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Listen, Learn, Speak

2013The Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing (Victoria)

45th Annual Report

2 Taralye 2013 Annual Report

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE8 February 1909 – 5 December 2012

Dame Elisabeth was a founding member of the Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing (Victoria) in 1968. Her focus on scholarships and research helped build Victoria’s educational

services for the hearing impaired. As a result, generations of hearing impaired children and their families have benefited from her insight, generosity and advocacy. In 1983 Dame Elisabeth was

recognised with Honorary Life Membership of the Advisory Council.

Dame Elisabeth’s visionary leadership will continue to be an inspiration for Taralye.

Taralye 2013 Annual Report 3

Donors 4

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer’s Report 6

Our 2012 Graduates 9

Early Intervention Program 10

Partnerships and Collaborations 12

Early Childhood Program 14

Audiology and Otology Clinic 15

First Voice: world leaders in listening and spoken language 16

Our Staff 18

Parents and Friends Committee 19

Community Support 20

Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing 22

Highlights• 245 Victorian children supported through early

intervention in 2012/2013

• 86% of children who use English as their first and only language and have no other disability other than hearing loss graduated to school in 2013 with normal or above normal speech and language skills

• 5,700 occasions of service delivered through the audiology and otology clinic in 2012/2013

• A Quality Improvement Plan developed by early childhood staff as part of the National Quality Framework for Early Education and Care

T A R A L Y E A N N U A L R E P O R T2013


Major DonorsANZ Small Grants Program

ANZ Staff Foundation

ANZ VFPOED

Australian Leisure & Hospitality Group

Bendigo Bank (Blackburn South)

Brian M Davis Charitable Foundation

Catanach’s Jewellers

Collier Charitable Fund

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Countrywide Tolstrup

Court Jester Hotel

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

Department of Justice

Eric Ormond Baker Charitable Fund

Esso Australia Pty Ltd

Flora & Frank Leith Charitable Trust

Foundation of Graduates in Early Childhood Studies

LDB Corporate Centre

Lions Club of Nunawading

Lodge of Euclid No. 447

Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation

Macquarie Funds Group

Maddocks Foundation

Order of Eastern Star Nepean Chapter No. 143

PFD Food Services Pty Ltd

Radiata Investments Pty Ltd

Ray White Real Estate (Blackburn)

R M Ansett Trust

Rotary Club of Box Hill Central

Rotary Club of Nunawading

Shying Family Trust

Taralye Foundation

Taralye Parents & Friends

The Baker Foundation

The Bell Charitable Trust

The Chase Hotel

The Feilman Family Foundation

The Freemasons Public Charitable Foundation

The Herald Weekly Times Pty Ltd

The Limb Family Foundation

The Marian & E H Flack Trust

The Miller Foundation Ltd

William Angliss Charitable Fund

Individual DonorsRobert Albert

Norma Bathie

Ian Broadhead

James Calvert-Jones

John and Janet Calvert-Jones

Margaret Castle

Joan Coghlan

Fiona Coviello-Izzard

Fiona Crosbie

Kate Crosbie

Daniel Feller

George & Paula Gholam

Graeme Giddings

Gerrit Horchner

Shuey Lim

G R McKnight

Gavin & Chantel Myers-Hately

John Nolan

Nigel Peck AM

A & A Pellicano

Tony Robinson

Joan Selby Smith

Basil Moss

Don & Sharon Moss

Dr Anthony Siouclis

Richard Smith

Richard Thornton

Greg Weston

Pro Bono BusinessesAlyka

As One Advertising & Marketing

Associated Food Service

Australian Breastfeeding Association

Australian Hearing

Avalde

Benefits Plus

Blackburn Brunch & Lunch

Box Hill TAFE

Carpet Court Kilsyth

Cochlear Ltd

Cummins

Cummins Filtration

Deloitte

Eastlink

Entice by Taste

ExxonMobil Australia

Gina Ralli Photography

Hoath Print

Jimjoca Vineyard

Laurent Patisserie

Leader Newspapers

Lions Club of Blackburn North

Lions Club of Box Hill Central

Lions Club of Nunawading

Mezze Café

MRC

Nunawading SES

Pud for all Seasons

Taralye gratefully acknowledges generous support from a range of philanthropic trusts, foundations, businesses and individuals during the past financial year. This support has enabled the provision of a most valuable service to Victorian children with hearing impairment and their families.


