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Inclusive books for the hearing impaired and non-verbal family members
A U S L A N BOOK BUNDLE
A fantastic introduction to the world of Auslan for both the hearing and deaf communities. Each page includes the written story as well as the associated Auslan signs, meaning you can choose to read or sign your way from start to finish. thetherapystore.com.au
BARBIE ON WHEELS!
This little beauty has been on the shelves for a little while now! The range of diverse Barbies now includes Barbie in her wheelchair, differing body shapes and cultures. We love that diversity is growing in children’s toys; just as it should be! www.kmart.com.au
We love
D A I L Y A N D W E E K L Y S C H E D U L E S F O R S U P E R L E A R N E R S !
These fabulous daily and weekly schedules have been put together by the team at Cerebral Palsy Alliance. These are great to use whilst maintaining a certain routine during the COVID restrictions and beyond! There is a “drag-and-drop” version, whilst the PDF version is “cut-and-stick” for those who like visuals. cerebralpalsy.org.au
BIKE FUN WITH THE DCP MINI
The DCP Mini, designed for children between 18 months and 5 years old, is a great way to gain therapeutic advantages from an activity that your rider will love. This bike features all of the traditional Discovery features, and even has a cool squeaky animal horn. Multiple quick release mechanisms make this bike ideal for a group setting, where therapists need to make quick adjustments on the fly to fit different riders. dejay.com.au
Hello Spring...
Ithink half the country is shouting hallelujah that we have finally made it to SPRING! 2020 has brought so many new and unusual experiences for all
Australians, the one thing that I know makes me smile a little, is that first hint of spring. The warmer days, the scent of spring flowers and that feeling like you’ve left something behind – winter!
And while (as we go to print) Victorians are still in lockdown, state borders are closed, clusters of COVID-19 keep rearing their ugly head, and uncertainty seems to be a constant in our lives, that little hint of the new season will hopefully uplift the country’s spirits and put a little spring in our step as we continue our fight to return to normal.
This is our first print mag since Autumn.
With COVID making it near-on impossible to distribute our mag through outlets like schools, therapy centres, clinics and hospitals etc., we flipped to digital and rolled out a 3-part digi series that went
OFF! The series followed the COVID pathway from iso-days, to returning to life, to the road to recovery, and then a few steps back again, and we were amazed by the response and feedback received from our amazing SK community.
So, in returning to print, we wanted to cover something we’ve had on our radar for a while and something loads of you have been asking for –
TEENS! In this issue we outline some fab groups and services just for teens, how NDIS can help and support teens through times of transition, some cool teen products, plus we hear from our cover star and brand ambassador, Riley Saban as he shares his journey in taking on the world.
And there is loads more too – an ultimate guide to Sensory Processing Disorder, sensory shopping,
Botox, and on the sports front we profile Race
Running, cricket for individuals with disability and we get the lowdown about Will Clarke and his incredible achievements in ‘Where There’s a Will’.
I hope everyone is staying safe, well and positive – enjoy our Spring issue!
Emma x
magazine
SOURCE KIDS LIMITED
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Send all letters and submissions to: editor@sourcekids.com.au
WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
Nicole Davis, Rachel Williams, Emma Price, Katherine Granich, Leap In!, Kelly Wilton, Riley Saban, Fiona Lawton, Growing Early Minds and Emily Hayles.
PARTNERSHIPS
Carmen Smith Head of Partnerships & Strategy carmen@sourcekids.com.au 0438 847 969
ADVERTISING
Matthew Rainsford Head of Sales & Business Development matthew@sourcekids.com.au 0499 017 354
Naomi Sirianni Business Development Manager naomi@sourcekids.com.au 0447 755 043
DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR
Nicole Davis nicole@sourcekids.com.au
GRAPHIC DESIGN Emma Henderson
PUBLISHER/CEO
Emma Price
Editorial and advertising in Source Kids is based on material, written and verbal, provided by contributors and advertisers. No responsibility is taken for errors or omissions, and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. All material in Source Kids is subject to copyright provisions. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission by the publisher.
We love
C O N N E T I X F O R L I T T L E B U I L D E R S
Have a tonne of fun building with these Connetix Tiles 100 piece set. There are 8 different geomagnetic shapes in this set – build original constructions, animals or anything you can imagine! rainbowfun.com.au
B O U L D E R S L I D E
The HART Boulder Slide is perfect for your little adventurers to climb up and slide down! The Boulder Slide helps to develop kid’s strength, flexibility, problem-solving skills and work on hand, feet and eye coordination skills. hartsport.com.au
FOUND ME APPAREL
Hands up if you ever worry that your child could become lost when out in public? Found Me Apparel has been designed to give us peace of mind that you would be reunited quickly if your child runs off or becomes separated from you. Found Me Apparel is a simple, stylish and discrete way for your child to always have emergency contact numbers through the unique QR code format. With a great range of popular designs and a ‘Design Your Own’ option, there is sure to be something to suit every child’s interests!
foundmeapparel.com.au SUPER CLEVER GROSS MOTOR AND ACTIVITY CARDS
We love these gross motor and activity cards suitable for children of all ages and abilities, especially at the moment with COVID restrictions. They are the perfect resource for parents, teachers and therapists to help motivate and develop children’s gross motor skills, strength, balance, coordination, motor planning, body awareness and flexibility! It’s all about being active and having fun, which we love here at Source Kids! kidspt.com.au
How often do you think about your child’s gut health? As a parent of a child with unique needs, diet and nutrition are likely to be on your mind anyway. But often, because we’re focussed on caloric intake, expanding our child’s repertoire of foods, or developing oral and feeding skills, the details of what can help (and hinder) our child’s gut health may seem like just one more thing on the list.
