Variety SHINE Intensive Program

Welcome to the inaugural 2018 Variety SHINE Intensive Program (VSIP) – the first summer holiday program co-presented by Variety Victoria in partnership with SHINE and the Andrew Dean Fildes Foundation.

SHINE programs are intensive opportunities for children with a range of disabilities to access high quality multidisciplinary team services at no cost to families.

We prioritise students who are NOT funded by other federal or state programs, are under funded or under-resourced, or students who have known disabilities but have no services.

The VSIP held in January at Port Phillip Specialist School provides a safe, fun and stimulating environment with a range of school-type activities. These include art, music, singing, drama, dance and physical education for approximately 100 children over three weeks.

The unique multi-disciplinary program includes Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Special Educators, Speech-Language Pathologists, Audiologists, Optometrists, Art/Dance/Drama/Music and Physical Education staff. All on the specialist team help to develop programs around an individual students’ interests and talents to provide a motivating, positive and creative learning environment.

Programs run daily from Monday to Friday during school hours and children attend every day, receiving intensive multidisciplinary treatment.

Postgraduate university students engage in formal clinical placements. Fully qualified and experienced professional clinicians assist in running the programs and supervise the students.  

Daily and weekly progress is measured and full reports are provided at the end of the program. 

Students with the following diagnoses:

• Articulation Delays—Articulation Disorders
• Attention Deficit & Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)
• Auditory Processing Impairments / Disorders (CAPD)
• Communicative Social Deficits (needing social skills and friendship work)
• Confidence & Self-Esteem Difficulties
• Conversational and Narrative Difficulties
• High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Language Delay, Language Impairment, Language Disorders, Specific Language Impairment
• Learning Disabilities and Learning Difficulties of all types including Dyscalculia & Nonverbal
• Mental Health Anxiety / Depression as they relate to school work
• Reading Delay, Reading Impaired, Reading Disorders, Dyslexia
• Semantic and Pragmatic Disorders
• Sensory Processing Disorders
• Speech Sound Disorders and Dyspraxia
• Spelling Delay or Impairment
• Writing - Delay, Impairment, Disorders and Dysgraphia

NB: Services are not suitable for the following areas: Intellectual Disabled, Severely / Profoundly Autistic, Physically Impaired (Blind, Cerebral Palsy, Cerebral Palsy, Deaf, Stroke), Major Problem Behaviours, Major Medical Issues, or those with Major Mental Health concerns related to Trauma.

HOW DO WE DETERMINE WHO IS SELECTED:

Three professional clinicians involved with the program review all files for each applicant and determine if the program will be able to meet their needs. In some cases, professional advice is sought from other professionals.

WHAT IS REQUIRED TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY?

School aged children require a formal diagnosis from qualified practitioners. We require that ANY and ALL reports related to the child be provided to us. These typically will include:

1. Completion of a formal application to the program and the week/s you would like to attend including details about what you believe needs to be worked on.
2. Medical and Psychological reports that identify potential learning difficulties.
3. Lists of medications the child is currently taking.
4. Any assessments of hearing (auditory skills) and vision.
5. Any and ALL assessments of Intellectual Ability or Intelligence Quotient.
6. Any and all assessment reports identifying the child’s difficulties.
7. Any and ALL previous therapy reports to help us understand what has been tried already.
8. At least the two most recent school reports for the child or a letter from the child’s teacher outlining what the student needs help with.
9. If the child has had an Individualised Learning Program (at school) then the most recent ILP should be provided—this also helps us determine school-based goals that have been agreed upon by the family.
10. The family and school can provide any additional information that will aid us in determining eligibility and helping us target appropriate skills that need work.

All these materials are utilised to determine eligibility and what goals we might target during the intensive program. We cannot make a decision about inclusion in the program until we are confident we understand your child’s needs and how we might assist. In some instances, we may recommend further assessments and may be able to organise these at no cost.

SHINE or Variety Victoria staff may contact you to clarify information in your child’s application.

For further information please visit the VSIP 2019 SmartyGrants application form.