Grow Early Supports

🌱 Term 2 FREE Online Webinars - Bookings Now Open! 🌱

We're offering 2 FREE online webinars this June. Our webinars share practical strategies grounded in real-world early education settings and home environments. They support all young children and may be especially helpful for families and educators supporting children with developmental delays, differences, or neurodivergent children, including autistic children.

✔️ Completely free
✔️ Online and accessible from home
✔️ Practical, evidence-informed strategies
✔️ Open to families and early childhood educators

Thursday 11 June | 6.30–7.30pm
Supporting Neurodivergent Children’s Participation in Early Education
Practical strategies to support meaningful participation, inclusion, regulation, and engagement in early childhood settings.
🎟️ Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/supporting-neurodivergent-childrens-participation-in-early-education-tickets-1989910057549?aff=oddtdtcreator

Thursday18 June | 6.30–7.30pm
Practical Communication Strategies & Tools for Young Neurodivergent Children
A practical webinar for educators and families exploring communication supports and strategies to help young children communicate, connect, understand, and participate.
🎟️ Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/practical-communication-strategies-tools-for-young-neurodivergent-children-tickets-1989911503875?aff=oddtdtcreator

💚 Free to attend, but registration is required via Eventbrite.
Please feel free to share with families, colleagues, educators, and services who may find these helpful!

Practical communication strategies +tools for young neurodivergent children Free webinar sharing helpful concepts, strategies and tools for families and educators supporting young neurodivergent children

🌱 Big news from the Grow Early Supports team! 🌱

We're packing our bags (and our slides!) for Adelaide in a couple of weeks to present at the PRECI conference!

Our session focuses on what we've learned moving from high-intensity delivery of the Group-ESDM to low-intensity delivery in the community - including the active ingredients that really make the difference in supporting children to thrive (... and grow!).

If you're heading to PRECI, please come and say hi. And if you can't make it, we'll share the key takeaways here once we're back!

Great news for families in Melbourne's northern suburbs looking for after-school care!

We just wanted to share this awesome article on neuroscience and emotional regulation from The Conversation. The article explores what strategies are and are'nt effective in supporting children (yep, those 80s strategies of punishing a dysregulated child are not evidence based) - with the research showing that calm connection, co-regulation, and consistent boundaries are far more effective in building emotional skills and resilience.

Worth a read (and sharing with your colleagues and families!)

Parenting strategies are shifting as neuroscience brings the developing brain into clearer focus Old-school parenting strategies like ‘go to your room!’ can often amplify the very behavior that parents want to correct.

🌱FREE Term 1 Webinars – Bookings Now Open! 🌱

At Grow Early Supports, we’re offering 6 FREE online webinars this term for families and early childhood educators.

✔️ Completely free
✔️ All welcome
✔️ All booking links are live today

Our sessions share practical, evidence-informed strategies grounded in real-world early education settings and the home.
They support all young children, and may be especially helpful for families and educators supporting children with developmental delays, differences, or neurodivergent children.

🌿 For Early Childhood Educators

👉10 Feb | 6.30–7.30pm
Children’s Emotional Regulation – Education Curriculum Tools & Frameworks
👉 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1981553440683?aff=oddtdtcreator

👉 24 Feb | 6.30–7.30pm
Understanding Children’s Challenging Behaviours (Part 1)
👉 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1981563489740?aff=oddtdtcreator

👉 3 March | 6.30–7.30pm
Educator Strategies for Challenging Behaviours (Part 2)
👉 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1981564548908?aff=oddtdtcreator

🌿 For Parents & Caregivers

👉17 Feb | 6.30–7.30pm
Emotion Co-Regulation Strategies to Support Your Young Child
👉 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/emotion-co-regulation-strategies-to-support-your-young-child-tickets-1981552812805?aff=oddtdtcreator

👉 10 March | 6.30–7.30pm
Supporting Challenging Behaviours – Understanding Children’s Unmet Needs (Part 1)
👉 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1981564804673?aff=oddtdtcreator

👉17 March | 6.30–7.30pm
Supporting Your Child’s Challenging Behaviours – Practical Plans (Part 2)
👉 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1981565522821?aff=oddtdtcreator

🎟️ Free to attend, but registration is required on Eventbrite
💚 Please feel free to share with any families, colleagues, educators, and services who may find these helpful.

Eventbrite None

Following our free webinar last week on teaching practical skills in your child's everyday routines like play, please see link for supported toy library sessions - thanks to ACD for this handy resource!

At ACD, we love sharing resources that make life easier for families. Supported Toy Library Sessions are a fantastic option for children with developmental delay or disability in Victoria.

These sessions offer:
🔹 A safe, welcoming space for play
🔹 Access to a wide range of toys designed to support learning and development
🔹 Staff who understand and support your child’s needs

Toy libraries make play affordable and inclusive, and they’re a great way to connect with other families.

📣 Tag a friend who would love to check out a supported toy library session!

💡 Find a participating toy library near you: https://ow.ly/ChEt50Xxnvn

🌱 Behaviours of concern can feel really tough - for children and for the adults supporting them. We know that “kids do well when they can” (one of our favourite philosophies from Dr Ross Greene!), and that behaviour is NOT a child being “bad” - it’s communication. It’s your child letting you know that the expectations in that moment are bigger than what they can cope with.

We recently hosted sessions on using Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) to understand and respond to concerning behaviours, and if you’re interested in learning more, we’ve written a brand-new blog that explores:

✔️ What Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) is
✔️ How to understand the message behind behaviour
✔️ Practical strategies to prevent concerning behaviours
✔️ How to respond safely and calmly in the moment
✔️ How to teach a new replacement skill
✔️ Links to excellent, free (FREE!) resources for families

🌿 Read the full blog here:

Supporting Young Children with Challenging Behaviours — Grow Early Autism Supports When a child is overwhelmed, unsure, or unable to express their needs, behaviour can become a way of communicating their needs. For neurodivergent children, these moments can happen more often due to sensory differences, difficulties with communication (including expressing needs, preferences and wo

Really helpful information for families looking for swimming lessons this Summer!

🌊 VICSWIM is back this summer! 🌞

Inclusive, fun and affordable swimming lessons for kids aged 4–12 — including children with disability.

🏊‍♂️ Just $35 for 5 lessons
📍 170+ locations across Victoria
💜 Extra support available for children with disability
🎟️ Use a Get Active Kids voucher to make it free!

From beaches to pools, VICSWIM helps kids build water safety skills in a welcoming, inclusive environment.

🏊‍♀️ Registrations open on 12 November

Visit vicswim.com.au to register — spots fill fast❗

🌿 Free Online Webinar for Families

Everyday routines like getting dressed, bath time, toileting, or mealtimes can be a wonderful opportunity to teach your child new skills that support their growing independence.

Join us for a free, practical and supportive webinar designed especially for caregivers of children aged 1–9 years with developmental differences or identified neurodivergence (e.g., Autism, ADHD), focused on 'Teaching Your Child in Everyday Routines'.

Presenter: Psychologist + Key Worker, Carolyne Jones
Date: Wednesday 19th November
Time: 630- 730 pm (AEST)
Location: Online - register here - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/teaching-your-neurodivergent-child-practical-skills-in-daily-home-routines-tickets-1813235800089?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Please share with anyone that you think might find this webinar helpful!

Teaching Your Neurodivergent Child Practical Skills in Daily Home Routines Free webinar designed for caregivers of young children seeking helpful information and teaching strategies to embed in everyday life