Impact Report 2022 Articles

Thank you for empowering children with disability to learn more than words 

Sapana was keen to participate in More Than Words, a training program for parents of children with autism to gain new skills for Aahan. “I thought it might help me to use new strategies with Aahan and improve how I communicate with him in daily life,” Sapana says. More Than Words is an evidence-based speech pathology program which focuses on developing the skills of parents of children with autism or social communication difficulties. In the program, parents are taught communication and interaction strategies that can be used with their child during daily routines and activities. Sapana has noticed some big changes in Aahan, thanks to the strategies she learnt during the program.

“The most important thing I learnt was waiting and how to be patient. Because of that, I think Aahan is now able to go to the toilet. I waited and I didn’t force him. This is a very big thing.  We are really proud of him,” she says. “We are also interacting more with him. Nowadays Aahan doesn’t stay alone in his room; he comes to be with us and tries to play with his younger brother. When our relatives come to the home, he likes to be involved with them and play with them. He is more social now.” Northcott was able to offer the More Than Words program to Sapana and other parents at no cost, thanks to funding from the Profield Foundation. “Families with limited NDIS funding could participate without it impacting on access to other therapies, such as one-on-one occupational therapy or speech pathology sessions or other speech pathology goals such as communication device trials,” explains Sarah, a Hanen accredited Northcott Speech Pathologist and one of the facilitators of the program.

“We find families are more willing to try an intensive program like More Than Words if it doesn’t impact their other therapy funding. For some, there is a perceived ‘risk’ in committing to a short program that takes a large portion of their funding, at the expense of other therapies, or that they are not sure will ‘work’ for them and their child.” Families accessing Northcott Speech Pathology services across the state were able to join the More than Words program via a telepractice format, which allowed our Hanen-accredited therapists to reach more families. Northcott is grateful to the Profield Foundation for their ongoing support. Their funding ensures more families are benefitting from vital therapy programs, such as More Than Words, which complement tailored one-on-one therapy.

Thank you for being the heart of our community

ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR TEENAGERS WITH DISABILITY
We are grateful for funding support from The Broinowski Foundation and a community grant from CommBank Staff Foundation which assisted Northcott to deliver high-quality support to 66 teenagers with disability and purchase the resources, equipment and games to enliven our Skills 4 Life program.

11 Northcott service locations welcomed an upgrade and refresh of essential resources and equipment. New sports, music, education, craft and sensory items and an incursion and excursion fund have supported neurodiverse teenagers to come out of their shell, learn and try new things and participate in their communities.

The Hornsby group’s focus on well-being saw them purchase fitness resources, sensory items and instruments empowering participants to bond and collaborate through music and activities. We are so proud of everyone’s achievements as they made lots of friends, maintained their community relationships, worked on their daily life skills, and improved their collective social confidence.

SELF-AWARENESS AND GROWTH FOR YOUNG ADULTS
Thanks to a grant received from the Australian Turf Club Foundation, and a ClubGRANT from Asquith Rugby League Club with Hornsby RSL Club some of our participants from Casula and Hornsby reviewed their mindset and learned mindfulness strategies. The program took these young adults through a journey of personal development. By the end, participants not only gained confidence in themselves but also learned how to deal with their emotions as well as sudden and big life changes. “I saw so much growth in these young adults. They not only improved in their confidence, resilience, and energy but also achieved their goals and the way they interact and communicate with their peers,” says Claire, Northcott Support Worker.
Program participant Chris says, “At the beginning of the program, I was nervous as it was new to me, but with my buddy’s support, I got more confident every day. During the program, my buddy and I talked about the things we like. Now, I have started to get interested in the things he likes. This program has changed my perspective.” 

Thank you for supporting young people with disability to build work readiness

Using a grant from Citi Foundation, Northcott’s Community Engagement Officer, Josh has built connections with businesses and developed work experience placements and paid employment opportunities for our Vocational Skills participants aged 17-24 years. Josh has also identified sectors impacted by skills and labour shortages where there is the potential for people with disability to fill employment gaps. “The pandemic put a complete hold on work experience and paid employment opportunities for recent school leavers coming to Northcott for job support. Before that, many organisations were hesitant to take on people with disability because of a lack of understanding about their capabilities,” Josh says.

Through conversations with businesses as well as an industry roundtable meeting, Josh has raised awareness about the abilities of young people with disability – and created real opportunities for work experience placements. “I talk about the individual, their capabilities, and the programs we have in place to build their job-ready skills and get them prepared for independence and moving into paid employment. With increased knowledge, employers are becoming more open to the idea of taking on a young person with disability for work experience. There are also a lot of opportunities showing real promise of paid employment to follow,” says Josh. More than 65 participants from 7 Northcott sites across Greater Sydney kicked off a new work experience program at Bunnings.

