The times they are a-changing…

Change is coming to 5energies!

Oooooooohhhhhhhhh! Next week is going to be so exciting. Our big middle room will be transformed on Friday into two therapy rooms, filled with natural light, but giving us more availability for parents and children. We have been hiring new staff, as many of you know, and in July all new staff will be trained in the 5energies way of thinking during some exciting professional development.

Having said all that, getting quotes, working through figures, designing spaces, choosing colours…. it has been an exciting time, but one also filled with a lot of brain cells working overtime! For those of you who come into the consultancy regularly, you would know that Alexandra has been off on sick-leave, as she took a nasty tumble onto very hard tiles a couple of weeks ago. She has done a magnificent job in managing her pain levels AND contributing greatly to the decision making process. We wish her well, and hope that her recovery is a lot faster in weeks to come.  If you have missed her around the consultancy, that is the reason why…

In the meantime, next week will see the building of new spaces and places – we are so very excited and look forward to showing you the new-look 5energies.

Some reflections on technology…

Ahhh, things are a-changing at 5energies. As well as grappling with expanding premises, we have been on the search for updated technology to allow us to do what we want to do and enable greater productivity and communication.

Umbakumba, Groote Eylandt

I was just mulling that in my time as a teacher in school so many things have changed. My very first teaching position was at Umbakumba, a very remote settlement in the Gulf of Carpentaria. I hate to admit to living through the dinosaur days of technology, but this was prior to even Commodore computers moving into the school and home markets. This was even before the time of the Gestetner copying machine – my first stencils were made using what was called a ‘jelly pad’.

A jelly pad was made up of gelatine basically – a LOT of gelatine on a baking tray – and with texta pens (a new innovation at the time), one would write out some Maths (or whatever), place the texta pen written master stencil on the gelatine, face down, and after smoothing it firmly and lifting it off, place a blank sheet of paper on the gelatine to get an image on the paper. It would be good enough for six or seven images to be made before you had to write out your master stencil again.

Contrast that to the technology of today… No wonder schools have such a hard time keeping up though. Even the most innovative and financial schools of today are behind in their use of technology and sharing it with the bright minds of tomorrow. All I can say is thank goodness for the people who specialise in this field and have been kind enough to explain things in words I understand and in concepts I can come to grips with! So thank you to the experts in this field for understanding where we want 5energies to go – and for helping us to make this all a reality!

Helping Children with Autism

After a fairly extensive process, as of Tuesday, 27th October, 5energies is now officially a panel / service provider under the auspices of the Helping Children with Autism Package. This package is run through Autism Australia, with federal funding from the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA). Those of you who read this blog regularly will know that we are a ‘one stop’ shop, one which offers Speech Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Educational Psychology and education services under the one roof. As this package of funding is after an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach for children with autism, it seems we fit the bill!!

So very proudly we announce our new status as Panel provider for services relating to autism, but also advise that we will be continuing our quality services for any child with a learning delay or developmental challenge. It has already been a big week, with those who have heard whispers on the wind getting in fast for appointments, and screenings and program development taking place this week.

It goes without question that if anyone wishes any information on our services to children and their families, please just ring and chat to Julie in the front office.

Next Page »