We support both families with children and young people who have a disability. We believe friendship and support are important cornerstones of a meaningful and fulfilling life. Our programs focus on building meaningful companionship and social experiences in the community through sport, arts, recreation and general participation in all life's experiences.
ExtendABLE Online is an online social inclusion program designed to offer opportunities for participants to stay connected and engaged in a time when face to face services are not an option.
How does ExtendABLE Online work?
We offer a weekly calendar of online groups run by our creative and engaging support workers, volunteers and staff. You can sign up for as many groups as you like provided there are spots available.
The more people who sign up, the more groups that will be on offer!
What sort of groups will run?
Below are the groups we are currently running. We are adding more groups each week as more people join in this popular program.
Click to download a PDF version of our current activities here
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All Things Gaming with Ed Each week we unpack the latest gaming news, review our favourite games, and complete construction challenges in Minecraft. Look forward to seeing you online! |
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Fun and Games with Dee |
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Drawing with Mary |
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Dancing with Emma |
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Disney Story Time with Amanda Disney fans are invited to delve into a different Disney fantasy each week - and to join in with a dress up if they so inclined. Stories will be followed by quizzes and games. |
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Show and Share with Hayley |
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Exercise Group with Keely |
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Musical Rhythm with Dylan Bring along your rhythm and soul and join in on this fun music and sound-based session. If you have an instrument you love to play – great, but if not, you’ll have just as much fun if clap or stomp your feet! Please note, this session can be loud, so be aware if you do not like a lot of noise. |
How does ExtendABLE work?
We will offer programs of support that run for a limited number of weeks. These will mostly be term based, but we may offer shorter programs during holidays. If you are interested in specific programs, let us know and we can develop something to suit you.
What do you need?
A device with an internet connection and camera – a laptop, PC or tablet will probably work best, but a phone may work for some sessions. We will generally require that you download the zoom app. Some sessions may require some extra items such a pen or paper, running shoes, or a percussion instrument,but we will try to make sure items can be found around the home.
Cost
For NDIS participants - each session will be charged at 1.5 times the relevant line items and divided by the number of people enrolled. You will also be charged a non-face-to-face component of 10 minutes per session, up to a maximum of 1 hour. For example, the Core supports cost for a group with 4 people will be $33.47 per session.
For HACC participants - the program is available for free if you live in the local government areas of Cities of Casey, Cardinia, Greater Dandenong, Frankston and the Shire of Mornington Peninsula.
How do I sign up?
Send enrollment questions and enquiries to: Hayley (hayley@extendedfamilies.org.au) or sign up online via this form link.
Once you've chosen your groups, you'll be send a quote and a Service Agreement, as well as information about using zoom to participate.
There is no wait-list and you can join straight away!
Our Individual volunteers provide genuine friendship, practical assistance and mentoring support to a child or young person, helping them develop important life skills.
Our Individual volunteers provide genuine friendship, practical assistance and mentoring support to a child or young person, helping them develop important life skills. They also help them take part in social activities such as a variety of sport, recreation and leisure events that are of interest to the child. Some volunteer matches also provide direct support for the family.
Our volunteer match program assists participants with developing:
How it works:
NDIS Category: 3.09 Increased social and community participation
Whether you need skills training to enable participation, support to overcome barriers to access mainstream services or assistance to access the community,
LinC can provide it all.
Whether you need skills training to enable participation, support to overcome barriers to access mainstream services or assistance to access the community, LinC can provide it all.
Skills Development:
Our Experienced staff provide individual life and social skills training for children and young people with a disability, to enable them to participate more fully in the community and improve their relationships with others.
Service Capacity Building: We support mainstream services which enable the inclusion and participation of children and young people with disability. We support participants to overcome barriers in attending main stream services.
Inclusion Support: Inclusion support workers provide support to enable a child or young person with a disability to independently engage in community, social and recreational activities. They support the achievement of specified social, personal and developmental needs and goals. This program can also incorporate a volunteer to support the child or young person alongside the worker to further the experience and build meaningful connections.
Extended Families is an NDIS registered, TTP provider. Our rates will be updated in line with the NDIS price guide.
Core Supports
4.04 Assistance with Social and Community Participation - 1:1, Group, Standard and Complex Needs.
1.01 Assistance with Self-Care Activities
Capacity Building Supports
3.11 Improved relationships - Individual social skills development
3.09 Increased social and community participation - Individual skills development and training
The rates are listed in this flyer
We offer a variety of activities for school aged children and young adults. These take place on weekends, after school and during school holidays including one-off events, skills series, day outings, friendship groups, camps and peer support. Activity costs may apply to some events
Small to medium sized groups of children or young people with disabilities meet regularly, in a community venue and/or to access the community.
The group is supported by staff and volunteers. The groups build peer connections, help participants learn and strengthen social skills, build confidence and encourages participation in community activities and
events. Parents and siblings may attend some groups. Some groups are culturally specific and led by multi-lingual staff.
AVAILABLE FOR:
All eligible children and young people, including NDIS participants
NDIS CATEGORY:
1.04 Assistance with social and community participation
A weekend away for families held at a camp facility to enable positive connections, mutual support and fun experiences - a family holiday in a supported way.
Possible (optional) additional support for part of the time to enable respite and opportunity for parent activities and interaction.