“Bunnings hasn’t provided work experience placements for people with disability in the past. I sent them information about our programs and what we are aiming to achieve, and they said they were keen to get on board,” Josh says. “We worked together on a program and now we’ve built an ongoing relationship with them.” The participants are experiencing every department of Bunnings from the warehouse to working on the retail floor. Each participant is paired with a buddy who assists them. In their final weeks, they can choose an area of their interest to finish their work experience placement. “It’s gone really well. The participants get a shirt and apron, learn skills and they feel part of the team,” Josh says.

“I’m proud to be playing my part in building connections and new work experience opportunities for our participants. This is a great way to support them to progress their skills, while trialling different types of industries and occupations. They are so excited to be doing work experience and you can see their confidence is growing. They are proud of themselves.”

Andrew’s journey with Northcott

Andrew joined Northcott as a member of the Customer Service Enquiries Team in 2019, however his relationship with Northcott started well before this. When he was 3 years old, Andrew and his family started accessing Northcott’s therapy services in Parramatta.

Andrew is an avid self-advocate who his friends describe as driven and quick to help others. He is also passionate about fitness and building a strong mindset, which, along with his competitive sprit in sports, is something he credits to Northcott. “My earliest memories are participating in Northcott athletics and swimming carnivals. They’re a great opportunity to meet other people with disability and make friends. That’s the first thing that tied me to Northcott,” says Andrew.

“Carnivals are lots of fun and pretty competitive and there were some talented athletes from other schools. Although I was always determined to win, I also learnt how to handle losing. As a person with disability, I don’t think I would’ve achieved what I have if I hadn’t learnt to be competitive through the carnivals. I always want to achieve my goal, have a go at new things and refuse to hear that I can’t.”

Andrew also remembers going on ski trips with Northcott when he was a little older. “I remember how I took all weekend to figure out how to balance and ski and finally got it just before the end of the weekend. This was a great lesson for me in being resilient and determined.” After high school, Andrew struggled to find work experience, but Northcott offered him an opportunity within the Fundraising team. Andrew’s job was to call other companies to explain what Northcott does and ask them to donate goods. This volunteering experience got him out of his comfort zone. After finishing his business diploma at TAFE, Andrew started working for other companies, yet he felt a desire to pay it forward and give back to his community.

“I wanted to advocate for people with disability who can’t advocate as well for themselves. I didn’t want to get involved with disability initially, but I decided that it is important to pass on my successes and experiences to others. I was ready to share my lived experience with disability with others,” says Andrew.
Andrew speaks highly of his experience working for Northcott, highlighting the value of always having had supportive managers. His current manager empowers him to excel in his role by focusing on what his strengths are, while supporting him to improve on his weaknesses. “In my current role, I take enquiries from people with disability, sign them up for new services, help support workers and everything between,” he explains. “I’ve had lots of memorable calls and what really matters for me is connecting with the person on the phone. Having lived experience helps me guide what options people with disability have. I try and make what might seem scary at first seem less scary and support parents of young children to see the possibilities their child has. It’s important to listen to their full story, using lived experience to make people feel at ease.”

Andrews says, “My favourite Northcott value is Brave: if you really want to have choice and control over your life, you’re going to have to be brave.”

Committed to his community

Meon Nehrybecki, Principal Dealer at Northcott’s corporate partner Terry Shields Toyota Parramatta, shares our vision of a more inclusive society for all. He’s committed to seeing his business become an even bigger and better supporter of Northcott.

When Meon became the Principal Dealer at Terry Shields Toyota in July 2021, he wasn’t aware of the services and supports provided by Northcott. It wasn’t long however, before the long association between Northcott and Terry Shields Toyota caught his attention.

“My philosophy is that a portion of your profit needs to go back to your community, because the community supports your business. So, when I heard about the longstanding partnership with Northcott I thought it sounded fantastic and said, ‘we’ll obviously continue with that’,” he explains.

Terry Shields Toyota has been supporting Northcott for more than 15 years, sponsoring and attending several of our previous fundraising activities. Staff have also been involved in corporate volunteering opportunities at our inclusive carnivals for children with disability. “My goal is to grow our partnership with Northcott. I’d like to expose our staff to what Northcott does so they can gain an understanding of some of the challenges people with disability and their families face. I also want to further explore how we can collaboratively support that work,” he says.

“I would love to see how automotive retailers within the Parramatta area can come together to support Northcott. My goal is to bring us all together so that collectively we can support something bigger and better for Northcott.”

Thank you, Meon, and all the staff at Terry Shields Toyota for your generous support of Northcott and people with disability!