Ray White Real Estate (Blackburn)

Rotary Club of Mitcham

Sofitel

Taralye Parents & Friends

The Chase Hotel

The Weekly Review Eastern

Treasury Wine Estates

Village Roadshow

Pro Bono IndividualsNaomi Baulch

Jodie Black

Jenny Borg

Sarah Brennan

Andrew Case

Isaac Case

Sarah Case

Marilyn Dann

Elissa Dyson

Valerie Ebdon

Graeme Giddings

Lesley Giddings

Paul Godenzi

Jenny Guala

John Hale

Tara Kessner

Lina Lamont

Rob Malandra

Kaila Manassa

Patrick McNamara

Lisa Meehan

Clare Mielke

Chantel Myers-Hately

Jackie Nathanielsz

Travis Noonan

Tina Pitruzello

Tony Robinson

Dee Ryall

Felicia Somphanpanya

Lisa Staples

Tracy Tau

Jodie Waddingham

Heath’s FamilyOur family came into contact with Taralye when…Heath

was about four months old. At birth he was diagnosed with

a rare syndrome called Goldenhar. One of the attributes of

the syndrome is microtia – atresia resulting in a bilateral

conductive hearing loss. Shortly after leaving Royal

Children’s Hospital, Heath was given a bone conductor

hearing aid. We heard about Taralye from the Royal

Children’s Hospital audiology clinic, Australian Hearing and

then Central Intake for Early Intervention.

The greatest challenges we faced at the time were…all the

unknowns. Was he going to hear? Was he going to speak?

Was he going to swallow? As parents we also wanted to

make sure we were doing everything we could to ensure he

had every opportunity to hear, speak and accomplish early

childhood milestones, and achieve his future goals in life.

Taralye helped us overcome these challenges by…

providing support, guidance and answers to many of our

questions about hearing loss and the challenges it brings to

infants. In addition, the wonderful Taralye team embarked

on educating our family about hearing loss and how we

can support Heath

to listen and speak.

They provided us

with access to some

amazing programs,

including Parent Child

Mother Goose and

the fortnightly playgroup

sessions that have provided

Heath an opportunity to interact and

learn with other children experiencing

hearing loss.

We look forward to the future

because… Taralye has assisted our family by giving us

the support networks, friendships and skills that have

helped Heath connect to the world of hearing and

provided amazing support for him to start building his

communication skills. We look forward to watching

Heath’s language and communication skills grow and

having a conversation without the need for additional

language support.

Jessica, Heath’s mother

AcknowledgementsTaralye is grateful to Scarab Blue Design, Gina Ralli Photography and Research Edit Write for professional assistance in preparing this annual report.

Taralye, a not-for-profit organisation, is endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office as a deductible gift recipient (DGR). Donations of $2.00 or more are tax deductible.



It is with pleasure that we present this annual report for

Taralye - the oral language centre for deaf children. The report

provides a summary of Taralye’s operational activities and

audited financial results for 2013 – the 45th anniversary of the

Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing.

Key achievementsThe 2013 operational results demonstrate Taralye’s

commitment to delivering quality, evidenced-based programs

for families. Referrals to Taralye’s early intervention program

remained high with the total number of families being

supported increasing by 13% compared to the previous year.

The audiology clinic provided over 5,000 occasions of service

with 36 infants being diagnosed with a sensorineural hearing

loss. As part of the requirements of the recently introduced

National Quality Framework for Early Education and Care,

our early childhood team spent considerable time drafting a

Quality Improvement Plan that documents philosophy as well

as seven key assessment areas that will be monitored and

evaluated under the national framework.

In keeping with Taralye’s aim to support children to develop

oral language skills and report objective outcomes, our

research, assessment and education team has collated the

speech and language skills of children graduating from Taralye

in 2012. Outcomes for these children are summarised on

page 9 of this report and show that the majority of the cohort

achieved speech and language skills within the normal range

for their age.

In other achievements, the year was marked by the

introduction of a new brand identity with the tag line “Listen,

Learn, Speak”. The new brand aims to garner community

understanding and support for our cause whilst maintaining a

clear focus on Taralye’s social mission. To assist in promoting

the new brand, Taralye also launched a new website,

introduced new signage and increased activity in the social

media domain. Feedback on these initiatives has been positive.

