See Beyond

We need some help at Wayfinders.

If you're a graphic designer who has capacity and interest in volunteering to get our branding up and running, please reach out.

Feel free to message me here or via: [email protected]

Calling all graphic designers...

We are looking for a volunteer to:

🌟 Help us make a few technical changes to our logo (.svg and vector support) and provide a few design options

🌟 Provide suggestions/consultation around brand colours (I have a branding kit set up, but struggle to identify the best tones of colour, as you can probably tell if you follow us!!)

🌟 Give us a clean, refreshed look to support us as we start to think about fundraising and opening Wayfinders

We have a marketing specialist on board, so we need someone with the technical skills.

While this is currently a volunteer position, we would be happy to discuss on-going opportunities and engagement as we bring Wayfinders into fruition.

Please send us a message or email: [email protected] to register your interest.

This is why we need play (free play, and play based learning) in EVERY school.

So many of my tutoring sessions are centred on play, which leaves parents wondering what we're doing and why we are "just playing."

Sometimes school situations leave you so confused that you don't have a response, or you aren't sure how to respond.

I've created these based on scenarios that have come up during semester 1.

Part Time Attendance Plans in state schools REQUIRE documentation and a signature from the parent. The form is available with an electronic option for the school (in QLD) but they still need to get your signature. This is stated 12 difference times in the Ed Qld resource for implementing Part Time Plans. If you are in another state, there is a likely an internal document sharing similar information.

Your child having NDIS providers does NOT mean they can't access those supports at school. The school based supports are to upskill and support the teaching team. Sometimes teachers need help with differentiating assessment tasks for learners unique needs. Your NDIS provider is not going to be able to help do that!

The Code of Conduct is important for schools. No one wants their child getting hurt, or hurting someone else. But, it doesn't supercede the Disability Standards in Education Act or the Disability Discrimination Act. Both laws ensure that children's disabilities are considered if they are facing disciplinary consequences. I'm not advocating for no consequences, ever. I'm advocating for a change in supports to avoid the problematic behaviour. And for the functional impacts to be considered.

Above and beyond what? The legislation says "provide reasonable adjustments to allow children to participate in education on the same basis as their peers." Above and beyond would mean that schools are bearing undue financial burdens (into the millions of $$) or that they are taking on unjustifiable hardships like providing 24/7 nursing care while the child is at school. I don't think these (or other similar situations) are occurring.

If you're at a loss for how to respond, please reach out. Between myself and Bronnie (who works on my team), we can help with school supports.

Nervous system regulation has become a bit of a buzzword.

If we zoom out on specific practices and strategies, there are two pathways that the likes of Mona Delahooke and others discuss - Top Down or Bottom Up.

Top Down best aligns with behaviourist methodologies. Pavlov, Skinner, and Lovaas all relied on the notion that our brain controls our body, so we can entrain behaviours. While this is great for toilet training kids, and good for our pets, it doesn't apply as cleanly to behaviours we see in schools.

The Top Down approach relies on kids making "choices" about their behaviour. I would like to ask anyone who has given a fellow driver the finger if it was a conscious choice, or if it was a split second response.

Most people would say it was a response and it happened before they could stop themselves.

The same happens with kids at school.

But they're constantly told it's a choice.

When schools and teachers change their approach to using Bottom Up processing models (including Polyvagal Theory), they are relying on the sensory input from the body to feedback to the brain. The brain then attempts to keep the individual safe.

This might look like Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn behaviours, among others.

The actions are not conscious or chosen, they are safety response system.

After spending a decade+ teaching and relying on the Top Down methods, I learned about Bottom Up methods. It changed my teaching practice.

Not just that, it changed outcomes for kids and impacted what were being considered "behaviour problems."

If you child's school is suggesting that your child is making poor choices when they are in a meltdown or that their School Can't is a choice, referring to practitioners like Mona Delahooke, Robyn Gobbel, Allison Davies, and Lori DeSautels (among others) might help them discover a new approach.

If you haven't had a meeting yet regarding your child's support, set one up with the school as soon as possible!

f they haven't contacted you, assume they won't and reach out to them.

Ideally, request a draft copy of your child's plan(s) before the meeting so you have a chance to review them and come up with any questions.

📝 When you arrive at the meeting, clarify who is taking meeting minutes, and ensure that they will be emailed to you. If anything has been left out, be sure to address it via email. Something like "I'd like to ensure x/y/z are captured in the meeting minutes."

