Create Skills For Life

Thanks Dimi for your kind words!⁠
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“What an amazing skill base Rachel has developed. So many students have learnt to decipher the complex literacy world thanks to her approach. Learning to read is one of the hardest skills to develop and it can become stressful too. Rachel has made that challenge easier ⁠
- and fun too! ⁠
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Her passion to teach her own children to read, has led to a valuable outcome for so many other children who struggle to learn and understand the written world.⁠
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From her inspiration, children who struggle are learning to read. They are performing better at school. Learning (and vocation) and opportunities become possible. Rachel's passion has evolved and has become a teaching tool for children who would like to Create Skills for Life - what a brilliant idea!”

https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/

Are you a parent, family member or caregiver?⁠
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Our skills creator series include a range of bundles, short stories, observation tick sheets and worksheets. These resources are designed for you as quick, easy and accessible tools to make you the teacher and learning guide. Create your own in-home therapy sessions without the cost or extra sessions without leaving home.

https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/

Thank you Jack for your kind words!⁠
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“I enjoy going to Miss Rachel as she makes learning fun. She gives me confidence to learn and thrive. I have gone from a C grade to an A+ grade in my comprehension school assessment. You must consider seeing Miss Rachel as she is well trained and trustworthy. 10/10 best ever!”

https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/

Bundles are a great way to package up our worksheets into bite size collections. To work one on one with your child at home, when and where it suits you.⁠
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Check out our bundles via the link below
https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/our-products/bundles

Rachel Cavanagh is the founder and director of Create Skills for Life. Rachel has worked as a teacher and educational therapist for 22 years. During this time she has taken thousands of children on a successful journey to become functioning adults with a positive outlook on life.⁠
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At the age of 22, Rachel began her career as a secondary school art teacher in the mainstream school system. Upon returning from maternity leave, she found her position was filled; she forged a new path as a learning support teacher. During this time she noticed many children with very low reading ages who struggled with assessments.

https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/

We have such an array of engaging and easy to follow worksheets to suit a number of ability levels. ⁠

⁠Check out our link below
https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/our-products/worksheets

How does having autism spectrum disorder effect your chances of gaining an education?⁠
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Step 1, find out what kind of normal your child is. What do they excel at and what challenges them? Get a holistic picture of this, from family, friends, school, sports, use of technology and any other community engagement. ⁠
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Step 2, look at the small things, I hate that saying, sweat the small stuff but it is what will make the difference. Check out emotions and regulation, understanding of self and others and how your child manages the world and relates their normal to the world.⁠
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Step 3, make a plan. How will you help your child manage each space in a better way? How can they manage the demands of each community space in a way that makes being a community member a good thing in their life and world? How can you create balance, learning, growth and development in a child with diversity?⁠
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Make sure they haven’t missed the small stuff, the basics, the fundaments that systems and organisations miss or gloss over quickly and move on. Take time to check out the resources at Create skills for life. Created for the child that has diverse needs and needs lots of help with the small stuff, like feelings, emotions, communication and understanding.⁠
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For the full article check out our link below
https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/our-products?utm_content=later-19202865

Skills Manual eBook for Teachers and Therapists⁠
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This program is designed for students whose level of ability correlates with children aged five to seven years of age. The program work is especially designed to unpack the concept of understanding oneself; to make sense of the world and one’s place in it. Communication is embedded as a form of literacy which is explicitly taught, consolidated and retaught through many sensory experiences. There are eight units in the program, each comprising of five lessons, with accompanying resources. This program is designed to be delivered at the pace of the learners at hand. It is critical to teach, reteach, consolidate and check. This is an approachable and user-friendly program that suits the developmental needs of students with ASD and other developmental delays.⁠
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To purchase our eBook please visit our link below
https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/our-products/p/skills-manual-for-teachers-and-therapists?utm_content=later-19202835

People are starting to talk a little about learning styles, especially as the mainstream education system sees, but not quite acknowledges the amount and depth of diversity amongst learners. ⁠
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Create skills for life knows the importance of a multi-sensory approach when it comes to learning. The teaching resources available cater to all types of diverse learning styles, developmental stages and sensory needs.⁠
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For the full article visit out blog via the link below
https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/blog/2019/3/11/childrens-learning-styles?utm_content=later-19202792

NEW PRODUCT | Blue Spelling Bundle

The blue spelling bundle has been created to support the work of the blue code and the blue code bundle.

It has been created as another set of tools to be used in the process of teaching the Create Skills For Life approach. It is part of this phonics approach in which information from our senses synthesised enabling students to process it for reading.