Financial resultsTaralye’s total operating revenue for the year ended 30 June

2013 was $3,394,054. Government subsidies contributed

$1,465,609 and fundraising contributed $1,329,280 to

overall income. Through a combination of cost control and

an increase in philanthropic donations, Taralye registered a

surplus of $257,426 for the 2012/2013 financial year.

In March 2013, Taralye was pleased to be one of 14

community organisations to receive an increase in recurrent

state government funding. This followed a successful tender

which was assessed on evidence-based criteria. The additional

funding through

the Department of Education

and Early Childhood

Development is

approximately $110,000/

year and is part of

the government’s

budget commitment

to supporting children

with disability over five

years.

TributesIt was with great sadness

that Taralye received news

of the passing of founder

and Honorary Life Member

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE in

December 2012. Over the years Dame

Elisabeth gave unstinting moral and financial

support to the Advisory Council with a particular

focus on research and scholarships. It was through

Dame Elisabeth’s generosity that the Advisory Council was

able to establish a perpetual scholarship scheme in 1985

aimed at developing professionals’ skills and knowledge in

audiology and education of the deaf.

Also during the year Taralye learnt of the passing of Arthur

(Neil) Henderson. Neil was appointed administrator by the

Advisory Council in 1979. Neil derived much personal reward

from this position that he held with distinction until his

retirement in 1990.

Advisory Council for Children with Impaired HearingDuring the year Taralye welcomed past staff member Rhonda

DeStefano as a new member of the Advisory Council for

Children with Impaired Hearing. Rhonda brings her personal

perspective as a parent of a hearing impaired child and

her wealth of professional experience to the role. We also

welcomed Naomi Baulch as a new member of our Board.

In November 2012, Professor Melissa Wake and Kim Tsai

resigned from our Board. We especially thank Melissa for her

guidance in research and quality measures and Kim for her

expertise in governance and financial matters.

In March 2013, the Advisory Council for Children with

Impaired Hearing awarded an Elisabeth Murdoch Scholarship

to staff member Hannah Stark. The scholarship is supporting

Hannah’s further study as she undertakes a Postgraduate


Thank you In 2013 some difficult decisions

were made in response to high demand

for service and changing government directions for funding.

Pleasingly, it was also a year in which Taralye achieved solid

results. We gratefully appreciate the generosity of the many

businesses, service clubs, individuals, trusts and foundations

for supporting our cause. We also acknowledge and sincerely

thank our staff, Parents and Friends Committee, Board and

Foundation for the role that each has played in achieving this

result. As an organisation we look forward to the future and

continuing our shared commitment of supporting children to

listen, learn and speak.

Professor Richard Dowell

Chairman

Therese Kelly

Chief Executive Officer

Diploma in Health

Research Methodology.

Hannah’s research is investigating

how children with hearing loss develop and

use their language skills in situations that incur

greater communicative, cognitive and social demands.

Outlook - individualised funding In July 2013, the first stage of the National Disability Insurance

Scheme commenced for residents living in the Barwon

region. From July 2016 the scheme will progressively roll

out in Victoria and by July 2019 all eligible residents will be

covered. The introduction of this scheme means there will be

a fundamental shift in the way people with disabilities access

services to support their aspirational goals. The scheme aims

to facilitate their inclusion in local communities through

increased opportunities to make their own decisions and

exercise choice and control. By June/July 2014, Victoria’s

Early Childhood Intervention Service in the Barwon region is

expected to be fully transitioned into the National Disability

Insurance Scheme. In preparing for this change, Taralye

registered as a service provider under the National Disability

Insurance Scheme and established a dedicated part-time staff

position in the Barwon region to work closely with families

during the transition phase.


Taralye familiesA total of 46 children and their families exited Taralye’s early

intervention program over the course of 2012.

• 83% of children exited the program between 5-6 years

of age;

• 43% of families had been engaged with the program for

4-6 years at the time of exit;

• 30% of exiting families use a language other than English

at home including Arabic, Turkish, Italian, Shona, and

Vietnamese;

• 39% of children have a disability in addition to hearing

loss; and

• 37% of children have a hearing loss in the severe-to-

profound range.

Improvements in infant diagnosis and treatment of hearing

loss have resulted in Taralye being able to respond to families

much earlier in their child’s life. Just over 30% of 2012

graduates were referred through the Victorian Infant Hearing

Screening Program and over 40% were diagnosed with

hearing loss before six months of age. Half of the graduates

wear bilateral hearing aids, and just over a quarter are fitted

with bilateral cochlear implants. The remainder are unilaterally

fitted with either a hearing aid and/or cochlear implant and a

small number use another hearing device.

