Services
At Safer Spaces, all therapies are play based, strength informed and client led.
We accommodate sensory needs & movement needs during sessions. By working with the child in their environment, be that home, care, school, or any other known place to you, we make the most of using what you and your family are capable of, adapting how we work to support and supplement what is already working.
Coming to your space means we can understand what is important to you, how your life functions, what is working or not working about where you’re at, and most importantly, gives us the chance to support where implementation will happen. We firmly believe that if we can’t do what we’re recommending or implement what we suggest with you, in your space, we cannot expect that of you.
Therapy doesn’t need to occur seated. More often than not, it may occur walking around, bouncing around, jumping on a trampoline or balancing.
We have specialised skills in supporting children and young people with:
- Neurological, Cognitive and Intellectual Disabilities
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Attention Deficient Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)
- Dual diagnosis
- Trauma experiences
- Developmental delay
- Those needing early intervention support
POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY
It is a method of therapeutically working with an individual, family or care network to work toward overcoming and diminishing the impacts that the presenting behaviours of concern are having on an individual or family. This uses Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA), along
with strengths based approach and individually sculpted approaches to best suit and be taken on by both the client, and those supporting them.
Positive Behaviour Support seeks to identify what is impacting the quality of life of the individual or family, and then ask a simple question of –
- What other processes would work?
- What else could we work with this person on to the same end
- How can we use their abilities, strengths and natural supports best in this?
- What will that process be?
- How shall we, as practitioners, work to build, support, and implement this process in this scenario?
Finally we look to train and support the person’s whole system in this same idea, moving past the presenting problem or difficulty using what we or the individual
can do, not what hard headedly forcing progress in a manner that isn’t working for them.
Positive Behaviour Support involves finding ways to:
- Increase quality of life
- Minimise harmful or inappropriate behaviours of concern
- Meeting the child or young person in the environment where life is happening
- Education primary carers and other natural supports
- Understanding diagnosis, individual presentation, ability, and difficulty in each individual case
- Work on what to productively do with presenting unregulated emotion
- Understand what will work for the individual in social, public, private, or home contexts
- Support the person to do what they can do well, and through this make progress and learning towards goals and outcomes that are more challenging for them
- Support primary carers and educators to understand and cater toward these same abilities while working on their goals
- Working to get to a point where we are not needed as much, or at all, and to celebrate this moment each time!
Safer Spaces clinicians understand behaviours of concern and the vast impact they can have on individuals and their family’s quality of life.
Behaviours of concern are “escalated behaviours that can impact the wellbeing or physical safety of the child or people around them. This behaviour can disrupt
day-to-day life and activities. The behaviour may involve emotional outbursts, shouting or screaming, violent reactions, running away or loss of control” (Vic Gov 2023).
Our work with the child or young person will be aimed to decrease the intensity and regularity of behaviours of concern in their everyday life.
SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY
These therapies are play based, strength informed and client led.
Speech Language Pathology involves:
- informal and/or formal assessment in areas of needs
- Intervention in areas of need
- Caregiver support and coaching for carryover and generalisation of skills
- Support and coaching of classroom teachers and classroom staff
- Collaboration with other therapists in your care team to promote the client’s success