Educational Programs for Parents and Carers
We offer educational programs for parents and carers to build confidence and practical skills in supporting children’s communication at home and in everyday life. Our programs are designed to fit naturally into family routines and support communication in meaningful, everyday ways.
We provide evidence-based parent education and training, including Hanen More Than Words, as well as support and guidance around Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Key Word Sign. These programs help families better understand how their child communicates and learn practical strategies to support language, interaction, and connection.
Training is available through individual sessions or small group programs and is tailored to each family’s unique needs, goals, and priorities.
Hanen More Than Words is designed for parents of autistic children and children with social communication differences. The program focuses on helping parents understand how their child communicates, respond in a neurodiversity-affirming way, and use play, everyday routines, and shared activities to support language development, social interaction, and meaningful connection.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) refers to ways of communicating that do not rely on spoken words. AAC can support children, teenagers, and adults who have difficulty speaking or who benefit from additional ways to express themselves.
AAC options range from:
- No-tech systems, such as signs, gestures, and facial expressions
- Low-tech systems, including picture boards and printed communication books such as PODD
- High-tech systems, such as tablets or iPads with speech-generating software
If a person is finding it difficult to communicate using speech alone, we work closely with them and their families or support networks to identify an AAC system that best suits their needs, abilities, and everyday environments. Our goal is to support meaningful, effective communication and participation in daily life.
Key Word Sign
Key Word Sign is a form of no-tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) used to support and enhance communication. It involves using signs for important or “key” words while speaking, rather than signing every word in a sentence.
Key Word Sign is not a complete sign language like Auslan. Instead, it borrows signs from Auslan and is used alongside spoken language to help support understanding and expression. This approach can be helpful for children, teenagers, and adults who benefit from visual support to communicate more effectively.
Fluency – Lidcombe Program
Fluency intervention supports children who stutter by helping them communicate with confidence and reducing the impact stuttering may have on everyday life. Therapy focuses on developing smooth, relaxed speech while also supporting confidence, emotional wellbeing, and positive communication experiences.
We offer the Lidcombe Program, an evidence-based, parent-led intervention for young children who stutter. Parents are coached to provide supportive, structured feedback during everyday conversations, helping children improve fluency in a natural, encouraging, and family-centred way.
Responsive Feeding Program
Our Responsive Feeding Program supports children and families to create positive, pressure-free mealtime experiences. The program uses a child-led approach that respects individual needs while helping caregivers provide structure, routine, and a supportive eating environment.
We support a range of feeding challenges, including picky eating, sensory sensitivities, food refusal, and mealtime anxiety, using practical strategies that can be easily used at home.
Kindy Uplift Professional Development
We offer Kindy Uplift professional development in-house training sessions for early childhood educators across a range of practical, evidence-based topics. Sessions are designed to support educators with strategies they can confidently use in their everyday practice.
Training topics include:
- Supporting age-appropriate speech sound development
- Cued Articulation
- Supporting receptive and expressive language development
- Oral narrative skills and the Visualising and Verbalising program
- Pre-literacy skills
- Key Word Sign and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
- Gestalt Language Development
Training sessions can be tailored to meet the needs, goals, and experience levels of individual services and teams.