By Jamie Salter
Early learning centres and parents across Cardinia Shire are calling for more allied health support as they grow tired of sitting stagnant on waiting lists for early intervention.
Families in the shire say they are waiting up to two years for their children to access vital health services including speech pathologists, occupational therapists and psychologists.
Pakenham mum of two Nabeala Dordevic has experienced lengthy wait times for multiple services.
Her autistic son is almost five years old and has been waiting nearly three years to see a psychologist.
“It’s to the point where most services in Cardinia Shire have their wait lists closed,“ Mrs Dordevic said.
“Both of my kids are autistic and we have NDIS funding that we can’t use.“
When Mrs Dordevic’s daughter turns seven, she will no longer be eligible for NDIS early intervention funding.
“Where we are is a growth corridor, massively increasing with young families and we don’t have the infrastructure to support these families,“ Mrs Dordevic said.
“It defeats the whole point of early intervention.
“If you want to address these issues before they get to school they’ve got that support in place.“
Former Cardinia Lakes ELC educator and mother of three children on the autism spectrum Shelley Duggan said when her youngest was diagnosed; wait times to access services were more than two years.
“My daughter was diagnosed at 19 months old and was eligible for NDIS but the wait times were up to two years, so we’re only going through the process of getting funding approved now that she’s four years old, rather than apply for it and not be able to use it,” she said.
“I decided to wait and do the best I could in the meantime, but the younger they access early intervention the better because they’re able to learn new skills when they’re young and have the maximum benefit.”
The Gembrook resident travels to Warrandyte to access an occupational therapist for her daughter after struggling to access a local service.
“With more children needing assistance being identified and the number of services available remaining the same, I don’t think this issue is going away anytime soon.”
Little Saints ELC director Emma Heyward said a shortage of professional health services in Cardinia Shire was taking its toll.
“We know there’s been a lot of families in our care who are struggling because of the wait lists and that may be due to a shortage of these services in the shire,“ she said.
“I think the wait time is quite extensive for children who need these services and we need to look at why there aren’t more available.“
Cardinia Lakes ELC owner Tamika Hicks said a lack of early intervention places “a huge deal of stress” early childcare educators.
“There’s an increase of children who have challenges and that adds to stress in the classroom because educators don’t have the supports in place as they try to manage these challenges,“ she said.
“When they’re on the waiting list for 12 months when their two, three, or four years old, that’s quite a big chunk of their life when their brains are developing.”
Paediatric exercise physiologist Robyn Papworth said the delay in receiving allied health support during early years may have an impact on the child’s physical, emotional and social development.
“Lockdowns over the past two years have already seen challenges in children’s physical, emotional and social development,“ she said.
“The pandemic has exacerbated therapists waiting lists and appointment availability due to now trying to catch up on two years worth of rescheduling and cancelling appointments.
“As a mother of a child who has been born with developmental motor skill delays, I have seen first hand the importance of getting my son the allied health support that he needed when he was in kindergarten.“
Without accessing these services at a young age, children in the area may fall through the gaps and enter primary school without a professional diagnosis.
