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Support service expansion ready to deliver real benefits for northern Adelaide families

Announcement posted by Leverage PR 24 Jan 2017

Inclusive Directions opens new hub at Salisbury

Families living across Adelaide’s northern suburbs are set to be the big winners following news that Inclusive Directions has given the green light to establish a hub at Salisbury to deliver its successful range of quality programs for children with additional needs.

Inclusive Directions Chief Executive Officer, Ms Jocelyn Graham, said the exciting decision to open the Commercial Road office was in response to growing demand from northern suburbs’ families wanting access to programs developed from the latest disability and development education research.

“The Salisbury expansion is a logical next step for Inclusive Directions and is a significant milestone in our growth journey. Since opening a similar hub on Daws Road at St Marys in 2015 we have been continually approached by northern-based parents wanting local access to one of the few evidence-based early intervention programs in South Australia for their child,” Ms Graham said.

“While we already support several families from as far away as Gawler and beyond, we know that such a long drive can be disruptive and challenging for parents and children alike, so offering a hub at Salisbury means that children get the critical development support they need to thrive without the added transport trauma on families,” she said.

“We offer an extensive range of programs and support services from Salisbury, including our highly-successful Early Intervention Program, which has already assisted hundreds of South Australian children across the metropolitan Adelaide and regional areas with Autism Spectrum Disorder.”

In addition, the Park Terrace facility will also be home to a newly-created clinical services team, which brings together some of South Australia’s leading specialists in childhood development, assessment and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, learning difficulties, social, emotional and behavioural issues. 

“The Inclusive Directions Clinical Service operates under the guidance of Clinical Director and Speech Pathologist, Tanya O’Neil, who is joined by some of South Australia’s leading Clinical Psychologists,” Ms Graham said.

“The team can draw on their extensive knowledge to share the skills needed to manage challenging events and emotions so that children are not overwhelmed and can lead a meaningful life. They work with families to help them understand the young person and help with their emotional, behavioural and skill development,” she said. 

The announcement is welcome news for Athelstone mother Louisa Calabria, whose 3½ year old son Oliver attends the Salisbury hub for ABA and early intervention therapy twice weekly as well as an additional session at home.

“After he was diagnosed as being on the ASD spectrum, Oliver did a two-week intensive therapy and it was like something inside of him woke up. We have seen him finally start to say words, learn and develop as part of the Inclusive Directions program,” Louisa said.

“We continue to see improvements in Oliver. He now sits at the table to learn colours, numbers, use building blocks and a range of other teaching tools – which we then reinforce at home,” she said.

“We have a window in which we can ensure that Oscar gets early intervention support through ABA, and having the convenience of taking him to Salisbury really lessens the impact on the family and lets me do the school run for my other two boys and still help run the family business.” 

Ms Graham reinforced the need for a child living with autism to access enhanced professional early intervention support as soon as possible to assist their development. 

“Seeing a family unit work more effectively together, watching a child grow and thrive, empowering parents with the skills needed to improve everyone’s quality of life – they are some of the outcomes that makes what we do so very special,” she says.

“We are proud to have been part of the South Australian community for more than 30 years, and as demand grows we will continue to grow with it. Over time we can create additional local employment opportunities in response – so this is a win; win for local families and the local economy.”

More about Inclusive Directions can be found at http://www.directions.org.au

About Inclusive Directions

Inclusive Directions is a not-for-profit, independent organisation with a long history of promoting and supporting children’s inclusion across a range of settings including education, care and community. The organisation provides individual assistance to children, coaching for staff, and support to families to build their skills and networks. It advocates for and support, strong communities through programs, services and training.