School Holiday Programs

Each school holidays Melbourne Child Development offers a variety of programs for children to engage with their peers and work on similar communication goals in a unique group environment with the specialised guidance of our Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapist. The groups are designed to be fun, while helping your child to improve their communication and develop important social interaction skills typical of everyday playground and classroom interactions.

JULY 2020 SCHOOL HOLIDAYS – TELEHEALTH PROGRAM

The Telehealth sessions will be 45 minutes and one-to-one (one child to one speech pathologist) and will cover the invaluable concepts as previously planned for the group. We guarantee this will be a fun and engaging experience for you and your child.

Our Speech Pathologists are set up on Coviu, a privacy protected and easy-to-use Telehealth platform. This platform allows the clinician and the participant to communicate via secure video chat as well as access shared resources together.

This is a great opportunity for children to develop important social skills concepts in a safe environment and from the comfort of home. Take advantage of our service coming to you via your iPad, computer or laptop during the holidays so that your child can be creatively occupied and further develop their social skills toolbox.

Making Playmates
Suitable for: 3-5 year olds
Introduction to foundational social thinking and behaviour skills drawing on the ‘We Thinkers’ social thinking program.
Topics covered: Thinking thoughts and feeling feelings, Group Plan, Whole body Listening. This includes opportunities to put these ideas and further extension of the topics into practice in naturalistic play settings.

Cost: 4 x 45-minute one-on-one telehealth sessions = $206 per session per child

Building Buddies
Suitable for: 5-7 year olds
Follow on from Making Playmates, building on foundational social thinking and behaviour skills, drawing on the ‘We Thinkers’ social thinking program.
Topics Covered: Hidden rules, Expected and unexpected behaviours, Size of the problem, Flexible and stuck thinking. This includes opportunities to put these ideas and further extension of the topics into practice in naturalistic play settings.

Cost: 4 x 45-minute one-on-one telehealth sessions = $206 per session per child

Hanging Out
Suitable for: 7 – 11 year olds
Evidence-based ‘Social Communication Intervention Program’ for promoting pragmatic language skills in middle to upper primary school aged children.
Topics Covered: Comprehension Monitoring, Understanding Social Context, Emotions in Context. This includes opportunities to put these ideas and further extension of the topics into practice in naturalistic play settings.

Cost: 4 x 45-minute one-on-one telehealth sessions = $206 per session per child

SAS Cadet – Mission: Recharge!
Suitable for: 9 – 15 year olds
Cadets who have already completed the Secret Agent Society Program within the last two years and want to top-up their toolkit.
Topics covered: Revision of SAS relaxation gadgets and Codes, SAS computer game, SAS board game. This includes opportunities to put these ideas and further extension of the topics into practice in naturalistic game and group communication settings.

Cost: 4 x 45-minute one-on-one telehealth sessions = $206 per session per child

What makes the program so great?

The knowledge and expertise of Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapist with over 30 years collective experience.
A collaborative approach from both Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy disciplines to assess individual needs and provide recommendations.
And most importantly…something fun for your child to look forward to in the school holidays!

How do I register my child?

Download and complete the Registration Form and return to Melbourne Child Development along with your Administration Fee payment, which allows us to process your child’s registration and ensure that they are matched within a suitable group. Registration forms and administration fees are required by Monday 8th June 2020 at the latest.

If your child hasn’t attended Melbourne Child Development in the last 18 months, we do a pre-program assessment to allow the Speech Pathologist to gain an in-depth understanding of your child’s needs and how best to tailor the program to your child’s goals. Once we have received your Registration form and Administration fee payment, we will contact you to arrange this assessment.

The Pre-Program Assessment (only for new clients) is an additional cost of $232 (Monday – Friday) or $243 (Saturdays).

Terms and Conditions

Enrolment to this program requires commitment to all four sessions.
An administration fee of $450 is required to enrol in the program for administration costs. This fee is non-refundable* and will be taken off the cost of the first and second session.
A cancellation fee of 50% of the per session cost will apply if cancelled within 2 business days of the session time. Cancellation fees are usually the responsibility of the parent/carer as most funding and rebate programs do not cover these.

*Should the group not proceed for reasons determined by Melbourne Child Development, any administration fees paid will be refunded.

We look forward to receiving your registration! Don’t forget to Download Your Form HERE. Completed forms can be emailed to our friendly client services team at info@melbournechilddevelopment.com.au.

Funding and Rebate Options for the School Holiday Programs

Helping Children with Autism and Better Start for Children with a Disability (FaHCSIA) – Children who are registered under this funding may use it for these sessions.
Medicare – Chronic Disease Management Plan (CDMP) (previously named EPC – Enhanced Primary Care Plan) – Your General Practitioner is the person who determines whether your child qualifies for this program. These Medicare rebated session can only be used for individual therapy sessions and will therefore only apply to the pre-program assessment.
Medicare – Helping Children with Autism and Better Start for Children with a Disability – Your Paediatrician/Psychiatrist/General Practitioner (GP only for Better Start for Children with a Disability) is the person who will determine if your child is eligible for this program. These Medicare rebated session can only be used for individual therapy sessions and will therefore only apply to the pre-program assessment.
Private Health Insurance – Check with your Private Health insurer to see if you are covered for Speech Pathology Group sessions in your extras cover
NDIS – Children who are registered under this funding program may be able to use it for these sessions. Those with Self-Managed NDIS plans will have no out of pocket expenses. If you have a Third-party managed plan, please discuss with your plan manager about an out of pocket gap. Please note that Melbourne Child Development has decided not to become a registered NDIS provider – those with an NDIA managed plan will need to seek an NDIS registered provider.