Groups and services your teen will love

Just like typically developing teenagers, teens with a disability need to grow their independence and socialise with others their age. Hanging around with mum and/or dad all the time just isn’t a look, right?! It’s also important our young people develop their self-esteem and build on other skills necessary to ease their transition to adulthood. There are loads of fantastic groups and services out there to suit a wide range of teen interests and needs; here are just a few we think sound pretty *cool* (insert the latest teen ‘slang’ word here – we’re so not down with the kids!).

EMBRACE GIRLS GROUP

Active Eight (A8) in Brisbane offers a wide range of inclusive extra-curricular activities, group programs and individual therapies for children and young people of all abilities and we love the sound of their new Embrace Girls Group, a program that supports teenage girls (12-16 years)
in building their self-esteem, confidence and resilience. Facilitated by OTs, the goal of the sessions is to see each girl emerge with the skills required to positively embrace and navigate social situations. – activeeight.com.au/embrace-girls-group

FOR SPORTS NUTS

Disability Sports Australia is a great resource for sports activities for teenagers with a disability, on the website you’ll find information on rowing, sailing, swimming, volleyball and heaps more. – www.sports.org.au

TEEN CLUB

Teen club is the weekly evening meet up for 11-16 year old’s run by Montrose in Slacks Creek, QLD, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. This is a teen led group so anything could be on the agenda from board games to sports and movies. – montrose.org.au/lifestyle/teen-club/

FUTURE LEADERS

Do you have a budding future leader in your family? Take a look Victoria’s Disability Sport and Recreation Future Leaders program! The program is for 18-25 year old’s with disability, consisting of a 3-day personal development camp, followed by 12 months of individual mentoring towards leadership goals. The camp uses sport and recreation as a medium to identify and grow leadership skills and camp graduates become ambassadors for improving health through participation in sport and recreation. – dsr.org.au/dsr-kids/#leadership-camp

SCREECH ARTS

For teens with stars in their eyes, look no further than Screech Arts in South East Queensland – a bold, innovative and inclusive program for teens and young adults of all abilities to discover themselves through performing arts. On offer are unique and innovative workshops and performance groups that spark imagination, and encourage participants to express themselves, in a safe yet playful environment. – screecharts.org.au/

SKILLS FOR LIFE

The Salvation Army’s YouthLink service in Blacktown, NSW runs after school programs for young people aged 13-18 who have a disability. These programs have been designed to help young people with life skills and assist those who are preparing to complete school. Activities included in the sessions may include self-care, cooking, gardening, travel training, computer skills and more. – salvationarmy.org.au/youthlink/skills-4- life/day-programs/

SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNITIES FROM RIVERLINK

This disability organisation in Castle Hill, NSW runs some really fun group activities providing community access for teens who are living with disability and are aged 10 to 18 years. Activities take place each Saturday during the school term and just some of the things the groups get up to include trampolining, movies, picnics, mini- golf, museum visits, festivals and hanging out at cafes. – riverlink.org.au

ASTEEN SOCIAL GROUP

ASteen is a Sydney-based parent- coordinated social group for teenagers aged 13 and over, with autism. ASteen aims to provide a safe, family-friendly environment for teens who can communicate and interact with others and are seeking friendship and development of social skills. There is no cost to join the group; just the cost of the outings themselves. Outings range from picnics, museum trips and movies through to putt- putt golf, ghost tours, and theatre visits. – [email protected]

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED WITH CPA

CPA in NSW have a whole set of programs tailored specifically for young people aged 13-30. With the aim of helping your young person soar, their accredited professionals have expertise across individual coaching and group experiences, everyday living, supported employment, health and wellbeing, therapy, and short term and supported accommodation. On their website you’ll find info about Youth Coaching, Youth Labs, Masterclass sessions, camps and getaways and more. – cerebralpalsy.org.au/cpa-youth

OTHER OPTIONS TO EXPLORE

For opportunities for your teen to hang out with neurotypical and typically developing peers, some options to explore could be:

• after school or community-based clubs such as chess, coding, maths, soccer, dance, gym etc.
• creative writing groups
• fan groups (sci-fi, anime etc.)
• outdoor activities such as bowls, geo-caching, hiking
• groups and programs at the local library