On the 18th of October 2019, DLD Awareness Day was celebrated across the world.
At the NEMLDC we had a very special set of celebrations, including a fun day for our school community, an information forum for our broader community, as well as visits from our local politicians. Our team together with other RADLD Ambassadors also arranged for various Perth land marks to be lit up in purple and yellow to raise awareness of DLD.
Forum
The NEMLDC hosted an information forum about DLD and how communication difficulties are supported here in the WA education system (the LDCs and the outreach Service). This forum was attended by over 40 of our community members from various sectors, including the health, education (primary, secondary and university) and business sectors, the research community, local and state government, as well as the disability, not-for-profit and youth justice sectors. At the forum attendees heard from speech pathologists, school executives, LDC staff and the parent of a child with DLD. Click here for more information about what was discussed at the forum – DLD, communication difficulties & support in WA.
We were very lucky to have the Director General of the Education Department join us to learn more about DLD.
Our students have been learning to do an Acknowledgement of Country.
Acknowledgement of Country.
Some of the forum speakers having a bit of fun at the photo booth.
The parent of a child with DLD sharing her experiences and how important support is.
One of our mainstream deputy principals engaged with the Outreach Service sharing his school’s journey with us.
Fun Day & Visitors
Our school community enjoyed a fun day with students, educators and families. At our fun day our community moved through a number of activity stations where educators and families had the opportunity to develop their children’s language through fun activities. To see the sorts of strategies used at each station, please click here. We were lucky enough to also have several of our local politicians show their support during the day.
Best day ever!
Our students loved face painting
Bubble action!
Dressing up at the photo booth was great fun.
We enjoyed the slient disco – a great opportunity to use non verbal communication skills.
Each child put a hand print onto our DLD Day murals. These hands were turned into flowers, representing the immense growth that each child at the NEMLDC undergoes in their language.
Hon. Samantha Rowe MLC & Hon. Alanna Clohesy MLC
joining us for some fun.
Hon. Donna Faragher MLC lending a literal hand to our mural.
Our students love getting up close and personal with animals!
Playing volleyball with friends.
Playing giant pick-up-sticks at the Scouts WA tent.
It doesn’t take much to create an imaginary world
Our students enjoyed constructing and pretending at our mega build station….
For example pretending to be a transformer!
Local sporting clubs are a great way to further foster friendships and community. Our students learned a bit of taekwondo with the Maccabi Martial Arts Academy.
Fishing fun…
Got one!
Who doesn’t love a giant inflatable obstacle course?
A day of fun language development needs to be well fueled – students enjoyed decorating and describing their own biscuits.
Thank you to everyone who supported our DLD day efforts!
Strong community, strong future.