❓ Be sure to write your questions down ahead of time. Find out who the main personnel are supporting your child - teacher aides, inclusion teachers, etc. Ask how often they are receiving specific supports. And, feel free to say to the school that you want time to review the plans and let them know that you might email after the meeting as follow up.

✅ If there are action items like: guidance officer to meet with your child to conduct X assessment, or literacy assessment to be conducted by inclusion teacher, or new plans to be drafted by case manager - follow up! If you aren't given a timeline, ask for one, and then email to find out what's happening.

👥 It's always ideal to take someone with you. This could be a friend, family member, support worker/support coordinator. They can take notes for you, so you're free to pay attention. Or they might prompt questions that you've previously discussed but forget on the spot. I attend meetings all the time with parents to support co-regulation, and because I have the advantage of knowing the system and can ask questions on the spot.

🔁 Cath Ed and State Schools have Regional teams they can make referrals to. Many independent schools participate in the Students with Disabilities Resource Scheme. This means they have access to professionals who work outside of the school to support the school staff to better support your child. If you feel like the school is going in circles, or doesn't understand your child, ask about this option.

If you have questions or are after support, please don't hesitate to reach out!

"She's fine at school."

"Once he gets here and settles in, he's fine."

How many times have you heard this in relation to your child who comes home and goes into complete nervous system collapse.

They're tearing the house apart, yelling, screaming, sobbing.

They aren't fine, but school doesn't have a lens to understand what is happening.

I've got the perfect resource for you to start having conversations about the Fawn nervous system state.

Not all kids will present as being in Fight/Flight/Freeze.

Grab it here, for FREE: https://seebeyondau.org/shop/p/fawn-response-pda

Ideally, our kids will never need to engage with police or emergency services unless we are with them.

For kids who are runners and are at risk of escaping from school, or your care while in the community, I have created a resource for parents.

This Safety Profile is an A5 page to alert the responders to your child's communication needs, regulation needs, safety notes AND includes a section for what helps.

I've created one page that is prefilled with some general ideas that are common across some of the kids I work with. And, the other page is completely fillable so you can enter whatever is most applicable to your child's needs.

There is room to attach a photo, which may be helpful to attach if you're submitting to your local police station (which is a good idea for kids who abscond from school).

You can grab this FREE for a limited time at: https://seebeyondau.org/shop/p/police-safety-alert

And, if you are an educator who works in a special school, please feel free to download and share with your families. I'm more invested in the document being helpful and used than ensuring I'm making a few $$.

The media loves to create a sensation.

Last week, there was an article there was an article published by the Courier Mail, which is available here: https://ipa.org.au/latest-news/is-the-education-systems-focus-on-adhd-and-autism-inclusion-in-schools-leaving-other-kids-behind

The article suggested that classroom teachers are not equipped to handle the huge list of needs their students are demonstrating in class.

I couldn't agree more.

Classroom teachers aren't equipped.

But, you know who should be equipped: the school's inclusion team. The inclusion aides, the inclusion teachers, the heads of department and deputies for inclusion should all have additional training.

So instead of focusing on how bad it is, let's focus on solutions that could literally solve the problem.

We also need to address the lack of quality Masters degree programs in Special Education in Australia.

I've looked around at the different programs in different states. The focus tends toward: social justice, policy writing and research.

There is NOTHING to help improve teacher's skills in working with children in classrooms.

That doesn't mean that the teachers can't get additional training - the Queensland Education Department has an entire module on the Disability Standards for Education Act.

Why is this NOT compulsory for anyone in an inclusion role? It takes less than 2 hours to complete. And, it would at least inform educators about their obligations under Federal law to provide consultation with parents. Seems like a good place to start.

Inclusion was always supposed to mean belonging. Not just presence. Not just placement. The felt experience of being wanted in the room, exactly as you are.

When we build felt safety first - through relationship, predictability, and genuine connection,
inclusion becomes what it was always meant to be - a sense of belonging.

When we skip that part, we changed the address without changing the experience.

Every child deserves a room they feel safe in.

When we lead with safety through relationship, everything else will follow - learning, regulation, and greater felt safety for everyone else in the room.

The question isn’t, ‘Are we including this child?’

The question is, ‘Does this child feel included?’

They are not the same question, and the gap between them is where a lot of young people are being quietly lost.♥️