The blue code is the beginning and first code level of the Create Skills For Life approach. This code level includes the short vowel sounds and five other letter/sounds that are needed to begin and emerge as a reader, speller and writer. There are ten letters/sounds in total.

This is a specialised bundle of resources that support the development of segmenting and blending of the blue code sounds. The first activity in the bundle is spelling with pegs. The sounds of the blue pictures are segmented aloud and the letters are “pegged” in the correct order of the word. The second activity is spelling with pictures which supports the segmenting, ordering and blending of the sounds in the blue code words.

The resources are easy to print and laminate. They can be reused many times, they are practical and hands on resources that mutli-sensory in their approach to the development of spelling and reading skills.

Shop the Blue Spelling Bundle via the link below
https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/our-products/p/blue-spelling-bundle

NEW PRODUCT | Spelling Bundle

The spelling bundle has been created as a set of tools to be used in the process of teaching the Create Skills For Life approach. This is the best resource to use when helping learners make sense of the steps within the process of spelling.

The spelling bundle sits as a separate resource to be used specifically for the teaching of spelling. This bundle supports the development of the ability to encode and translate spoken words into written symbol. Phonemic awareness and phonological awareness skills are incorporated into this bundle to support spelling development. Letter-sound relationships are explored through a variety of activities and worksheets. This bundle aids the synthesis and focus on sounds then choosing the correct letter combinations to spell. Spelling knowledge forms gradually so these activities can be repeated and altered to support this progression.

This is a specialised bundle of resources that support the development of spelling skills. The bundle comprises an introduction to the Create Skills For Life approach, an overview to help contextualise resources within the whole set of resources, a how to guide to support the use of the resources in the bundle and finally there are a large number of practical resources to use while teaching. There is also a handy glossary of terms at the back of the bundle.

The resources are easy to print, can be laminated and reused, they are practical and hands on resources that are multi-sensory, varied and teach spelling from a variety of contexts to suit the many ways learners interact and process language. There are a series of games at the end of the bundle to help make learning fun.

Shop the Spelling Bundle via the link below
https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/our-products/p/spelling-bundle

Educational apps are a great and fun way to keep your kids learning outside of the classroom, here are 3 free apps to download!

🧩 Thinkrolls Play & Code
This app allows young kids to solve puzzles, work through complex challenges, and create their own adventures with a wealth of pre-coding concepts baked into every move! Young ones will build their critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills by playing their way through over 1000 Arcade Logic Puzzles and maze courses.

🧩 Fact Monster
Fact Monster is an excellent option for educational games. Learning games and videos range in topics, from science to language arts to math and so much more! Fact Monster also combines essential reference materials, flashcards, fun facts, and homework help for kids.

🧩 Poptropica
This free story-based game allows kids to customize their own characters, complete quests and play with friends in a safe environment. Kids love creating their avatars and finishing quests for prizes.

ADHD brains often experience what's known as "time blindness," which makes time management difficult. Fundamentally, part of learning the tools for time management is believing that you can do things differently. Like most people with ADHD, you’ve probably heard plenty of negative comments over the years about your weaker executive functioning skills. Those shaming conversations about how poorly you organize your time are holding you back from making changes.

Instead of negatively judging yourself, try these tips:

🐢 Slow things down: Panicking about time only makes it worse. You won’t get anywhere good when you’re worked up. Whether it’s breathing techniques, or drinking a glass of water, lowering your anxiety will allow you to think more clearly about possible solutions to your time dilemma.

💭 Recall a similar situation: Reflect on the last time you were in a time warp. Ask yourself: “How did I get through? What tools did I use? How can I apply any of them to what’s happening right now?"

⏰ Practice backward design: Let’s say your class starts at 9 am. What time do you have to wake up? If it takes 15 minutes to walk there or set up your computer and gather your materials, 15 minutes to eat something and another 20 minutes to get dressed. You can apply backward design to writing papers, creating presentations, or doing household chores.

What is Music Therapy?

Music therapy is a research-based practice and profession in which music is used to actively support people as they strive to improve their health, functioning and well-being. Music therapists incorporate a range of music-making methods within and through a therapeutic relationship to address individual client goals.

Music therapy can be effective in meeting the diverse psychosocial needs of children through songwriting and improvisation, and can offer opportunities for self-expression and communication. It can also help children identify their strengths, enabling them to maintain a sense of self-esteem and dignity.

Have you heard of Art Therapy? If not, let us tell you more!

Art therapy uses art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork as a therapeutic and healing process.

