Bessie Loo | Occupational therapist

Bessie Loo

Phone: +61 447 229 771

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25.01.2022 A timeless message from the late Maya Angelou: "If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be."

23.01.2022 Join Irabina's dietician, Louisa Li and learn why children with autism are often picky eaters, and how we can help. This online workshop is ideal for parents, carers and professionals. Register now to watch it next week: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/nutrition-tips-for-children

23.01.2022 AUTISTIC-LED ONLINE GROUP MENTORING FOR AUTISTIC YOUNG PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND (Ages 9-20) Since 2017, we have been a proud leader in providing Autist...ic-led online mentoring for Autistic young people. Our next cycle kicks off the week of September 14th (6 weekly sessions). For full details and/or to submit an Expression of Interest, please use the link below: www.icannetwork.com.au//announcing-our-september-online-me Any further questions? Please reach out directly to our online mentoring team at [email protected].

21.01.2022 A reminder from one of our amazing mentees (age 13) that is worth sharing again: "Autistic kids are often told that we need help with our social skills. When I ...am hanging out with people who understand me, my social skills are actually quite awesome!" For a deeper dive, please check out: From The Autistic OT, a wonderful video about the basis of Autistic friendships (tinyurl.com/y36tcoqy) From Speaking of Autism - Quincy Hansen, Different Social Skills, Not Lack Thereof (tinyurl.com/y66g7orf) From Reframing Autism, Autistic advocate and teacher Lisa Claessen on Autistic wellbeing and thriving (youtu.be/GqjsrujxpwU) From Scott Barry Kaufman in Scientific American, Autistic People Make Great Social Partners if You Actually Give Them a Chance (tinyurl.com/y4k8qcnj)

21.01.2022 AUTISTIC BURNOUT Autistic burnout can happen at any age, including to Autistic young people, as they are faced with increases in demands or changes. Add to tha...t risk reduced communication and the situation can become intensely distressing for the individual and those who care for them. As this image shows, signs can include (not exhaustive): - Intense meltdowns - Struggles with self care - Loss of executive functioning skills - Unable to mask in social situations - Reduced memory capacity - Unable to speak/form words & sentences For a deeper dive including additional signs, causes & how to manage, please see these Autistic insights: From Amythest Schaber, Ask An Autistic: What Is Autistic Burnout? youtu.be/DZwfujkNBGk This outstanding graphic (click here: bit.ly/2VpSLC4) from the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network From Cynthia Kim of MusingsofanAspie, Autistic Regression and Fluid Adaption (bit.ly/3mU7kfo) From Erin Bulluss of Autistic Wellbeing Consultancy, Ph.D. & Abby Sesterka of Linguistic Autistic, Doing More By Doing Less: Reducing Autistic Burnout (bit.ly/36bhba6) Image credit: Super-Spectrum-Girl @superspectrumgirl (Instagram)

20.01.2022 Many Autistic/Neurodivergent people face executive functioning challenges. Understanding and meaningful support are key. For a deeper dive, please see the follo...wing resources: From Amythest Schaber, "Ask an Autistic #25 - What is Executive Functioning?" (youtu.be/229Xb50_o8M) From Cynthia Kim of Musings Of An Aspie, "Executive Functioning Series" (musingsofanaspie.com/executive-function-series) From the team at Understood, "What Is Executive Function?" (tinyurl.com/y4rskflt) and "A Day In The Life Of A Child With Executive Functioning Issues" (tinyurl.com/qkg862w) Image credit: Pathway 2 Success