AVAILABLE FOR:
All eligible children and young people, including NDIS participants
NDIS CATEGORY:
3.09 Increased social and community participation
Regular get-together programs for parents of children with a disability to share experiences, develop connections and receive support, information and education relevant to their care role.
We currently offer My Time peer support groups in Springvale and Deer Park which supports developmental play experiences. These groups are facilitated by a Vietnamese speaking worker.
Other groups, including culturally specific groups, will be developed based on request or identified need.
Parent education is provided as a one off session or a short series.
AVAILABLE FOR:
All eligible children and young people, including NDIS participants
NDIS CATEGORY:
3.09 Increased social and community participation
3.15 Improved daily living skills
Finding your way through the process of planning and connecting with services can be challenging and time consuming. If you have Support Coordination as part
of your NDIS package, we can help you with this process to achieve your goals.
Extended Families provides independent support coordination to help you manage your NDIS plan.
Our team of experienced staff will help you:
For Support Coordination our age range is wider, also working with parents who have a disability, utilising both our strong individual and family focus to ensure positive outcomes.
Our support team are culturally sensitive and include bi-lingual staff in Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese and Arabic.
AVAILABLE FOR:
Children, young people and parents with a disability who have an NDIS plan
NDIS CATEGORY:
3.07 Coordination of support
Vuon lên and Tham Gia- Facilitating friendship, belonging and achievement for young Vietnamese people
Vuon lên (VL) and Tham Gia are group based community inclusion programs offered by Vietnamese Families with Special Needs and Extended Families Australia with funding provided through the NDIS’ Information, Linkages and Capacity Building scheme.
VL and Tham Gia support Vietnamese children, youth and young adults who have experienced significant barriers to meaning community participation because of their disability.
VL offers fortnightly structured small group friendship meet ups for young people with Autism (ages 15-18 and 19-24 years) with the aim of supporting participants to improve their social connection, build on their interests and strengths, develop key life skills to boost confidence and motivation, and facilitate community and vocational inclusion. The program will run two groups in the western region (Brimbank - youth and young adult) and one in south east (Springvale – young adult) across 2021-2022.
Tham Gia provides school holiday events for both large and smaller groups of primary and secondary aged children/youth of Vietnamese background living with a disability in the western metro region. The program offers supported opportunities for young people with various types of disabilities to experience locally based activities and to explore the communities in which they live. It will offer support to 4 groups of young people and families (primary, secondary, senior secondary and families) with 4 events per school holiday period (one event per group per holiday break) commencing January 2021.
If you are interested in participating either of these programs please read the brochure for more details and complete and an Expression of Interest Form or contact one of the program’s Project Officers directly.
Expression of Interests Forms should be received no later than 31st December 2020.
Project Officers:
Julia Klieber 0451 665 057
Nga Do 0433 103 401 (Vietnamese Speaking)
As a registered plan management provider, Extended Families can manage the NDIS funding for supports on the participant’s behalf. Plan Management is a financial intermediary service that manages the financial and administrative aspects of an NDIS Plan.
We know that parents are busy managing and supporting their family. Plan Management can take away the stress of managing the funding aspect in your NDIS Plan.
One advantage of Plan Management is that the participant can receive
supports from service providers who are both registered and not
registered with the NDIS.
The service can be requested from the NDIS, and like Support Coordination Plan, it is an additional funded item and does not reduce funding from your other support budgets. There are no out of pocket expenses for participants.
What does our Plan Management service do?
Plan Management is a financial intermediary service and describes the processes of organising the financial and administrative aspects of the NDIS Plan on behalf of the participant. This includes:
Do I have to have both Plan Management and Support Coordination from the same organisation?
No you can choose to have both from the one organisation or separate organisations.
What choice do I have to manage the funding in my NDIS Plan?
There are three choices for managing NDIS funding and claims:
How long will it take to pay invoices?
You will get a personalised, prompt and efficient service with Extended Families. With many bigger organisations now taking month to pay, we pride ourselves on a quick turnaround. Invoices will be paid within 14 days of receipt, unless there are issues with the set-up of the Plan in the NDIA portal (or other NDIA portal issues beyond our control).
What is the cost of Plan Management?
The service can be a part of your NDIS Plan if you request it. It is paid for by the NDIA at a set level, and does not impact or reduce funding for any other area in your Plan, it is an additional funded item and is not deducted from your direct supports. There are no out of pocket expenses for participants.
Can you help me if I want to self-manage?
If you want to self-manage in the future, we can help you prepare for that. We can help you develop the skills in management of financial and service activities. You can stop using us any time and become fully self-managed when you are ready. We are here to help.
How to I access the service?
Once you have Plan Management in your NDIS Plan, participants or Support Coordinators can complete the Plan Management Request for Service Form. Once received, along with a copy of you NDIS Plan, we will develop a service agreement with the participant or their representative and provide you with specific information about processes to enable us to work together effectively.
Why choose Extended Families for Plan Management?
So let us take care of managing supplier payments, communication and administration so you have more time for yourself.
Click here to contact Extended Families Plan Management service.
Living with a disability can be difficult. We support people aged 0-30 and their families in Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula to build friendships and connect with their community.
Read MoreSuite 1, 95 Bell Street
P.O.Box 275
Coburg Victoria 3058