Art therapy is an effective treatment for persons experiencing developmental, medical, educational, social or psychological impairment. A key goal in art therapy is to improve or restore the client’s functioning and his/her sense of personal well being.

Art therapists are trained in both art and therapy. The process isn’t an art lesson – it is grounded in the knowledge of human development, psychological theories, and counseling techniques.

Art therapy can help improve a child's mental, emotion, and physical well-being. Art therapy allows children to process the things that have happened to them and helps reduce stress and anxiety. In simple words, art therapy is a medium for helping kids deal with challenging emotions and express their thoughts and feelings.

SHOP OUR SKILLS MANUAL EBOOK FOR TEACHERS AND THERAPISTS

This resource has been created to take you step by step through lesson plans and worksheets to make a child's world clearer, calmerplace.

Head to our link below to get this eBook for yourself!
https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/our-products/p/skills-manual-for-teachers-and-therapists

Navigating the NDIS acronyms | AT

AT – Assistive Technology

Skills Creator Individual Worksheets - Stop Think Ask planner

This planner is an important scaffold for developing regulation. It is the step-by-step process when you need to name, analyse and rethink situations where regulation and impulsivity have caused some of the thinking and processing steps to be left out. It is the perfect scaffold to assist you to develop thinking skills and language for problem-solving.

Head to our link below to get this worksheet for yourself!
https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/our-products/p/skills-creator-individual-worksheets-stop-think-ask-planner

Navigating the NDIS acronyms | ARC

ARC – Audit and Risk Committee

SHOP OUR SUPPORT RESOURCE: SENSORY PROFILE

This sensory profile and plan for support has been created to get to know a student or client quickly. To understand their sensory needs and how to respond to them effectively and efficiently.

People on the autism spectrum often experience sensory processing issues that may present in a number of ways. The impact of these sensory sensitivities and sensory needs can be significant, and what can be perceived as inappropriate behaviour, may be a sensory response to an uncomfortable stimulus.

This document is a profile and a strategy planning tool that has been designed to support families, carers, support workers, teachers and clinicians that need detailed information about sensory needs.

Head to our link below to get this resource for yourself!
https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/our-products/p/support-resource-sensory-profile

How does having autism spectrum disorder effect your chances of gaining an education?

👉🏽 To start with, what is it like having autism? My family, friends and clients who have autism tell me it feels normal. This is a true statement! This is a normal way of being.

So, if we take an autistic view point on our community and culture, we can easily see it not set up for their “normal”. It is actually a “neuro-typical” or people without autisms “normal”. All of the parts of community you can think of – shopping centres, modes of transport, right down to furniture doesn’t really suit their normal.

One of the most important community integrations we have in our life is our education. Now think for a moment… who’s normal does that serve? People with autism or neuro-typical people? And for that matter does it really suit the neuro-typical population.

👉🏽 Is there a gap? Have you heard parents talk about school and the national curriculum? A look of fear washes over their face and they then slump into a daunted despondence. In school pick lines and tuckshops everywhere, parents are discussing how on earth their children are going to complete their education with all the basics learnt and how are they going to keep up with the pace of learning and testing.

Now imagine your child had autism, they also might have ADHD or OCD. What does the national curriculum look like for them? Is it built around their normal, learning styles, sensory needs and developmental stage? Is there a gap?

👉🏽 Steps to make a difference. Step 1, find out what kind of normal your child is. What do they excel at and what challenges them? Get a holistic picture of this, from family, friends, school, sports, use of technology and any other community engagement.

Step2, look at the small things, I hate that saying, sweat the small stuff but it is what will make the difference. Check out emotions and regulation, understanding of self and others and how your child manages the world and relates their normal to the world.

Step 3, make a plan. How will you help your child manage each space in a better way? How can they manage the demands of each community space in a way that makes being a community member a good thing in their life and world? How can you create balance, learning, growth and development in a child with diversity?

Make sure they haven’t missed the small stuff, the basics, the fundaments that systems and organisations miss or gloss over quickly and move on. Take time to check out the resources at Create skills for life. Created for the child that has diverse needs and needs lots of help with the small stuff, like feelings, emotions, communication and understanding.

Navigating the NDIS acronyms | ANAO

ANAO – Australian National Audit Office

How diverse are learning styles amongst children?

A learning style is a preferred method of input for sensory information to gain understanding.

We take in millions of pieces of sensory information each hour, let alone each day. It is no wonder learning, life and community interactions can be extremely exhausting for children, especially ones with diversity.