Exit PathwaysThe majority of 2012 graduates transitioned to local schools,

with over half of the children and their families choosing

this pathway.

Speech and Language Taralye is committed to providing an individually tailored

service, in which the needs of each child and their family is

regularly assessed and monitored. Staff undertake annual

communication assessments for each child enrolled in the

program to inform the family and multidisciplinary team about

current and future communication goals.

Of the 46 children who exited the program, a total of 36 were

assessed. The remaining children either exited prior to testing

being undertaken or were enrolled in a lead early intervention

agency other than Taralye. A small number of children were

unable to be assessed due to limited use of spoken English

and/or additional disabilities.

Language skills for the group were assessed using the

Preschool Language Scale (4th edition) which measures how

children use language expressively (verbal use of words and

sentences) as well as receptively (understanding of words

and sentences). The average standard score for children with

normal hearing on this test is 100 with scores between 85 -

115 considered to be within the age appropriate range.

Average standard language scores for the children who exited

Taralye in 2012:

For the 21 children who spoke English as their primary

language and who had no additional disabilities, 86% had

language scores within an age appropriate range, compared

to 84% of children in the general population.

Dr Andrea Simpson

Manager, Research, Assessment and Education

Local School

Independent School

Unit

Other Service

Family Move

Families who speak English as their first language at home

Number Receptive Expressive children language* language*

No additional 21 88 95 disability

Additional 7 84 81 disability

Families from a non-English speaking background

Number Receptive Expressive children language* language*

No additional 4 93 83 disability

Additional 4 76 80 disability

* Scores between 85 - 115 are considered to be within an age appropriate range



Over the past few years, the early intervention team has

worked hard to develop collaborations with other early

intervention agencies and service providers. Whenever

possible we seek to ensure families access local services.

An example is a Shepparton family with a hearing impaired

one-year-old needing physiotherapy. Through collaboration

and contacts we were able to arrange twice-monthly

physiotherapy visits. With our home visits, this has enabled

regular professional contact for this family.

This year we commenced a playgroup along with an Itty

Bitty Book Club for three-year-olds in the Barwon region.

These are both held at Noah’s Ark in Geelong and we are

most appreciative of their support. Also in Barwon is the trial

rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Taralye

welcomes this national legislation and will be closely involved

in supporting families access to the scheme over the next few

years.

We are currently piloting two new programs: the Once Upon

a Time group in Blackburn for four-year-olds, and Make

the Connection for parents of newly diagnosed hearing

impaired children. Once Upon a Time ties to our philosophy

of supporting listening and spoken language skills. Each child

is encouraged and guided to develop a story and at program

conclusion will orally present to peers and parents.

Underlying Make the Connection is attachment theory. This

program recognises babies’ responses and reactions to

interactive, physical and visual cues with parents.

Research shows that positive and confident

early attachments are crucial to children’s

long-term educational, social, health

and behavioural outcomes. Parents

attending this group are finding

it a very positive and extremely

enjoyable experience.

My thanks to the early

intervention team for their

hard work over the past 12

months. It has been a difficult

year, with many changes and

some complex limitations.

As professionals we have

continued to deliver the very

best results for children and

families. We have consolidated

our ongoing work with families

whilst continuing to drive innovation

in our programs.

Ellen Panjari

Manager, Early Intervention

Taralye was called upon to meet an increasing demand for

early intervention services this year without a commensurate

increase in recurrent funding or resources. Indicatively, the

need for our family-centred services (centre-based, home-

based and group programs) has increased 31% over two years

(18% in 2012 and 13% in 2013).

This situation necessitated changes to service delivery, with

a reduction in frequency of individual sessions for many

families. Our team of early intervention specialists - teachers,

speech pathologists, social workers, librarian and psychologist

- worked diligently to minimise impact on children’s speech

and language outcomes, and to ensure priority service

delivery to newly diagnosed children and children with

complex needs.

On a positive note, federal government funding through

the Better Start for Children with Disability initiative enabled

the introduction of a speech pathology service for families

residing in the north-western metropolitan region. This

program is delivered to children in their home environment,

through their local community setting (ie. kindergarten or

school) or from the Gowanbrae Children’s and Community

Centre. We also offer telehealth early intervention services

to regional and remotely located Victorian children through

VidKids - another federal government funded initiative.