19.01.2022 AASE Symposium 2021 - Thursday, 21st January 2021 at the State Library of Victoria. We welcome Chris Varney as one of our Keynote speakers. Be inspired by Chris... as he shares his insights as an autistic employer, whilst moderating a panel of autistic student speakers from the I CAN Network, speaking on 'Autism from the Inside'. "Every kid or young person, regardless whether they are on the spectrum or not, needs a network of people that empowers them to be positive, play to their strengths and gives them permission to think 'I Can', even when everything around them makes them think 'I Can't'. Chris Varney - I Can Network We guarantee, you will walk away from his presentation empowered to leverage the interests and strengths of your students, into your teaching pedagogy and school cultures. Register now and rally with the community ready for change. Register Now - https://gems.eventsair.com/2021-aase-victorian-summit/ Early Bird Registration will close on Wednesday, 30 September 2020. #autismrethink #specialeducation @aase_vic

15.01.2022 The coolest class of ever.

13.01.2022 ‘No, I don’t think I’ll grow out of my Autism. Autism is a part of me. If I’m gonna grow, it’s gonna grow with me." The insightful mentee who shared these wise... words in 2017 is now an I CAN mentor himself, helping other Autistic young people grow in their own self-acceptance. > For a deeper dive, please see this 2019 piece by Professor Sandra Jones, "We need to stop perpetuating the myth that children grow out of autism." www.abc.net.au//2019-0/can-you-grow-out-of-autism/11495734

13.01.2022 Free COVID-19 social stories to be downloaded via the link below. https://www.autismlittlelearners.com/search/label/COVID-19 Thanks Autism Little Learners!

12.01.2022 We're bringing Dr. Temple Grandin, Ron Suskind, Chloe Maxwell and Chris Bonnello (Autistic Not Weird) to you on Saturday 15 August in a huge online event. Paren...ts, carers, kids, adults and professionals will be enchanted, educated and inspired as these four amazing people take to the 'virtual' stage. Watch as they share their story Ask questions in LIVE Q&As Join from anywhere in the world 9:00am - Ron Suskind presents 'Life Animated: The Inspirational Story of Owen Suskind' 10:00am - LIVE Q&A with Ron Suskind 10:30am - Prof. Temple Grandin presents 'The World Needs All The Different Kinds of Minds' 11:00am - LIVE, one hour long Q&A with Prof. Temple Grandin 1:30pm - Chloe Maxwell presents 'Different Not Less' 2:30pm - LIVE Q&A with Chloe Maxwell 3:00pm - Chris Bonnello presents 'Autistic, Not Weird: Lessons I Learned Growing Up Autistic' 4:00pm - LIVE Q&A with Chris Bonnello (Please note times are Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane / AEST / GMT+10) Book your tickets today: https://www.irabina.com/four-journeys-one-moment/ Tickets are AU$75 +GST, with 100% of proceeds raising funds for Irabina and helping us to continue supporting children and families affected by autism. All registrants will receive access to presentation recordings after the event. Thank you to our partners for helping make this event a reality. Please show your support for these amazing organisations: Springfree Trampolines, APM Employment Services, Aussie Broadband, Telethon Kids Institute, We Rock The Spectrum, William Ready and myAutonomy.

10.01.2022 Meet Tingting, another of our wonderful Occupational Therapists! Tinging loves discovering the strength of her Irabina families and supporting them. #ThisisOT #OccupationalTherapyWeek

10.01.2022 Join Deb and Ron Suskind at 12pm (AEST) tomorrow as they chat about autism, COVID-19 and learning to talk through the power of Disney movies. Yes, you read th...at correctly. Somewhere between the years of two and three, Ron's son Owen vanished. The little boy who was able to talk about anything, suddenly couldn't say a word . Over the following years, Ron and his family went through the life-changing process of learning Owen had autism, and discovering that in a world of one-size-fits-all, they didn't fit any more. Amazingly, at 7 years of age, they had a breakthrough Owen didn't just love his Disney movies. He was memorising them. Internalising them. Until one day, he was communicating through them. And magically, he found a way to teach his parent's and brother to communicate that way too. Ron shares a small piece of this beautiful story in his chat with Deb. For more, be sure to register for our upcoming virtual event, Four Journeys, One Moment, during which Ron, alongside Dr. Temple Grandin, Chloe Maxwell and Chris Bonnello (Autistic Not Weird) will share their journey with autism. Book your tickets here: https://zoom.us//r/9215954880120/WN_2JknqgFfR6SIbhG6Tmj-YA All proceeds will go towards assisting Irabina to continue supporting children and families affected by autism. Thanks so much to Springfree Trampoline Melbourne, APM, Aussie Broadband and myAutonomy for supporting the event.