The information comes in through various sensory systems, auditory (ears), visual (eyes), tactile (touch), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), vestibular (head movement in space) and proprioception (sensations of the body from joints and muscles). All of the inputs that come into our body come through the pathway of the sensory systems. They then pass into the brain for processing. The first port of call is the working memory, all accept the olfactory (smell), it goes directly into the brain for processing.

👉🏽 Which learning style does the education system favour?
If you wish to succeed in the traditional education setting then you must a very strong auditory system. This is the predominant mode of delivery of information within the education setting.

👉🏽 What happens if the auditory sensory system is not your strength?
It will create a barrier to learning. There will be an auditory overload, this sensory system will feel and behave like it is full and learning will not persist.

👉🏽 Is there an alternative?
There totally is an alternative! A holistic approach.

When learning experiences are delivered with a multi-sensory approach, which is experimental, fun, messy, involves movement (kinesthetics), encourages touch and exploration then it is multi-sensory. It moves from being teacher centred to being learner centred and a self-directed rich, intrinsic learning experience can begin. Exploring and learning with the all the sensory systems, this is holistic.

Create skills for life knows the importance of a multi-sensory approach when it comes to learning. The teaching resources available cater to all types of diverse learning styles, developmental stages and sensory needs.

https://www.createskillsforlife.com.au/our-products

Navigating the NDIS acronyms | APSC

APSC – Australian Public Service Commission

Top 5 tips for Choosing an NDIS Service Provider

What skills and experience do their staff members have?

Does the provider charge a fair price?

What evidence can the provide show to me that it delivers high quality support?

Does the provider have feedback and complaints systems that are independent of their service delivery systems?

What do other people with disability or carers say about the quality of the support the provider delivers to them?

Navigating the NDIS acronyms | APY (Lands)

APY (Lands) – Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara

What to look for in a provider?

NDIS providers are individuals or organisations that deliver a support or service to a participant of the NDIS.

A good support worker is patient, supportive and has the desire to help participants live their best lives by constantly encouraging and assisting them.

A good support worker knows how important independence is to a participants’ happiness and so will handle each situation calmly and without annoyance.

Support workers work very closely with participants and are involved in every aspect of their lives. It's important they are trustworthy and honest as they may have to deal with confidential information, or assist participants with personal care and hygiene.

What qualities would you want in a provider?

Navigating the NDIS acronyms | APS

APS – Australian Public Service

Is there a difference between ADHD and ASD?

👉🏽 What is ADHD?
ADHD is short for attention deficit disorder and is recognised as a chronic condition, the three most important things you need to know about ADHD is that it causes attention difficulty, hyperactivity and impulsivity. It can also contribute to low self-esteem and real difficulties at school.

👉🏽 What is ASD?
ASD is short for autism spectrum disorder and is a serious developmental disorder that effects a person’s ability to communicate and interact. ASD especially impacts on the nervous system and sensory system.

👉🏽 What are the differences?
So, children with ADHD can display definite impulsivity (uncontrollable urges, that are carried through with), short attention span, poor working memory, poor planning skills, depression when under stimulated, they can make careless mistakes, lack motivation in extrinsic tasks and lack inhibitions.

Now, children with ASD can take things very literally, have anxiety around change, dislike making eye contact, have a lack of understanding with social rules, lack of empathy, become upset with too much or too little touch, and anxiety within social situations.

👉🏽 What are the similarities?
Children with ADHD and ASD can both possibly display sensory issues, hyerfixations (getting totally immersed in something), stimming (repetitive movements or noises), auditory processing disorder (information from the ears is not understood and used by the brain correctly), be talkative, find making friends hard, emotional dysregulation, interrupting conversations, sensitive to rejection by others, lack of object management, executive disfunction (frontal part of the brain) and sleep problems.

👉🏽 Can these disorders be comorbid? (Can one person have both?)
Yes, is the short answer. In the DSM-5 (the manual specialists go to for definitions and information about disorder and diseases), both ADHD and ASD are recognised and defined. Years ago, children were given a dual diagnosis of ADHD and ASD, but this is not the case today, children are diagnosed with ASD and ADHD separately. It is pretty complicated for specialists especially due to the overlap in symptoms and the fact that individually each child presents their own “version” of a disorder. To complicate matters and as a side issue, children are now being diagnosed with social communication disorders, this is fairly new to the DSM-5. Social communication disorders can also be comorbid with ADHD and ASD.

👉🏽 Where can I get support and resources to help my child?
Create skills for life offers the resources you can use privately use at your own pace to confidently teach your children the skills they need to equip them. Take a look at the resources and products, they are designed with the above list of symptoms in mind.

Navigating the NDIS acronyms | AIDIN

AIDIN – Australian Injury and Disability Insurance Network