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PROFESSIONAL, approachable and down-to-earth is how local mum, Tabitha Thompson describes the team at Noah’s Ark Geelong. For more than 45 years, Noah’s Ark has provided therapy and education for children with a disability or additional needs. Their specialists have backgrounds in speech pathology, occupational therapy, education, physiotherapy, psychology and social work and are known as key workers. By having their own key worker, families can build a strong, consistent and trusting relationship with one person, allowing the key worker to understand the family and how best to support them. Tabitha and four-year-old daughter, Ruby, who has autism spectrum disorder and complex needs, have worked with their key worker Michelle Scott on a fortnightly basis since May 2015. The family’s greatest challenge has been trying to get Ruby to eat and sleep appropriately. From her first meeting with Michelle and team leader Silvana Bongiovanni, Tabitha says she could see that they really cared about Ruby and their family. “Through Noah’s Ark, we hoped to learn more about Ruby and how to best cater for her needs. We wanted to work with an organisation who understood the value of early intervention and who could offer this support to Ruby,” she says. “My experience with Noah’s Ark has been absolutely wonderful. Every single member of staff I have spoken to has met my expectations and beyond. There have been times when things have become incredibly difficult and I’ve just needed some advice. All I’ve had to do is pick up the phone. For less urgent issues, I know I can always email Michelle as well. The staff are completely flexible and fit well with our busy family, “What Noah’s Ark gets right is the fact they’re not only experts in their field, they also listen. They genuinely care and want to support us wholeheartedly and that makes all the difference.” Noah’s Ark are here to help, Free Call 1800 819 140 or visit www.noahsarkinc.org.au/learning-and -therapy
Tabitha Thompson and daughter Ruby, 4.
Fun way to
learning HELLO everyone, hello everyone! How are you today? This song has been greeting babies, toddlers and big four to five-year-olds and their parents at every Gymbaroo class for over 35 years. Babies as young as two begin, and a lot of them continue the Gymbaroo journey until they start school. Why? Because they love it and their parents understand the value of the program. Some of the families have been with Gymbaroo for two generations! Anything and everything from tummy time to counting finger games – Gymbaroo got it covered! Music, dancing, rhyming, exercises, ball skills, balance, co-ordination – the team work on all of these and more. A lot has been researched and said about the importance of the early years and especially the first two years of a child’s life. All the foundations for future skills are laid at that time. It is not how quickly your child starts walking and kicking a ball, but how well they master all the developmental milestones to lead to that skill and make use of it successfully. Parents also get a lot of ideas about age appropriate activities for each level and the team make sure that the children get the best benefit out of the program. The best thing about Gymbaroo is that its original idea has been to this day to prevent learning difficulties at school. It had been proven that with time it works. So, look no further. Gymbaroo is an all-rounder program that both you and your child will greatly enjoy and appreciate for years to come!
Kids have a ball of time at Gymbaroo. 22 AUTUMN 2017
www.geelongcoastkids.com.au