Onemda Weekly eNews - Friday 31 March, 2023

Dear Participants, Families & Carers,

Hope it’s been a great week, as we well and truly start to ‘enjoy’ the cool and showery days of Autumn and look forward to World Autism Awareness Day this coming Sunday 2 April (see below).

It’s a packed issue this week, so please make sure you take the time to check this week’s updates as some information may affect you, or the person in your care.

CONGRATULATIONS MATTHEW!

Huge congratulations to one of our talented artists, Matthew Lam (pictured left), who has recently taken out a prize at the Have A Say Conference Art Competition.

The theme of the competition this year was ‘True Friends’, and Matthew’s work – shown below left – was highly rated by judges, who awarded him a $350 prize. His artwork is currently on display at the Office of the Senior Practitioner.

This is not the first time Matthew has received acclaim for his work, and a number of his pieces are on display at Onemda, alongside those of very many other creative and talented artists who we are fortunate to have participating in our programs at Onemda.

Make sure you have a look on the walls next time you are visiting one of our campuses, and watch this space for your opportunity to see the most recent artworks, planned for later in the year.

NEW NAME FOR ONEMDA PROGRAM

Onemda has long operated three Group Services program streams to cater for people with a range of needs, interests and goals. We are always reviewing those programs – and the way we describe them – to make sure that we are clearly communicating their scope and benefits.

As part of this ongoing review, Onemda will be changing the name of the High Care & Wellbeing stream to Enrichment & Wellbeing.

With a program that covers everything from music and art, to learning activities, exercise and wellbeing, sensory experiences, armchair travel and community exploration – all in a friendly, fun and supportive environment – we believe the new name more accurately reflects the experience of being part of this fantastic group cohort.

You can find out more about this program stream, and all Onemda’s programs and activities, at onemda.com.au

PUBLIC HOLIDAY REMINDER: EASTER BREAK

A reminder that Onemda will close for the annual Easter Break, with no programs or services on Good Friday 7 April, or Easter Monday 10 April.

All programs and services will resume as usual on Tuesday 11 April.

You can always check closure dates on our Important Dates Calendar, or contact us on 9842 1955 if you have any queries.

IMPORTANT - CONSENT FORMS

Thank you to those who have already completed our Consent Form. The consent form asks you for all the information we need to make sure we can deliver our services and seeks your consent to use and disclose that information if necessary. This information is a mandatory requirement /compliance from NDIS.

If you are yet to return the form to us, please complete and return the Consent forms to [email protected] or return a printed version to us inside the participant communication diary, or pass to the Manager you deal with directly, or if you attend Doncaster East Main Campus, you can hand over to Reception.

If you have any questions regarding this, please contact Onemda’s Contracts Administrator on [email protected] or phone 0398421955.

WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY – SUNDAY 2 APRIL

This Sunday is World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD), and this year, the theme is Transformation: Towards a Neuro-Inclusive World For All

Amazing progress has been made over the past few years in increasing awareness, understanding and acceptance of autism. There is still work to be done, though, to build a more inclusive and accepting world.

WAAD activities this year will focus on ‘transforming the narrative’ by highlighting the contributions of autistic people at home, at work, in the arts and in policymaking, and celebrating the talent and initiative of neuro-diverse people.

Click here to learn more about WAAD and find out how you can be involved.

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHT

GLENROY – Pathways to Independence & Employment (PIE)

Glenroy PIE has been very busy over the first term, with a number of new participants adjusting to the routine of an adult service with support from their peers.

New programs have commenced this year which have been warmly received by both program participants & staff.

Embrace Café Trailer is programmed every Tuesday and is proving a popular activity designed to provide important skills and work experience. At this stage, those involved in the program travel to Onemda’s Doncaster East campus where they develop their skills in hospitality. The feedback received from this work readiness program is universally positive, with participants overheard announcing, “I’m going to work at the cafe”, “I made a cappuccino” and “I served customers” – all said with a big smile and obvious pride at their achievements so far.

On a recent Thursday, a group head into the Box Hill Institute City Campus to participate in an ACFE course with a group from the Ringwood Campus. Campus Coordinator, Andrea Rohr, says, “I was fortunate to attend this program and it is so rewarding to observe the participants independently interacting in this program and helping staff like me by giving directions to the campus and explaining the program content.”

Glenroy Pathways – like all groups – has many participants who love AFL, so a group decided to create a footy tipping competition this season. Not only does this provide learning opportunities including team building, and numeracy and literacy as participants collate and develop the weekly football fixture, it has created lots of social interaction between peers that have not previously connected, as they learn that they have more in common than perhaps they thought!

It looks like the sun will come out again over the next couple of days, so enjoy your weekend and remember, you are always welcome to contact us if you have any questions or need information.

Just call on 9842 1955 or use the email addresses below.