Our Services

Services we offer

The Royal Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme (BUSHkids) operates from a number of centres situated throughout regional Queensland. The centres offer a comprehensive range of allied health and complimentary services tailored to meet the needs of children and their families.

BUSHkids centres, staffed by an occupational therapist, psychologist (or intern psychologist), family health support worker and speech pathologist, are currently located in Mount Isa, Dalby, Warwick, Bundaberg and Emerald. A family health support worker is also based in Inglewood in order to reach this community and surrounding areas.

The BUSHkids centres aim to promote and enhance the health and well-being of children and families in regional Queensland and do so by providing holistic, individualised, family centred interventions. In addition to individual, short-term therapy BUSHkids offers an array of parent education programs aimed at empowering parents to assist in their child’s development and success.

Who we see

BUSHkids can be accessed by children up to 13 years of age who are experiencing developmental difficulties/delays and/or behavioural or emotional concerns and are unable to receive support elsewhere in the community.

Access Services

BUSHkids receives referrals from trained professionals working within the health system or education department (Eg. Teachers, doctors, social workers, guidance officers). Although parents are unable to submit a referral independently parental/caregiver consent is mandatory. If you feel BUSHkids may be of benefit to a child in your care, download the referral form and discuss your concerns with an appropriate referral agent or contact your local Centre for more information.

The eligibility of each referral and the individual needs of the child and family are considered carefully in order to ensure that appropriate services can be provided.

Although the BUSHkids services are completely free of charge it is anticipated that families will ‘pay’ through the time and dedication they commit to their child’s therapy programs.

What are Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Pathology and Family Health Support?

Psychology

Psychologists at BUSHkids are concerned with emotional, social, academic and behavioural difficulties of children and their impact on the family and adjustment later in life. Psychologists may assess the nature and extent of difficulties using a range of interviews, observations, and assessments (including various psychometric assessments, eg: IQ/ADHD/ASD). Once the assessment phase is completed involvement from parents, teachers and others will be encouraged during the process of developing a treatment plan.

SERVICES

Psychologists at BUSHkids provide services for children with difficulties in the following areas:

• Anxiety, and school refusal
• Anger and aggression
• Social skills
• Self esteem
• Mood changes and withdrawal
• Coping with family changes
• Difficult behaviour such as tantrums and destructive behaviour

INTERVENTION

Intervention may involve:

• Education and support to family members, schools, and others involved with the child and family
• Individual therapy to assist children and their families to deal with difficulties, develop skills, and problem solve
• Parenting programs to find new ways to manage behaviour
• Group programs where experiences can be shared and skills learnt and practiced amongst peers

Occupational Therapy

The main goal of occupational therapy at BUSHkids is to enable children to participate as fully as possible in their activities of everyday life. Occupational Therapists use purposeful and therapeutic activities to help children cope with the demands of the following daily tasks.

• Self-care (e.g. personal hygiene, dressing, mealtimes, toileting).
• Play (e.g. climbing on playground equipment, using toys appropriately, socialising with peers, imagination, creativity).
• School (e.g. learning, handwriting, reading, organising).

Assessment

The Occupational Therapists at BUSHkids can assess difficulties in skills which may impact on a child’s participation in their self-care, play and school activities. Some of the skills assessed (but not limited to) include:

Motor Skills

This is the ability to coordinate and use the large (gross) and small (fine) muscle groups of the body.  Examples of these skills include:

• Jumping, skipping, hopping , balancing
• Throwing, catching and kicking balls
• Drawing, colouring, painting, threading
• Cutting, handwriting, computer keyboarding
• Using cutlery, tying shoelaces, brushing hair, wiping bottom

Visual Perceptual Skills

This is the ability to process and interpret visual information in a meaningful way. Some activities which require this skill include:

• Handwriting – writing within lines and letter formation
• Reading – keeping place while reading, remembering sight words, copying from the whiteboard/blackboard.
• Other academic skills – organising and setting out work

Sensory Processing

Sensory processing allows us to interpret and use what we feel (touch, movement and joint position), see and hear, to act appropriately to the demands of the environment around us. Children who experience difficulties with sensory processing may over- respond or under- respond to touch, movement, or things they hear or see. This can impact greatly on their participation in everyday activities.

Intervention

If indicated, occupational therapy intervention can be provided in the form of education and consultation to parents, schools and others involved with the child; and/or individual or group therapy programs for children.

Speech and Language Pathology

At BUSHkids, Speech Pathologists assess, diagnose and treat children with Speech, Language, Voice, Fluency, Literacy and Eating difficulties.

LANGUAGE

Language is made up of a student’s ability to understand word relationships, sentences and stories (that is, a student’s receptive language skills), and to express thoughts and ideas in logical, grammatically-correct sentences (that is, a student’s expressive language skills).  Children with language difficulties may have difficulty with one or more of the following:

• Understanding questions
• Following instructions
• Understanding concepts (big/little, in/on)
• Understanding sarcastic comments
• Following stories as a whole, drawing conclusions, making predictions
• Understanding that the meaning of  a word can change depending on the context
• Requesting  objects and actions
• Using Grammar and using complex sentences
• Saying long, complex sentences (using words such as 'because', 'so', 'but' and 'although')
• Giving clear instructions
• Telling stories that include all the important details in a logical order
• Using clear, precise language to express him/her self
• Asking questions

SPEECH - difficulties occur when a child cannot pronounce  particular speech sounds correctly.  This can cause difficulties in being understood and being able to participate in school, family and community life.

LITERACY – difficulties in reading, writing, spelling and composing stories, essays and reports.

STUTTERING – disrupted speech consisting of repetitions, prolongations and blocks.

VOICE – ‘rough’, harsh voice quality.

AUDITORY PROCESSING – difficulties with the brain ‘doing the right thing’ with what it hears.

SOCIAL SKILLS – difficulties understanding and using body language, conversation and assertiveness.

Family Health Support

Family Health Support Workers can provide the crucial liaison between the therapy team and the family by offering comprehensive, skill-based support.

Family Health Support Workers will offer information and health based programs to develop the skills and understandings needed for healthy strong families.

Family Health Support Workers can provide -

• Parent Skills programs
• Family based programs
• Information group programs for both children and parents
• Social Skills programs for children

Family Health Support Workers have knowledge and experience in family health issues.

Useful links/Information for families

For information on other services available in your area see the Links to other health/crisis services page.