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Connected Kiddos Early Intervention

@connectedkiddos

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Connected Kiddos Early Intervention 🌿 Social work support where parents are part of the process. Connection first. Felt Safety. Regulation.

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I'm so tired of seeing parents feel like they're not doing enough.

The parents I work with are often doing an incredible amount to support their child's development. They're learning about their child's needs, working alongside therapists, trying new strategies and doing everything they can to help their child thrive.

But somewhere along the way, it can start to feel like there's always something more they should be doing.

And I wonder whether, in all that effort to support our children's development, we're sometimes overlooking the incredible value of what we're already doing.

What if I could show you how to make those everyday moments count, without adding more to your plate?

This is one of the reasons I love Marte Meo.

Using short video recordings of everyday interactions between you and your child, we slow things right down and notice the micro-moments that are so easily missed.

The moment your child takes an initiative. When you pause and give them time to respond. When you follow their interest instead of directing the play. When a tiny exchange becomes an opportunity for connection, communication and confidence.

Together, we look at what's already working, why it matters for your child's development and how you can build on it.

Not by adding another ten things to your to-do list, but by helping you recognise the value of what happens naturally between you and your child.

Because ultimately, we're not just working towards therapy goals. We're supporting children to develop their own ideas, confidence and sense of themselves in the world.

Interested in exploring Marte Meo?

Marte Meo can complement your child's existing therapies and is particularly suited to parents and caregivers of young children.

Sessions are also available online, including for families in regional areas.

Send Connected Kiddos a message to learn more or have a chat about whether Marte Meo might be a good fit for your family. by @connectedkiddos

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10 days ago

I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, but geez… are families really still being told this in 2026?

A parent I support was recently told by an NDIS planner that Social Work isn’t funded in early intervention. That supporting parents isn’t funded either. And that Psychology could be funded instead.

There is a lot to unpack there.

Social Workers don’t all do the same work, any more than Physios, OTs, Speech Pathologists or Psychologists do. Our degree gives us the foundation, but what we actually bring to a child and family depends on our experience, training and area of practice.

And working with parents and caregivers to build their capacity to support their child IS early intervention.

Families deserve accurate information about the supports available to their child, and the role different clinicians can play in supporting them.

So, a little myth-busting about Social Work in NDIS early intervention 👇 by @connectedkiddos

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20 days ago

Foster and kinship carers deserve far more recognition for the role they play.

They open their lives to a child and keep showing up through uncertainty, big feelings, complex systems and hard days. The safety, steadiness and connection they provide can be life-changing, yet so much of what they carry goes unseen.

When a child in care also has an NDIS plan, there is another complex system to understand and navigate.

Most families already have a Child Safety Officer and an agency caseworker. My role does not replace them. I focus on the child’s disability and developmental needs, and how these may overlap with early trauma, attachment and everyday family life.

I have worked alongside foster and kinship families since 2015. I can help carers understand what may be sitting underneath a child’s behaviour, make sense of assessments and recommendations, identify priorities and find practical ways to support their child at home.

It is about reducing some of the load, so carers have more capacity for what matters most: caring.

If you support a child with an NDIS plan and could use someone who already understands both spaces, you are welcome to message me about Early Intervention Key Worker support. by @connectedkiddos

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a month ago

Connected Kiddos is changing, and that's not a bad thing!

Over the past few months I’ve been thinking carefully about what I want this little practice to look like going forward.

What I keep coming back to is the work that feels most meaningful to me: supporting the whole family, not just the child in front of me.

What I bring is a social work lens: relational, practical and focused on the whole picture. It shapes how I understand children, support parents and work with the systems around them.

That might look like Early Intervention Key Worker support, making sense of reports and recommendations, preparing for meetings, helping you advocate, link in with services, bringing the team together, or simply giving you somewhere to put down the overwhelm for a little while.

