News and notices Pānui

Community-led approach boosts whānau engagement

13 September 2024

Our Sensational Families sessions in Whakatāne have gone from strength to strength thanks to a new partnership with not-for-profit organisation Parent to Parent, which has seen the frequency of sessions triple this year.

Our Sensational Families sessions in Whakatāne have gone from strength to strength thanks to a new partnership with not-for-profit organisation Parent to Parent, which has seen the frequency of sessions triple this year.

Our Whakatāne Child Development Service has worked with Parent to Parent to make it easier to access care by taking the sessions out into the community. Attendance has since increased from a few families per session to 15 families.

Sensational Families is for families with children who have sensory processing difficulties and are now held in Whakatāne, Kawerau and Ōpōtiki rather than only at Whakatāne Hospital.

“Now that people don’t have to travel long distances to attend the sessions, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of people attending and so many more families are able to reap the benefit of these sessions,” says Occupational Therapist, Harriet Gilmour.

She says the new more open and informal style of the sessions has also been well received.

“We had a mum come to one session, then the dad came to the next, and then the nan came to the third. The family realised the importance of understanding their child and being able to advocate for them. That uptake would never have happened at the hospital.”

Nancy Sheridan, also an Occupational Therapist, says Sensational Families gives people an amazing platform to build on.

“When you have a neurodiverse child, you can feel isolated, so having the connection point with education and the reassurance that they are not alone empowers the family,” she says.

Sensational Families is also successfully run out of Tauranga Child Development Service.