Overcoming the tyranny of distanceThis year Taralye became an alliance partner in VidKids™ - a

pilot telehealth service using technology to support regional

and remotely-located hearing and vision impaired children in

their homes. Using video conferencing, and drawing on the

increasing availability of the National Broadband Network,

VidKids™ offers families and children access to streamed

therapy, counselling, diagnostic services, technological

assistance and educational support.

Funded by the federal Department of Families, Housing,

Community Services and Indigenous Affairs through the

Remote Hearing and Vision Services for Children initiative,

the VidKids™ two year pilot will trial telehealth services to a

minimum of 125 children.

According to The Australian Institute of Family Studies,

some 2.6 million Australians live in an outer, remote, or very

remote area. These families commonly experience significant

challenges in accessing specialised services, most commonly

an absence of local service provision, a lack of expertise and

the tyranny of distance.

Taralye is delighted to be providing service in locations where

expertise is scarce, and to be involved in piloting a service

model that will undoubtedly be a flagship for future telehealth

services.

The VidKids™ pilot commenced in

2012 and concludes on 31 December

2014. Alliance members include

Vision Australia, Deaf Children

Australia, Cora Barclay, Hear and Say,

Telethon Speech and Hearing, The

Shepherd Centre, and Taralye.

Giving back In 2012/2013, Cummins sites in

Melbourne’s eastern suburbs saw a values

connection with Taralye whilst searching for a

local community partner. The partnership has seen Cummins

Filtration employees (Kilsyth) and Cummins employees (Box

Hill) volunteer their time and labour, assisting with Market

Day activities, event preparations and mail-outs.

Cummins is a diverse technical leader specialising in the

design, manufacture, sale and service of diesel engines, power

generation equipment and related components. The Taralye

partnership is part of Cummins’ Corporate Responsibility

program and ties to one of their core values of ‘serving and

improving the communities in which we live’.

Cummins is keen to see the relationship evolve from basic

volunteering opportunities to harnessing specific employee

skills which benefit our organisation. A building sustainability

audit project on our Blackburn site has been identified as a

first step. Once a cutting edge educational facility, our 35-year-

old building and almost 2-hectare site provides a range of

immediate and future challenges. Cummins will work with

us to understand and respond to any environmental, energy,

regulatory, or repair issues.

Other areas of the Taralye and Cummins partnership include

fundraising. We are especially appreciative of the efforts of

Paul Godenzi, Cummins Filtration National Sales Manager,

who generously raised funds for Taralye through Run

Melbourne.

We take this opportunity to thank Cummins for their

community mindedness, and we look forward to working

together in 2014.

Smoother transitions into primary schoolIn 2012/2013 Taralye commenced a partnership with the

Victorian Deaf Education Institute and Aurora School to help

children with hearing loss make effective transitions into

primary school. This follows the 2010 Victorian Deaf Education

Review which reiterated parents’ experiences that school

transitions can sometimes be challenging.

The Transition into Primary School (TIPS) project is a logical

step to assist the transition process. Funded by the More

Support for Students with Disabilities National Partnership,

Strengthening Pathways Deaf Education initiative, TIPS will

see development of a resource kit for parents and educators.

Resources include information sheets, a storybook for

“We have had our first video conference session

with Taralye and I ‘linked up’ using the Microsoft Lync attendee. The

software downloaded and installation is all done and was quite easy to navigate

through the VidKids™ website. We are both excited about the future for

VidKids™ and all of the things we can do!”

Jacqui – Parent


children, materials

for the visiting teachers service

to use in the year the child goes to

school, a PowerPoint presentation and an

electronic digital solution available across all platforms to

facilitate communication between families and schools.

Research shows that children who experience a positive

school transition are more likely to achieve better educational

outcomes in later years. Taralye is proud to be involved in

this pilot program through the secondment of staff member

Jean Moores-Chadwick and representation on the advisory

committee which has been set up to help guide the project’s

progress. In addition to this involvement, some families

accessing Taralye’s early intervention program have been

invited to participate in the transition trial process.

Strengthening parent-child bondsFor almost a decade, the Canadian Parent-Child Mother

Goose program has been a regular, positive oral language

experience at Taralye. Teaching through rhyme and song -

through holding, touching, and attachment - Mother Goose

gives parents the skills to enhance their child’s language

development whilst enriching the parent/child bond.

