Issue 54 Aurora Magazine January 2023

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engage FINDING PURPOSE AND BELONGING Tullybrook Individualised Support Services STORY SERENA KIRBY | PHOTOS SERENA KIRBY Michelle Lott knows how good it feels to win awards. Her business was named the Community Service winner at the 2022 Great Southern Business Awards and the previous year she won the Home-based Small Business Award. But Michelle’s biggest reward doesn’t come from prestigious prizes or shiny plaques, it comes from the work she does and the knowledge that her decision to follow her dream was the right one. “My dream was to create a place where individuals with disabilities could access one on one and small group learning opportunities in a safe and friendly farm environment,” Michelle says. “There’s a big risk starting your own home-based small business and when my partner and I bought this property we could see what it could offer in the form of nature-based learning and it certainly hasn’t disappointed us.” The fact that Michelle becomes teary when she reflects on what she and her business has achieved is testament to the amount of heart and soul she puts into what she does. It can’t be easy opening your home to your clients, preparing meals with them and devising activities that build independence, but Michelle is no newcomer to working in the disability sector. “When I first moved down here I ran a child care centre and we often had kids with disabilities in our care. But even before then, my dad worked for the Active Foundation and I’d sometimes volunteer with him. After selling the childcare centre I spent several years with Child Australia who support the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood. From there I moved into a role as one of the Great Southern’s local area coordinators with the Disability Services Commission.” Michelle adds that, other than what she’s doing now, working with DSC was the best job she’d ever had as it was all about building relationships with the families she worked with. “I was part of their journey. It was a relationship-based service back then. But now, under the NDIS, that relationship part of the service is no longer possible.” After years with the DSC Michelle noticed there was a gap in support services for the families she worked with and that, while there were a lot of support systems for people 22 LOVE LOCAL
engage with very high needs, she could see some people with less visible needs were simply “slipping through the cracks”. Tullybrook has been working to fill those gaps by helping people with autism and intellectual disabilities to build skills towards independence. It may be someone trying to transition into independent living or a teenager trying to gain employment. It may even be someone suffering debilitating anxiety, a fear of animals or someone with challenges around boundaries and social skills. Catering to around 50 people over the course of a year Michelle’s clients range from primary school age to those in later life and all are on the NDIS. As a home-based family business Tullybrook receives no government funding and is ineligible for community, State and Federal funding. The business survives solely on income from the programs it runs. “People come to us with a set of goals via their NDIS plan. We then do an assessment and tailor a program to meet those goals. It could be a one-on-one program or a peer support, small group program. We explore the farm, care for the animals, cook together, learn to follow instructions and share meals just as you would in an everyday setting. It’s all about building confidence and creating real life situations so the skills they learn are easily transferable to life outside Tullybrook.” Even mastering the art of ‘choice’ can be difficult for some of Michelle’s clients. “Making a choice can be hard because it’s not only about what you want but it’s also about negotiating with other people. We don’t teach by telling people what to do, we teach by doing, listening, observing and working together. Feeding the horses, holding the guinea pigs, playing games or helping in the veggie garden - all these things create learning opportunities.” Michelle adds that independence looks different for everyone; it might be living by yourself, doing your own shopping, driving a car or earning your own money. And, within that, there are many small steps needed to reach independence. “Independence may even simply be learning to be able to say yes or no. If a person can’t do that verbally then they may be able to use a tool to signal yes or no. There’s independence in that and if we don’t look hard enough - it’s missed.” EDEN GATE Blueberry Farm Find us at the Albany Farmers Market every Saturday morning. We offer fresh and frozen blueberries, fresh double blueberry muffins, hand crafted blueberry ice cream, a range of blueberry preserves, Blueberry Blitz Bluemonade and our legendary alcoholic blueberry liqueur. Enjoy the relaxed, laid back and pleasant atmosphere of WA’s first blueberry farm. Open from 1st December to 27th February, Thursday to Monday, 10:30 to 16:00. We’d love to have you visit but please let us know you’re coming by calling ahead. Building the ability to have a voice and have a say is incredibly important and marries well with Michelle’s aim to create a place of learning, purpose and belonging. It also echoes the poignant words of American emotions expert, Liz Fosslien, who wrote, “Diversity is having a seat at the table, inclusion is having a voice, and belonging is having that voice be heard.” www.tullybrook.com.au OPPOSITE PAGE: Michelle Lott has created a beautiful place of learning for people with disabilities. RIGHT: Michelle and her partner Stuart Evans on their Tullybrook farm in Hay, just east of Denmark. 685 Eden Road, Youngs Siding Tel: (08) 9845 2003 info@edengate.com.au ARCHITECTURE WITH HEART 08 9848 3894 info@ptxarchitects.com.au ptxarchitects.com.au LOVE LOCAL 23
Page 1 and 2: FREE Aurora Issue 54 GREAT SOUTHERN
Page 3 and 4: contents 4 SPOTLIGHT ISI CAMPBELL D
Page 5 and 6: spotlight PHOTO: SERENA KIRBY had i
Page 7 and 8: Just a note to say THANK YOU histor
Page 9 and 10: focus REBECCA KIRKWOOD Leading the
Page 11 and 12: BROADER HORIZONS Chelsea McIntyre |
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Page 17 and 18: vogue BREEZE ATA WRIGHT | LOCATION
Page 19 and 20: vogue OPPOSITE PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM
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Page 25 and 26: create thus allowing flexibility wh
Page 27 and 28: perform treat it as a privilege and
Page 29 and 30: what's on The Albany Art Group 61st
Page 31 and 32: Everything we put in the Gig Guide

Issue 54 Aurora Magazine January 2023

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