Bailey and Everyday Independence transcript
Ainsley: Hello, I'm Ainsley Douglas, and I'm a 24 year old stay at home mum to Bailey who's six and currently is in year one at school. Bailey is very energetic and loving. He is very social, very out there, has no filter – will tell you exactly how it is. So some of the challenges I was facing with Bailey is mainly his behaviour, his meltdowns, just running off from me. I started seeing those behaviours about (the age of) three just constantly not listening. Before Bailey was diagnosed, it was very, I didn't know what to do. We didn't understand why he was having all these meltdowns and why we couldn't understand him with his speech, it made me feel defeated, like I couldn't do anything about it, didn't know what to do about it or get support from.
Keren: My name is Karen. I'm an early childhood intervention key worker with Everyday Independence and also a therapy mentor. An early childhood key worker supports families holistically, so we work with the child and family and all of their wider supports, whether it be childcare, kindergarten, school. We support the child and family in any setting where they're experiencing challenges, anything where the family needs some support to help build up the child's independence and participation in the community, we're able to support them there. My first impression of Bailey was that he was a ball of energy. At the moment we've got a team approach with Bailey's therapy as myself as key worker is supporting his attendance at school and attending meetings with mum to support her in the capacity building role. We also have a physiotherapist and OT who are working with Bailey to support the development of his gross, fine, and core motor skills, and we also have a speech pathologist involved to support his social communication and articulation.
Ainsley: The benefits with an early childhood key worker, we could get onto Bailey's speech quicker. We could get onto his behaviours and directing him in different ways and how to help with these meltdowns. I've known Karen for about two years and I love her support and advice that she offers me and Bailey. She is very understanding. She will offer me any support, any advice if I'm stuck on something. She will take the time to understand Bailey and what he needs. And we're not running around trying to find all these supports for Bailey as Karen has helped majorly.
Keren: It can be so challenging having a child who's experiencing delays and it can be a really lonely road. So it's really wonderful when someone can partner with the parent and just give them that little bit of extra support that they need. In the two years I've known them, I can see that Ainsley's confidence has really developed in the ways that she can manage Bailey's behaviour. She's learned a lot of strategies and a lot, just of understanding about how Bailey's brain works, which has been really fantastic to see. I really love being a part of the family's life and really partnering with the parents and supporting their children.
Ainsley: Hey, I’ve got to do this first. Can you go stand over there? Can you go stand over there, please? I feel very, very positive about Bailey’s future with all the support that he has around him with Everyday Independence. The support’s amazing and I've seen a massive change.