09.01.2022 COVID-19 Update: Hi everyone, following the latest round of updates from the Premier we just wanted to let you know that here at Irabina we are still in opera...tion, with the majority of our services being delivered online via Telehealth. We are so proud of how flexible and caring all of our families and clinicians have been during these times. It’s getting really tough now for everyone, but together we will continue providing you and your family with the best support we can. If you need any extra help at the moment please let us know call our reception desk, or talk to your clinician. We’re here for you. Stay connected, and be kind

08.01.2022 "When a flower doesn't bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower." ~ Alexander Den Heijer

07.01.2022 Meet Chloe, one of our Occupational Therapists! We asked Chloe what she loves about being an OT. For her, it's about empowering individuals and supporting and forming connections with families. #ThisisOT #OccupationalTherapyWeek

06.01.2022 4 Simple Strategies to Support Autistic Behaviors (text) Autistic author and consultant Judy Endow offers valuable advice for caregivers and teachers looking to... support Autistic people. 1. Kindness as a catalyst for access Kindness and belief that I am doing my best is often the impetus helpful in accessing the action or words I am having trouble within the moment. 2. Don’t’ assign motive or meaning to behavior When it comes to autistic individuals, try to refrain from assigning motive and meaning to behavior based on what the behavior would mean were you engaged in it. 3. Assume the behavior makes sense Assume that even though you may not understand it, the behavior makes sense to the autistic individual in the context of his experience of the world. 4. Won’t is often can’t access in the moment Rather than being a matter of won’t (as in he won’t tell me or he refuses to tell me) it is a matter of can’t (as in he does not have the language, the skills or the ability to tell me in the moment). For more insights from Judy, including examples from the classroom and home, please see these pieces from Ollibean and www.judyendow.com: Autism, Behavior & The Impact of Kindness (includes pdf of this visual): ollibean.com/autism-behavior-impact-kindness Autistic Neurology & Behavior: ollibean.com/autistic-neurology-behavior The Problem of Attributing Negative Intentionality to Autistic Behavior: tinyurl.com/y2m2hxne

05.01.2022 Melbourne Cup day is coming up! We wanted to let you know we will be closed on Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd November. We hope you all can use this time to have a lovely rest.

05.01.2022 Dad builds son with spina bifida a special wheelchair

04.01.2022 We believe in sharing helpful resources that reflect and respect Autistic lived experience, including the insights of our Autistic mentors and mentees. Each ima...ge contains links to many of our favourite free resources (videos, blogs, podcasts, TED talks & more) that we've shared in recent months. (List not exhaustive and some resources appear more than once)

04.01.2022 Kids' sadness and anxiety about COVID-19 can show up in many different ways. For some helpful resources to support young people's mental health during these try...ing times (and beyond), please see: headspace: headspace.org.au/covid-19/ Kids Helpline Official: kidshelpline.com.au/coronavirus Image credit: Erin Leyba

04.01.2022 Your questions answered! What have you always wanted to know about #Occupational #Therapy? What does a typical day look like at Irabina? How do O/T’s at Irabina... support me and my family? Now is your chance to send your questions in to be answered in a video by our expert OT team for #OccupationalTherapyWeek. Use the link below to enter your questions by Thursday 21st: https://bit.ly/irabina-otweek See more

02.01.2022 It's been a crazy year for all of us and it's more important than ever to ask your friends, colleagues and little ones "are you ok?". For tips on how to approach and continue the conversation visit www.ruok.org.au #ruokday2020