Community Access / Linking

We support people with disabilities with one-to-one support to develop relationship networks and to actively participate in community life. The Community Access and Linking Program assists people to sustain existing and build new relationships with friends, family and people within the broader community. 

Relationships promote inclusion and opportunities to socialise which is important for living a quality life. Support is intensive, planned and individualised, focusing on maintaining and developing the skills that allow a person to pursue their individual interests and goals. The role of the Support Worker may include facilitating access to training, further education, recreation or leisure activities.

Post School Options

We support people with disabilities through a period of transition as they leave behind the role of student and begin to take on adult roles. Post School Options provides support not only to the young person but also to their family/carers.

This program aims to enable the young person to experience a range of options and opportunities emphasising their changing role within their family, increasing their participation in community life, and building their relationships and recreational interests. Some young people will also wish to explore vocational goals either through work experience or through short-term pre-vocational courses and activities.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Assistance is provided to people with communication impairments and their families to assist them communicate effectively. A lack of ability to communicate creates frustration and anger. This can manifest in anti-social behaviours that may prevent the individual from accessing opportunities in their community. Effective communication aids for people with disability and their families are developed using a respectful, flexible and holistic approach. We aim to give people the opportunity to access resources that enable them to communicate.

Some people with a disability benefit from the use of communication aids to assist them in their communication with others and increase their level of personal independence. Through the WR Black Resource Centre, we have the ability to create individualised communication aids, which include:

• Flash cards/Choice cards
• Communication books
• Diaries/Planners
• Voice Output Overlays
• Qwerty Boards
• Keyboard and On-Screen Overlays

Communication aids are developed in consultation with the person and often with the support of a speech therapist, family and friends. There is a fee for the development of communication aids which is negotiated, depending on the person’s requirements to communicate their needs, choices and decisions.