Since 1970, SBH Queensland has been offering support to adults and kids having spina bifida as well as hydrocephalus. Over 700 children and adults having spina bifida and hydrocephalus including their families had information, support and therapy from SBH Queensland in the year 2013.
The Babies at Home initiative offers support to the families from the phase of condition diagnosis including therapy to the babies to the time when they begin a formal education program. Upon commencing formal education the SBH Queensland Education and Therapy Service assumes control. The Babies at Home program relies on fundraising and on your donations to operate as it gets no government funding. For the periods 2012-13 and 2013-14 most of the program funding was given by the Westfield Corporation thus enormously helping the initiative.
The SBH Queensland Education and Therapy Service offer speech and language pathology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work and education counselling to kids and their families having spina bifida or hydrocephalus. They also offer support and advice to teachers including other professionals. SBH Queensland gets financial backing from the Government Department of Education, Employment and Training towards running the program.
The SBH Queensland GOALS program teaches grownups having spina bifida or hydrocephalus several of the life skills required to live healthy. The Department of Communities – Disability Services, Queensland offers a subsidy towards helping in running the program.
Having in excess of 40 years working experience, SBH Queensland is well esteemed as the an expert and professional provider of quality services to adults and kids having spina bifida and hydrocephalus in the State of Queensland. SBH Queensland offers support from the time the pregnant mother gets to know that her unborn kid got spina bifida or hydrocephalus all the way to the adult years of the child.
SBH Queensland teams in Townsville and Brisbane offer home visits, holiday camps, outreach visits, support, and therapy plus group programs across Queensland.
SBH Queensland Vision
The vision is to enhance the wellbeing and lives of people having spina bifida and hydrocephalus in Queensland. To attain this, they are offering high quality client–based support to the affected individuals, the carers and their families by means of family support, therapy, information, and teaching services.
The SBH Queensland staff
SBH Queensland has engaged 14 professional members to offer services to kids and adults having spina bifida and hydrocephalus plus an additional two support staff.
The SBH Queensland Values
- Respecting everybody working with SBH plus their whole families
- Dedication to giving lifelong support
- Offering quality services
Resources at SBH Queensland
The following videos and books available at SBH Queensland for loan to the members:
- Videos
- Spina Bifida Guides
- Hydrocephalus
- Schooling
- Self-esteem and skills
- Parenting
- Children’s Storybooks
- For adults
The Babies at Home Program
SBH Queensland Babies at Home Program gets no funding from the government although it has received some funding coming from the Southern Cross Association, Westfield as well as others towards undertaking this critically essential therapy for new babies who are having spina bifida and for supporting for their own families.
SBH Queensland Services for children
SBH Queensland offers services to kids having spina bifida and hydrocephalus as well as their families towards assisting them in preparing their kid for their life at school and even beyond.
- Support and linking with medical staff
- Advice on home modifications, aids and equipment
- Yearly Christmas Party
- Country trips for outreach
- Playgroups in the City of Brisbane
- Yearly Camps for the 10 – 13 year olds during the school holidays in September for 4 days.
- Short term loan equipment for helping families
For kids having a disability level that is severe level, SBH Queensland also offers:
- Help with inclusion in the schools
- Individual therapy sessions
To aid the kids get included as comprehensively as possible in schools (including other types of educational settings), the SBH Queensland is offering information on continence issues, issues of mobility and the ordinary challenges linked with hydrocephalus to the teachers, the other school support staff as well as other types of service providers. Apart from information, the staffs are also offering advice on suitable strategies in dealing with all these challenges as they come up at home and at school.
Therapists at SBH Queensland also offer advice and information and to other therapists and professionals working with kids having spina bifida and hydrocephalus.
SBH Queensland Services for Adults
The SBH Adults Services Skills Information & Support Team (SBH-ASSIST) is giving two services:
- Individual Response Service (SBH-IRS)
- Growth Opportunities Access & Life Skills (SBH-GOALS)
The IRS offers short term support to grownups having SBH who are undergoing unexpected and significant life changes.
The GOALS program or service assists grownups having helps SBH in developing and being able to maintain a lifestyle that is meaningful in enhancing their life quality through running workshops for assisting them to gain life skills.
The SBH Queensland Supporters
SBH Queensland gets no funding from the government for kids prior to their formal entry into education and depends on the generous support of people and businesses.