My play therapy background still shapes how I understand children, relationships, connection and behaviour, but I’m leaning more intentionally into supporting caregivers because I’ve seen how much of a flow-on effect there is for children when their parents feel supported, understood and more confident in what they’re doing.

Connected Kiddos is becoming smaller and more intentional, but still family-centred, strengths-based and grounded in connection.

Your child may have a whole team.

You deserve someone in your corner too. 💗

Telehealth support available Australia-wide. by @connectedkiddos

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a month ago

While navigating this new way of working, I received this beautiful message from a Mum yesterday.

It cemented so much for me about where I'm heading. "I just wanted to thank you so much because you've helped [my child] get six hours a week of support funding before going to the second case conference! We truly appreciate you! We wouldn't have gotten there without you."

This outcome followed a year of our combined efforts to appeal an NDIS decision.
The appeal went to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) - an independent body that reviews certain decisions made by Australian Government agencies, including eligible NDIA decisions.

Together, we clearly advocated for and demonstrated why this awesome little five-year-old, now six, needed support to safely participate at home and access her community.

There were many opportunities to give up or retreat. The process was long, demanding and, at times, incredibly disheartening. But neither of us gave up.

We gathered and refined evidence, spoke clearly about her functional needs and the risks to her safety and wellbeing, and brought in other professionals to undeniably strengthen our 'why'.

Yesterday’s outcome was a shared celebration. After more than a year of rejections, persistence, waiting, questioning and trying again, this little person will finally receive six hours of Core support each week.

I felt so proud of her Mum! She kept going, even when the process gave her every reason not to.

I truly love supporting parents and caregivers. Their deep knowledge of their child, combined with my clinical understanding of development, disability and systems like the NDIS, is a beautiful combination.

Connected Kiddos is changing, but I'm not stepping away from supporting children - I'm recognising that one of the most valuable ways I can support a child is by walking alongside their parent or caregiver.

Supporting parents and caregivers has always been part of my work, but it's often been sandwiched between therapy sessions. Moving forward, it will have a dedicated place within Connected Kiddos.

Shared with permission and de-identified. by @connectedkiddos

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2 months ago

Building frustration tolerance in everyday play.

Sometimes it looks like a long line of dominoes across the playroom.

One by one, we built the line together and named what was happening as we went.

The excitement as the line grew longer.

The worry that it might fall before we were finished.

The anger and disappointment when it accidentally knocked over too soon.

The determination to try again.

And then, when the line was finally ready, we knocked them over together and watched with absolute delight as they tumbled one after another.

So much shared joy 😊

Frustration tolerance is not about stopping children from feeling upset. It is about helping them notice the feeling, stay supported through it, and learn that disappointment doesn’t have to mean the end of playing.

It is also about making room for the joy, the anticipation, the shared laughter and the “let’s do it again!”

Play gives children a safe place to practise these big internal moments with an adult beside them saying, “I can see this is hard, and I’m here with you.”

So yes — get the dominoes out.

Build the line.

Let it wobble and fall.

Name the feelings.

Delight in the mastery as it tumbles.

Try again.

It starts with connection. by @connectedkiddos

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5 months ago

This little neon sign sums up so much of what I believe in — as a social worker, play therapist, mum, and someone who spends a lot of time sitting alongside families when they’re exhausted, unsure, and ready for someone to help them make sense of it all.

At Connected Kiddos, my work is not about “fixing” children. It is about understanding what might be happening underneath the big feelings, the shutdowns, the anxiety, the refusal, the sensory overload, or the behaviours that leave everyone feeling stuck.

And connection isn’t just one thing. It’s a child’s relationship with themselves, their own feelings, body, and sense of who they are. It’s being truly seen, understood, and attuned to by their caregivers. It’s their confidence with other trusted adults, their ability to belong with peers, and their capacity to show up in learning and everyday life.

When we are connected to a child, really connected, we become their external regulator. We help settle their nervous system before they can do it themselves. This is co-regulation, and it is how children gradually build the capacity to manage their own emotions, behaviour, and relationships over time.

