ParentWise

Kate Strohm, founder of Siblings Australia, talks about the positive impact siblings can have on the wellbeing of a child with disability.

Angela Dew discusses the transition of care from ageing parents to siblings, for people with cerebral palsy 40 years and over.

For some children and adults with cerebral palsy, controlling saliva can be very difficult. In this podcast, speech pathologist, Leigha Dark, discusses why saliva is important for digestion and oral health and explores some of the treatments available to assist with managing problems with saliva in children with cerebral palsy.

The act of making sounds or speech is something most of us take for granted, yet 60% of children with cerebral palsy have some type of speech or articulation difficulty. In this podcast, speech pathologist, Leigha Dark, explores some of the problems that can arise with articulation for children with cerebral palsy and suggests some strategies for parents to help their child improve the way that they speak and produce sounds

Learning to communicate with others, and ensuring that you’re understood, is a vital part of any child’s early development. In this podcast, speech pathologist, Alana Bain, explains how children develop language, what’s different about that process for children with cerebral palsy and what parents can do to help their children develop language skills effectively.

Literacy, or the ability to read and write letters and text, is an important set of skills for your child to develop. However some research suggests that children with cerebral palsy - who may be non-verbal or who use augmentative or alternative communication (also known as AAC) - may experience delays with their literacy development. Can parents predict that their child will have difficulty with literacy? What can parents do to support their child to read and write if they do struggle with literacy? Speech Pathologist, Alana Bain, discusses these and other question in this podcast about literacy and children with cerebral palsy.

Marelle Thornton AM is President of The Spastic Centre of New South Wales and the mother of an adult daughter with cerebral palsy. In this podcast, Marelle shares a thinking tool called ‘The Six Hats,’ which she has found invaluable for dealing with life as a parent of a child with a disability. Devised by Dr Edward de Bono, and discussed at length in his book, ‘Six Thinking Hats’, the tool gives us six different ways to think about thinking and, in this case, to think about disability.

Inclusion is about taking part in social, cultural, educational and sporting activities, regardless of our background or ability. As recreation therapist Jessica Tarr explains in this podcast, for children with a disability inclusion is about much more than just building ramps for access. Drawing on her experience of helping kids with a disability to achieve their recreational and sporting goals, Jessica reflects on the most effective ways to overcome barriers to inclusion. 0:00:58 What is inclusion? 0:02:59 Truly inclusive environments 0:06:30 Getting started with inclusion

In this podcast, youth worker Peter Horsley shares his insights about how parents can help their teenagers disabilities develop an all-important sense of belonging. 0:00:32 The teenage years 0:02:19 Healthy friendships and relationships 0:06:01 Giving your teenager space

In this podcast, occupational therapist and seating consultant, Natalie Carden, explains the benefits of powered mobility for children with a disability and gives you some hints about how to investigate powered mobility options for your child. 0:00:39 What is powered mobility? 0:02:35 Powered mobility benefits 0:06:24 Accessing powered mobility 0:10:07 Starting out with powered mobility

In this podcast, Melissa Perrett who is the Health Manager of a large disability service, explains the various medical conditions that can be associated with cerebral palsy and some of the strategies that can be used to manage them. 0:00:36 Epilepsy, reflux 0:04:12 Chest infections, advice from a dietician, swallowing problems 0:05:53 Osteoporosis, pressure sores 0:08:08 Constipation, continence problems, spinal cord compression 0:11:34 Vision and hearing problems, chronic pain

In the last of four podcasts about behaviour management, Jenny Griffiths discusses how you can help your child to learn new skills and behaviours and what you can do to manage challenging situations when they arise. 0:00:37 Rewarding positive behaviour 0:01:20 Teaching your child functional communication skills 0:03.44 Managing challenging situations

Speech pathologist, Anna Bech, explains the benefits of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) - the use of gestures, facial expression, body language, signing, photos, picture symbols and voice output technology to communicate. 0:00:42 What is AAC? 0:07:36 Does your child need AAC? 0:11.56 Implementing AAC

In the first of four podcasts, social work consultant Jenny Griffiths, talks about the often challenging topic of behaviour management and how it can be implemented successfully with your child. In Part One, Jenny explains what behaviour management is and the factors that need to be considered when working with a child who displays challenging behaviours. 0:00:45 What is challenging behaviour? 0:01:32 Types of challenging behaviour 0:03:34 Recent study findings

In the second of four podcasts, social work consultant Jenny Griffiths explains the role of parent and child related triggers in managing challenging behaviour. 0:00:33 Understanding triggers 0:01:39 Common triggers 0:03:29 Parent-related triggers.