But gut health is an important consideration for children, particularly if your child is taking medication or supplements, is tube-fed, or fall into the “picky eater” category (which we know isn’t as simple as it sounds, and can be caused by a number of things, like oral aversion, chronic reflux, developmental delays, and more). And research is starting to show that gut health may impact other areas of overall health and wellbeing.
What is “gut health”?
When we talk about gut health, what we’re really referring to is the health of your microbiome – the home where your microbiota (community of microbes) lives, and is located primarily in your large intestine. These microbes, which are mainly bacteria or “gut bugs”, can be helpful or unhelpful, and what we eat can have a big impact on whether we have a healthy gut microbiome.
Research is starting to show that
The guts OF IT
Supporting your child’s gut health by incorporating prebiotic-rich foods in their diet may help their overall health.
the health of your microbiome can be linked to a number of medical conditions and illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome, type two diabetes, and depression. Some of the collections of microbes in your body may play a role in how you respond to medication, how well your body absorbs vitamin supplements, and even how efficiently your body extracts nutrients from the food you eat.
Welcome to the neighbourhood
Like your local community, the gut bugs that make up your microbiome can be helpful or unhelpful – good neighbours or bad neighbours. The good gut bugs, like good neighbours, have a beneficial effect on the microbiome, and therefore on your
F A C T Your gut can contain up to 1000 different species of bacteria.
overall health. The good bugs in your gut feed on prebiotics, and they get these from the food you ingest.
There are many types of prebiotics, and the major prebiotic-rich foods that feed good gut bugs are fructans, galactooligosaccharides (GOS), and candidate prebiotics (resistant starch). Some foods, which fall into one or more of these categories, and are therefore probioticrich, are: • Al-dente pasta • Artichokes • Asparagus • Baked beans • Beetroot • Black beans • Brussel sprouts • Butternut pumpkin • Cashews • Chickpeas • Cooked and cooled rice, pasta, and potatoes • Couscous • Custard apple
• Freekeh • Garlic • Green banana flour • Green peas • Hummus dip • Milk fortified with prebiotic • Muesli • Oat milk • Pearl barley • Pistachios • Pumpkin seeds • Red kidney beans • Red onion • Rolled oats • Silken tofu • Split peas • The bulbs of leeks • Unripe bananas • Wholebran
To feed those good gut bugs, it’s important to eat at least 30 different plant foods per week, including fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, legumes, and seeds. It’s also important to include prebiotic-rich foods such as those from the list above.
Prebiotics and your child’s diet
Let’s be honest – did you read that list of prebiotic-rich foods and think to yourself, “My child will never eat any of those things!” It’s a bit overwhelming to consider. What’s important is that you assess where your child’s diet is at, what your capabilities are to make changes to the food they’re eating, and how you can implement prebiotic-rich foods without causing yourself or your child any undue stress. Also, keep in mind that you will be working with smaller, child-sized portions, not adult-sized portions.
First, check in with your child’s
D I D Y O U K N O W ? The microbiome functions like another organ in your body, and weighs 1-2kg _ similar to the weight of your brain.
dietitian, nutritionist or, if they don’t have one, their GP, particularly if they are tube-feeding. Ask for their advice about how to ensure your child is getting a good amount of prebiotics in their diet. If your child is being tube-fed a medicalgrade formula, this may already have prebiotics and/or probiotics in it. If your child is tube-fed a blended diet or a real food diet, your dietitian may have ideas on how to add a balance of prebiotic-rich foods to their intake.
If your child eats table foods, and doesn’t have any restrictions on what they can eat – that is, they don’t have any medical or physical reasons (such as choking or aspiration risk) why they cannot eat certain foods – you can think about getting creative with including prebiotic-rich foods in their “regular” diet, such as using ground cashews to thicken sauces, blending silken tofu with berries and milk and freezing into ice blocks, or making pikelets with green banana flour.
If your child can tolerate dairy, another relatively easy way to incorporate prebiotics is to ensure the milk they are drinking is fortified with prebiotics. Dairy Farmers A2 Goodness + Prebiotic contains GOS which are naturally derived from milk. GOS has been shown to increase the number of good bugs (particularly bifidobacterium and lactobacillus sp, if you’re curious) in your gut. Use it for smoothies, shakes, or in hot drinks, pour it over breakfast cereal or muesli, or drink in a cup alongside a sandwich at lunch.
Coping with challenging eaters
If your child is on a restricted diet, either for medical reasons or due to sensory issues or other neurodivergent challenges, getting them to change what they eat – or try new things – can be incredibly stressful. With a narrow list of foods on the menu, quality over quantity becomes the important factor. Look for potentially easy “swaps” that they might not notice or mind, such as prebiotic milk for regular milk, or silken tofu blended into creamy soups. If your child eats chicken nuggets and only chicken nuggets, perhaps consider adding ground cashews or chopped garlic to the tomato sauce they dip them in. If pasta is their go-to, then by all means, stick with pasta. Remember, it’s also okay to challenge them with new foods, in a managed way – offering a new food that is similar alongside a food that you know your child will eat is one way to start getting them used to the idea of new foods, but this needs to be a positive and non-stressful experience. Talk to your GP or dietitian about whether a prebiotic or probiotic supplement might be a good idea.
By Katherine Granich Source Kids Health Contributor
Proudly brought to you by Source Kids and Dairy Farmers A2 Goodness + prebiotic milk - a super easy way to get prebiotics into your kids’ diet is through the milk they drink. With milk containing only the A2 protein plus added prebiotics, Dairy Farmers A2 Goodness is goodness from free roaming, pasture raised cows. Dairy Farmers. Here’s to good.
Free roaming Dairy Farmers A2 Goodness + PREBIOTIC. with added prebiotics to feed good gut bugs. *
