuff in Shepherd St

Ballarat. Check it out!

www.heroeshq.com.au