Pittwater Life July 2019 Issue

Health & Wellbeing
Health & Wellbeing
Local ADHD support grows
It is estimated that one in 20
children in Australia have
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD) – a chronic
problem that results in poor
concentration and control of
impulses.
Local group ADHD Support
Australia has been holding
monthly expert speaker evenings
on the northern beaches
since 2013.
Originally called Northern
Beaches ADHD Support Group
and with an aim to support parents
of children with ADHD on
the Northern Beaches through
expert speaker evenings,
various meet-ups and self-care
events, Facebook groups, parenting
courses and a website,
the organisation is in the middle
of a momentous year.
February saw the group
re-brand as ADHD Support Australia
in order to reach those in
need of help with ADHD across
the country and launched its
new website which incorporates
information on ADHD, a directory
of professionals, services,
resources and recommended
products, an expert blog and
event listings.
In January, Founder and
organiser Vivian Dunstan was
awarded a Northern Beaches
Council Australia Day Outstanding
Community Service
Award for her commitment and
dedication to helping the ADHD
community on the Northern
Beaches over the past six years.
And in May, ADHD Support
Australia received news that
it is now endorsed to provide
NSW Education Standards
Authority (NESA) Registered
Professional Development for
teachers accredited at Proficient
Teacher level.
“This is fantastic news as it
is so important for teachers to
have the training and skills to
GROUP FOUNDER: Vivian Dunstan
ensure children with ADHD are
well-catered for in the classroom,
allowing them to reach
their full potential academically,
socially and emotionally,” Vivian
told Pittwater Life.
“This new development will
give local teachers added incentive
to come along and access
training from leading experts in
ADHD and its co-morbid conditions
every month at Pittwater
RSL in Mona Vale.”
Thanks to Pittwater RSL’s
sponsorship of ADHD Support
Australia, teachers and parents
alike are able to access the
speaker evenings for only $15.
At this month’s meeting,
educational consultant Sharon
Pittwater Friends of
Soibada is a diverse group
of locals who are committed
to forging a lasting
friendship between our
community and those in the
Central Timor Leste province
of Soibada.
Its latest mission is to
raise money for clean water
for birthing clinics.
Group founder Tamara
Sloper-Harding explained
that a few years ago the
Timorese Government built
a new maternity clinic in
Soibada; however due to the
extreme weather conditions
there is no water in the clinic
in the dry season.
The midwives need to
carry soiled sheets to the
river to wash them and
Bramble will present her talk
Demystifying Reading – for
Parents of Children with ADHD
and Associated Learning Difficulties.
Attendees will hear about
the current reading practices
taught in schools and will learn
multisensory strategies using
systematic phonics that will
help children with ADHD as well
as enhance learning for other
children.
If a child with ADHD also has
a language-based learning difficulty,
a multisensory teaching
approach – which simultaneously
uses visual, auditory and
kinaesthetic pathways to the
brain – will enhance memory
and increase learning, she says.
With more than 20 years’
experience assisting learners
of all ages and abilities with
ADHD, Sharon will share some
of the evidence-based practices
which she has successfully
taught to hundreds of teachers
in primary and secondary
schools across New South
Wales.
The meeting will be held in
the Pittwater RSL Auditorium on
July 30 from 6.45-8.45pm. Go
to the website adhdsupportaustralia.com.au
for more details.
– Lisa Offord
Soibada Stayin’ Alive Disco
families carry water to the
clinic when mothers give
birth.
The group recently
purchased an industrial
washing machine for the
clinic and in July a working
party will go there to put in a
water tank and guttering so
it can be used.
And they need your
support.
One way you can help
is by dressing up and
heading to Avalon RSL Club
on Saturday July 6 for the
Stayin’ Alive Disco Party
fundraising event.
Tickets ($35) are available
from Studio Hair, Mitre 10
Avalon, Avalon RSL and
online at avalonrsl.com.au
– LO
44 JULY 2019
The Local Voice Since 1991