About Stepping Stones Is your child having difficulties with participating fully in their life? Are they less independent than you would like? Stepping Stones can help. We offer a wide range of occupational therapy services to assist you in helping your child to develop the skills and confidence they need to flourish. We see children from birth to 18 years and can offer a comprehensive assessment and individualised interventions to meet the needs of your child. We are available to see children in our clinics, their own homes, at school or in the community. Occupational Therapists (OT’s) are registered health professionals who help people overcome challenges in their everyday occupations. You might wonder what occupations your child has, and the answer to that is many! The primary occupation of childhood is play. Your child will spend many hours of the day engaged in different types of play activities, and during this time they are busy developing essential physical, sensory, social, emotional and cognitive (i.e., thinking) skills that lay the foundations for success in later life. Other childhood occupations include self-care tasks (e.g., feeding yourself, having a bath, washing your hair, getting dressed, doing up buttons and shoelaces etc.) and activities of productivity (e.g. kindy/school activities, handwriting, using scissors, doing chores etc.). Stepping Stones OT’s are trained to assess your child’s performance in these areas in order to determine the specific barriers to their success. Using this information we can then design a treatment program to meet your child’s individual needs. We then work with you in order to help your understanding and to give you practical tools and advice that you can use at home.

breakthru is a national not-for-profit organisation committed to empowering people to create their own futures. Through the provision of high-quality person-centric programs, we enable thousands of people every year to address mental health, employment, disability, homelessness and training needs. breakthru operates on the premise that everyone’s needs, preferences and aspirations are different. Our commitment to client choice and family inclusion is well demonstrated through our individualised services and person-centred principles. We have a specific focus on assisting those most in need and offer specialist programs for those facing the challenge of an intensive mental health illness, a disability or physical health issue, long-term unemployment, unmet education goals or homelessness.

Michelle Santarelli has been working as a speech and language Pathologist since graduating from Newcastle University in 2004. Michelle has a passion for helping children with speech, language and literacy difficulties. Michelle has worked in an extensive variety of services over the years including community health settings, early intervention centres, preschools, school settings, hospitals and finally in private practice. Throughout this time, Michelle has undertaken extensive post graduate training in the areas of Autism Spectrum Disorder, early language stimulation, literacy intervention and learning disorders.

Wise Mind Psychology is a Newcastle-based mental health collective that was built on the values of professional excellence, empathy, and respect. We believe everyone has the strength to live the life they value, and we are here to provide quality mental health care to help people achieve improved well-being. Our supportive team of accredited psychologists is dedicated to delivering the highest value evidence-based therapy in a non-judgmental, collaborative, and accepting way. We help our clients connect with one of our clinicians who best matches their personal needs and requirements.

Beyond Boundaries Rehab is a unique family ran business located in Newcastle and the Hunter. Born in 2016, we have worked hard to provide responsive services reflective of our values, purpose and the needs of our community. We are at our best, when working with people of all ages, living with complex movement disorders, brain injury, neurological disorders and spinal injury/disease. We have a strong passion for early intervention, education and capacity building and love working in a flexible way to suit your lifestyle and needs.

Shine On Support Services recognises that all people with disability have the right to feel valued and have the opportunity to participate fully in life in society as they choose. Shine on Support Services is committed to promoting person centred practice and a positive image of people with a disability, recognising that this can positively influence self-esteem and provide opportunities for enhanced citizenship through their inclusion in the community.