The research is clear. Connection is not a nice-to-have. It is the essential foundation for everything else. Children learn, cope, and grow through relationship.

This is what drives everything we do at Connected Kiddos — helping children feel more settled in themselves, more at ease in their relationships, and more seen and supported by the people who love them most.

Because it starts with connection 💫 by @connectedkiddos

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5 months ago

A different view of therapy today.

No toys out. No comfy floor chairs. No bubbles, feathers, balloons or movement games.

Just me, my desk, and a report.

But this part of therapy too.

Behind every play-based session is a lot of clinical reasoning, reflection, documentation and advocacy.

It is the play assessment that helps us understand what a child is communicating through their body, behaviour and relationships.

It is the planning for parent sessions, so caregivers can feel seen, understood and supported with practical strategies that fit their child and family.

It is the NDIS report that explains a child’s functional needs in a way that helps decision-makers understand why relational, play-based social work matters.

It is writing goals that reflect real-life participation.

It is preparing letters for paediatricians, sharing observations with allied health colleagues, and developing strategies that can be used across kindy, home and community.

It is making sense of what we see in the room and translating it into practical support across everyday life.

Therapy is not only what happens in the therapy room.

The work also happens outside of it — reflecting, planning, documenting and helping the people around a child stay connected.

It starts with connection. by @connectedkiddos

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5 months ago

Parents of children aged 0-8 with a disability, neurodivergence or developmental concerns - we would love to see you at the ENVISAGE Families program which is a free program for you!

Secure your place in a supportive space where parents can connect, learn practical strategies, and feel understood alongside other parents/caregivers navigating a similar journey.

Our current group has been such a beautiful coming together of families who just “get it” through their shared experiences, challenges and wins. The program is co-facilitated by myself and Peer Parent Jessica, bringing together both professional and lived experience perspectives. We'd love to see more families join us starting on May 25.

🌱 For parents of children aged 0-8 with developmental concerns. 💬 FREE 5 x Weekly Workshop Program (no NDIS plan/diagnosis needed), peer-supportive community, evidence based framework.

👉 Register today for one of the In Person Programs on offer in Townsville:
9am-10:30am Monday’s – ENVISAGE Program https://redcap.acu.edu.au/surveys/index.php?s=FzF2hqDtcbj8FAoV
Or
7pm-8:30pm Monday’s – ENVISAGE Program –ENVISAGE Program - Register Here! https://redcap.acu.edu.au/surveys/?s=AARYYNXCTXETKRJM&workshop_id=DSS_FAM_ACU_ACU_F5_250526_09_00813 by @connectedkiddos

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5 months ago

I’ve been noticing a pattern lately, and I know I’m not alone…

Things feel a bit heavy… like the world has come off its axis.

We’re carrying more than usual right now.

And our kids feel that. Not the details, but the energy.

You might notice it in bigger emotions, clinginess, resistance, or just needing more from you.

So we come back to what matters:

Rest
Nurture
Slow things down
Doing less (‘good enough’ is enough)
Kindness - toward yourself and each other

When we support our own regulation, we support theirs too. by @connectedkiddos

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6 months ago

All set up for a Theraplay session with child and Mum 💗 taken in Connected Kiddos by @connectedkiddos

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6 months ago

A beautiful friend in Canada went out of her way to track this down and send it over after I spotted it in a “check out these cool therapy resources” reel and couldn’t find them anywhere in Australia.

For some of the children I work with, including those with physical disability, blowing bubbles isn’t always accessible. Breath control, oral motor skills, or physical differences can make it harder to take part.

But with this little puffer fish, we can squeeze… and suddenly they’re part of the moment.

And that changes everything.

Now we can build:
Shared joy
Back-and-forth interaction
A sense of “I can do this”
Connection with the adult in the room

Finding what children can do - and meeting them there. by @connectedkiddos

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6 months ago