In the third of four podcasts, social work consultant Jenny Griffiths looks at how you can successfully set goals and plan ahead to manage your child’s challenging behaviour. 0:00.32 Setting goals to manage your child's challenging behaviour 0:03.43 Goals for your own behaviour

In Part Two of the resilience podcasts, social work consultant Jenny Griffiths explains how problem solving can be a powerful tool for building your child’s confidence to cope in stressful situations. 0:00:38 Facing future challenges 0:01:40 You are the most important role model 0:02:32 Effective problem solving steps

How can relaxation and helpful thinking build your child’s resilience? This is the question that social work consultant Jenny Griffiths addresses in the final part of our resilience podcasts. 0:00:35 Relaxation and helpful thinking 0:01.03 Role modelling relaxation 0:02.25 Positive thinking and self-talk

Social worker Kate Hooke shares her experience about how to best handle your child’s growing awareness of their disability. 0:00:29 Questions about disability 0:02:26 Giving accurate information 0:04:32 Be prepared

Jaye Chadwick shares her insights about what she, her husband and her family have experienced and learned about being a brother or sister to someone with a disability. 0:00:43 Kate's disability 0:03:34 Relationships with other siblings 0:05:54 Giving siblings time and attention

Social work consultant Jenny Griffiths will share her insights about why it’s so important to help kids with a disability to develop their ability to ‘bounce back’ or become more resilient in stressful situations. You’ll also learn how you can help your child to build these skills. This is the first part of a three part podcast about resilience. 0:00:43 Building resilience 0:01:43 Facing and overcoming challenges 0:03:28 How you can help

They’re the days we’d rather not have, but, at one time or another, all parents of a child with a disability have experienced what social work consultant Kate Hooke calls The Black Days. In this podcast, Kate looks at how parents can make those dark days more bearable.

Jaye Chadwick, physiotherapist and Mum of Kate who has cerebral palsy, talks about the benefits of respite for both children with a disability and their families. Respite is where your child is looked after by a trusted individual, for a few hours, overnight or for longer. It may be in your home or at a special respite centre. Respite is designed to give you a break and offers your child to participate in fun activities and meet new people. 0:00:54 The benefits of respite 0:03:28 Attending regular respite

Eating and socializing together is important for people in all cultures. Sometimes, chewing and swallowing can be hard for children with cerebral palsy. At some point, non-oral ways of feeding might be suggested by your child’s therapist, doctor or dietitian. Parents will often have different thoughts and feelings about this option and may find it a challenging decision to make. In this podcast, consultant speech pathologist, Leigha Dark, explains the various tube feeding options with some tips to help guide you when making the decision. 0:00:59 Non-oral feeding 0:02:45 Types of tube feeding 0:02:25 Interdisciplinary health team

Social work consultant, Natalie Morton, discusses the impact that having a child with a disability can have on parents’ relationships and talks about what people can do to ensure they can maintain strong, healthy and communicative relationships. 0:00:38 Stress and relationships 0:04:36 Communication styles 0:10:04 Approaches to conflict 0:13.57 Working on cracks in your relationships

If you have a child with a disability and have been struggling to find some ‘me time’ lately, this podcast is for you. Paul Mavromatis identifies some strategies shared by members of parent groups about how they find time to meet their own needs. He’ll also discuss the implications of not giving yourself a break and explores the many benefits that come when you do. 0:00:45 Views from parents 0:02:13 The impact of chronic stress 0:04:12 Creating ME time

Speech pathologist, Sudi Veerabangsa, takes us through the types of mealtime difficulties that people with a disability may experience, explains what dysphagia is and outlines some of the most important elements for making mealtimes more enjoyable for everyone. 0:00:55 Creating a safe and enjoyable mealtime 0:03:02 Swallowing 0:04:06 Dysphagia

In Part 2 of this podcast, speech pathologist, Sudi Veerabangsa, explains some of the ways parents can assist children who have eating difficulties. 0:00:47 Assisting someone to eat, correct positioning 0:00:50 Oral hygiene 0:05.42 Length of mealtimes 0:06.42 Developing a mealtime plan

Liz Foy, who has many years of experience working with families who have a child with a disability, talks about how parents of newly-diagnosed children with a disability can build a strong and effective networks of support with family and friends. 0:00:37 The initial shock of diagnosis 0:02:00 Telling others about the diagnosis 0:05:14 Getting support from health professionals

Finding out that your child has a disability is one of the most stressful and traumatic situations that a parent has to face. In this podcast, psychologist Joan Bratel shares some ideas about how parents can most effectively get good outcomes for their child when working with professionals. 0:00.38 If you could paint a picture 0:01:42 Preparing for a meeting 0:03:57 Small, manageable steps

Over the years, Paul Mavromatis has worked with many families who have a child with a disability. Here, he draws on his experience in facilitating parent support groups to explain the benefits of joining these groups and what parents can expect from being part of them. 0:00:37 What do support groups offer? 0:02:14 Formal support groups aren't for everyone 0:03.13 An ideal group

This podcast is for parents whose child has just been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, or for grandparents whose grandchild has been diagnosed. Robyn Cummins gives a basic explanation of cerebral palsy, the different types and parts of the body affected, what is known about its causes, and the physical and cognitive conditions that are associated with it. The podcast also shares insights and tips from other parents. 0:00:11 Introduction 0:01:57 What is cerebral palsy? 0:03.48 Types of cerebral palsy 0:05.34 Parts of the body affected 0:06.14 What causes cerebral palsy? 0:07.42 Issues associated with cerebral palsy 0:10.36 Conclusion