Rhett Burnie
A GROUP of parents whose children are living with disabilities in the Mitchell Shire say they are concerned the development of their youngsters is being hindered by a lack of early intervention services in the region.
Linda Kennedy, Christie Wilkins, Sarah Pyle and Catherine Bradshaw are lobbying the State Government to open a centre that would provide weekly speech, physio and occupational therapies as well as an educational adviser to disabled children.
Ms Bradshaw’s daughter Kirsten is almost four years old and has cerebral palsy, she is profoundly deaf but only began receiving speech therapy within the Mitchell Shire just two weeks ago after a lengthy stay on a waiting list.
Kirsten also receives occupation therapy at home, but only for one hour per month.
“There just doesn’t seem to be enough services here,” Ms Bradshaw said.
Ms Bradshaw said the lack of services meant she is forced to drive a three-hour roundtrip to an early childhood intervention centre in Glen Waverley at least twice each week.
There, Kirsten takes part in communication lessons, physio, occupational and speech therapies.
Ms Bradshaw said if a similar centre were opened in the Mitchell Shire, life for disabled children and their families would be a lot easier.
“Having everything in the one place works well,” she said.
Ms Bradshaw said the amount of travel time required meant she was often away from home and not able to spend much time with her older child Charlotte.
“Charlotte is older and goes to school and I’m lucky that I have family and friends that can help me out by looking after her and picking her from school,” she said.
Ms Bradshaw said her and her partner had even discussed relocating closer to Melbourne but they would not have the support of family and friends if they were to do so.
“We’ve got a good support network here, we wouldn’t have that down there,” she said.
Tallarook resident, Linda Kennedy agrees with Ms Bradshaw.
Mrs Kennedy’s son Daniel, 4, has Down Syndrome and also requires speech and occupational therapy.
She said a central access point that provides early childhood intervention services within the shire was “a need, not a want.”
“We’re not saying that we don’t appreciate the help we are getting, we are just saying it is simply not enough,” Mrs Kennedy said.
She said Daniel only receives 30 minutes of speech therapy each fortnight and just one hour of occupational therapy per month.
“These kids need intensity when it comes to learning, they need it more,” Mrs Kennedy said.
“That’s why we need a centre.”
Mrs Kennedy describes the prospect of an early intervention centre being opened in the Mitchell Shire as her “ultimate dream.”
“I would like to be able to take Daniel to a local centre twice a week – that would be my ultimate,” she said.
She said too many local children with disabilities were missing out on the benefits of early childhood intervention centres, because their parents simply could not travel to Melbourne on a regular basis.
“It would make sense to put all the therapists in one place and have the parents take their children there, rather than having the workers driving from place to place to see children,” she said.
“It would save them time that could be used holding more intensive services,” Mrs Kennedy said.
Mrs Kennedy and Ms Bradshaw said they had contacted Member for Seymour Ben Hardman and Member for Northern Country region Donna Petrovich to raise their concerns.
They said both had been supportive of their ideas but more action needed to be taken.
Mr Hardman said he has, and will continue to make representations to the Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development, Maxine Morand to work on improving services available to residents in the Mitchell Shire.
“I would like to see services boosted for children with disabilities,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education, which is responsible for providing early intervention services for children with disabilities, said numerous services are available in the region.
And while she said the State Government would invest $2.8 million in early childhood intervention service delivery across the Hume region in 2010-11, she made no mention of any plans to open an early intervention centre in the Mitchell Shire.
“In the Mitchell Shire, children with special needs and their families are supported through a range of measures, including access to maternal and child health services and programs delivered through local government, early years development advisers in kindergartens, the Lower Hume Parent Support Group and a range of therapy programs provided by Early Childhood Intervention Services that are funded by the Department,” she said.
Meanwhile, the group of parents said they will continue to lobby for a centre and urge other parents and carers to join them by contacting Mrs Kennedy via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
