An insider perceptive into thriving as an early childhood practitioner
A sometimes-surprising insider perspective on what you’ll need to thrive as a practitioner in one of Australia’s most highly regarded early childhood intervention organisations.
Caroline de Fina, Early Intervention Clinical Lead at Early Start Australia (ESA), is a psychologist with many years of experience as a clinician and is a practitioner of the Early Start Denver
Model (ESDM) — behavioural therapy for children with autism.
She develops the skills of ESA practitioners around Australia to get “out in the community, support kids in their homes and in their kinders, educate the community, and help these unique kids to learn life skills and make friends.”
Here, de Fina explains five attributes — beyond professional qualifications — to bring to a rewarding role at ESA.
1. A collaborative frame of mind
The relationship between a practitioner and a family is key to building trust. At ESA every clinician is backed by a multidisciplinary team of senior practitioners who provide additional consultation and support.
A speech therapist, for example, “might present their data and notes on a client and say, ‘This is what I’m seeing. Do you think they may need another assessment? Is there something I’m missing? Are there other strategies I could include to support their sensory needs?’,” explains de Fina. Being a team player allows a clinician to bring broad-based best practice to treating each client as a whole human being.
2. Boundaries
Be ready to establish your boundaries. “Most people who come into the caring professions and especially the pediatric and disability assistance, are givers,” says de Fina. “And overextending yourself for one client or all your clients, when there's so much to do outside the sessions as well, can quickly lead to burnout. Practitioners have to be in for the marathon, and recognise that you can't fix everything for everyone, at that moment. Self-care really sets people up for success.”
3. Meticulous record keeping
“When you’re working with children, there are many stakeholders,” says de Fina. The progress of children from one developmental stage to another, and to ongoing care, depends on providing accurate, insightful reporting. “Obviously, you’re always keeping case notes, and records of progress; these help to communicate with the child’s family, other allied health providers and paediatricians,” de Fina says.
More formal assessments might be needed to help a child’s school get extra resources that support their learning or entitle a child to National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding for their treatment.
Organised notes and analysis can also support a clinician’s application for ESA funding to conduct research into an area of assessment or treatment relevant to their client cohort.
4. A love of continuous learning
Every professional body — of, say, speech therapists, or physiotherapists — has requirements for ongoing professional development. In addition, ESA offers an annual training calendar that supports different levels of expertise — whether clinicians are new graduates or new to pediatrics.
Because of the organisation’s considerable size — more than 600 practitioners in centres around Australia — it is also able to secure training with experts outside the organisation, in sought after clinical areas such as play therapy and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC therapy).
Clinicians are assigned individual supervisors, who provide support and feedback on their progress. And ESA runs a leadership academy that develops skills in either clinical leadership or managerial supports.
5. A party hat
“ESA is team based, collegial and very supportive,” says de Fina. The organisation acknowledges the complexity and pressures involved in helping children, families and communities adapt to living with neurodiversity. At the same time, “There are always fun events,” says de Fina, “people organising birthday lunches, celebrating weddings, new babies and our colleagues achieving their life goals — all the good stuff that life brings.”
Making moments that matter: Hear from our people
If you’d like to be a part of the friendly, caring team of practitioners at ESA, you can explore our open roles and apply today.
