Early Childhood Supports
Key Worker
Early Childhood Supports
What is Key Worker Early Childhood Supports?
Our Key Worker Early Childhood Supports provides a holistic approach to supporting children and families to achieve their potential.
We know that families are busy and that it can be overwhelming to have lots of therapy and medical appointments. We aim to simplify this, by providing you with the right support at the right time.
Our Key Workers will use their expertise in childhood development to help you develop goals for your child and coordinate with other members of the therapy team. Your therapy team may include occupational therapists, speech pathologists, positive behaviour support practitioners, psychologists, dietitians, early childhood teachers, special education teachers and social workers.
We know children learn best in their everyday environments. So where we can, we will work with your child in their home, the community, or their learning environment. There are times when a clinic environment, without distractions, is the best place so we also have paediatric rooms at our ORS offices.
Daxton's Story
Discover the heartwarming journey of Dax and his mum, Sasha, as they find the right support team at ORS. Dax, a lively and energetic child, struggled with forming emotional connections and had limited speech. But everything changed when they met Lea, an experienced Key Worker and Senior Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner.
Video Transcript
Sasha (Participant): Hi, I'm Sasha and I'm Daxton's mum. Dax is a funny, chaotic little boy. He loves to run — he never stops — he’s always on the go, there’s never a dull moment with him. We first noticed Dax needed extra support once he went to daycare. He has a lot of sensory issues; he doesn’t like loud noises or things that startle him. When we really saw him with other kids, he seemed very different to a lot of the kids in his class.
Lea McManus (Team Leader – Early Childhood Support / Senior Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner): When Dax first came to ORS, the situation for the family was dire, especially for mum Sasha. She was receiving a lot of negative behaviours from Dax, they couldn’t take him places, and they needed a lot of help.
Sasha: The process to find the right support for Dax was quite difficult. Even getting on a waitlist for some places so he could be seen was really hard. And Dax sometimes makes it hard to find an emotional connection with a person. We actually saw a few different therapists before we found the right one for him.
Lea McManus: The number one goal was communication, as Dax was non-speaking. The family’s goal was to give him communication skills — using sign language and verbalising. He’s now learning to do both, and that’s going really, really well.
Sasha: We’ve noticed a massive change — especially his speech. He used to say only a handful of words; now he tries to talk in sentences and keeps trying until he gets his point across. We’ve noticed a lot of positivity.
Lea McManus: I’m most proud of helping Dax gain independence. He can now communicate his needs and seek support from adults, including educators at childcare. That’s been life-changing for him, and it’s also helped the educators provide the best support they can.
Sasha: My advice to people looking for the right help is: don’t give up. Keep pushing and keep trying to find the right support, because once you find it, it’s really good.
Services available
Capacity building assessment, ongoing intervention to build functional independence and social participation and report
If you are unsure what services you need to help achieve your child and family’s goals or if your child needs the involvement of multiple services, Key Worker support will ensure you get the right support at the right time.
The Key Worker approach is best practice when supporting young children and families. Your Key Worker engages in collaborative goal-setting with the team around your child to develop their support plan. This team may include your allied health providers, parents, guardians, teachers, support workers and other family members.
This model focuses on developing the skills and capacity of everyone on the team. We have regular meetings as a team to ensure we are focused on your priorities and that we are seeing progress on your goals. Your team will consider the goals that are a priority for your child and family and who is best placed to support them.
Capacity building assessment, ongoing intervention to build functional independence and social participation and report
If you are unsure what services you need to help achieve your child and family’s goals or if your child needs the involvement of multiple services, Key Worker Support will ensure you get the right support at the right time.
The Key Worker approach is best practice when supporting young children and families. Your Key Worker engages in collaborative goal-setting with the team around your child to develop their support plan. This team may include your allied health providers, parents, guardians, teachers, support workers and other family members.
This model focuses on developing the skills and capacity of everyone on the team. We have regular meetings as a team to ensure we are focused on your priorities and that we are seeing progress on your goals. Your team will consider the goals that are a priority for your child and family and who is best placed to support them.
Recommendation Letter to inform NDIS Plan Review
Recommendation Letter to inform NDIS Plan Review
How are these services funded and accessed?
A range of funding options are available for our Early Childhood Support services.
The funding types and NDIS support categories that may cover these services include:
- Improved Daily Living: Early Childhood Supports
- Privately paid
Early Childhood Support services can be provided in person or via Telehealth for certain services across Australia.
Key Worker for your first appointment.
Looking for individual therapies?
Would you like your team to work as a multidisciplinary team? ORS offers a wide range of allied health services to support your needs.
Positive Behaviour Support
Occupational Therapy
Psychological Assessments
Speech Pathology
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Key Worker Support and multidisciplinary care?
Your Key Worker has a more holistic view of your child and family which allows them to work with you to set priorities for therapy and coordinate which therapists will support you in achieving these. Collaboration, consultation and communication of the therapy team are central to this model. Whereas in a multidisciplinary team, you may have up to 6 therapists supporting you and your child at any one time. The team will catch up periodically to share their therapy goals and plans. When there are a lot of therapies involved, this can be overwhelming to coordinate sessions and keep up with all the goals and home practice.
Do Early Childhood supports work with my existing supports e.g. allied health, support workers?
Yes, we work with existing supports across different environments including the home, education and activities in the community. With your consent, your support network can be included in developing and reviewing your Early Childhood Support Plan.
In what areas can your service help achieve goals?
We can support goals across a wide range of areas including communication, play, mobility, feeding, self-care activities, sensory processing, relationships with peers, feelings and behaviors, problem-solving and learning, and transition to school.
Where will I receive my service?
Early Childhood Support services can be provided in community settings such as a school or early education, at home, or at an ORS Office, depending on your preference.
How does your service aim to simplify therapy for users?
We aim to simplify therapy by providing the right support at the right time. This is facilitated through the use of a Key Worker, also known as a Lead Practitioner, so you are supported by a team but have a single point of contact.
How can I work as a Key Worker at ORS?
We would love to talk to you about your career and how we can support you.
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