In 2013, Taralye partnered with Uncle Bobs Child Development

Centre (a subsidiary of the Royal Children’s Hospital) to

offer a Parent-Child Mother Goose program in the western

metropolitan region. Facilitated on Thursday mornings at the

Gowanbrae Community and Children’s Centre, this partnership

sees Taralye provide staff and the venue. Uncle Bobs has

collegially provided mentoring support for our newly trained

Parent-Child Mother Goose facilitator, Kirsten McFadzean.

The collaboration between Taralye and Uncle Bobs brings

together families and children from both organisations with

approximately nine families regularly attending. With the dual

marketing and promotion capabilities of our organisations,

and aided by population growth in Melbourne’s west, we

anticipate increased demand for this program over the

coming year.

James and Lucy’s FamilyOur family came

into contact with Taralye…not long after we found

out about James’ hearing loss in November 2011.

James was nearly four at the time and my wife Tara

was 38 weeks pregnant with our third child Ryan. It

was Tara who did all the ground work and looked

into the options available for children with hearing

impairment. We had an initial visit from Taralye staff

and we knew almost straight away that we would be

a good fit.

The greatest challenges we faced at the time were…

dealing with the news that two of our children have

a severe hearing impairment. About two weeks after

the arrival of Ryan we had our daughter Lucy tested

and she had an identical hearing loss to James. I was

so nervous when they screened Ryan for hearing in

the hospital but thankfully he was OK. Once we got

our heads around it all we started some research to

find out what hearing impairment meant for us and

the kids. It didn’t take long to work out that the kids

would need some extra help with their language

development and that’s when we contacted Taralye.

Taralye helped us overcome these challenges by...

taking the time to explain to us the implications of

a hearing impairment and their approach on how

they could help James and Lucy. They really opened

our eyes up to a new way of thinking and teaching

particularly with the Book Club and Lunch Bunch

activities. As we progressed through the year we could

see how these activities along with the kinder program

has really helped the speech development of our kids.

We look forward to the future because… we

have great kids and can’t wait to see them grow

and develop. We both know the future will have

its challenges particularly given their hearing

impairments but we feel like we are now well-

educated thanks to Taralye, which will hopefully

ensure we make good decisions for them in the future.

Deciding to move to Melbourne from Warrnambool

so that the kids could get the best out of Taralye was

undoubtedly the right decision for us. Both James and

Lucy absolutely love Taralye and always talk about

it. They have come so far. Thanks to all the staff at

Taralye for what they have given our family.

Matthew, James and Lucy’s father



Early Learning – Happy settled childrenCatering for children from 18 months to 3 years of age,

Taralye’s Early Learning Program has two core goals: teaching

children to socialise and introducing them to structure. As

an oral language centre our focus is always on language and

visitors to our program have the pleasure of witnessing lots of

chatting, singing, story reading and rhymes and movement.

Due to room and space restrictions arising from the universal

access scheme (a government-mandated 15 hours of Early

Childhood Education for kindergarten children), our Early

Learning Program was offered over three days per week

in 2013. Fortunately the reduction in days did not impact

attendance with 38 hearing children and 12 hearing impaired

children accessing the program. This full-house scenario

is indicative of our early learning program’s reputation

for quality care and a positive reflection of the skill and

commitment of our team. This program regularly carries a

wait-list of community families hoping to access the program.

Our highlight this year was

continuation of the

2012 extended-

hours pilot. By

introducing

a one hour

lunch-time

session,

families

could gain

access to

3½ hours

of morning or

afternoon care. These

longer sessions allow parents

increased flexibility for pick-ups and

drop-offs, and greater convenience in managing

schedules for siblings who may be attending kindergarten or

have other care arrangements.

As a team the early learning program staff contributed to

Taralye’s community and fundraising activities by once again

hosting the ever-popular Devonshire tea on Market Day

in August. Our team also spent many hours and showed

immense patience in creating learning activities that cost

little but keep children engaged. Our aim is ultimately for

happy settled toddlers who feel confident kissing mum or

dad goodbye, with the understanding that they will be safe,

supported and nurtured until mum or dad returns.

Melinda Fry

Coordinator, Early Learning Program

Kindergarten – Universal accessThis year’s major achievement was successful incorporation of

the government-mandated early childhood education policy.

This national policy is the first step towards achieving our

nation’s vision that, ‘by 2020, all children have the best start

in life to create a better future for themselves and for the

nation’.

The key challenge in moving to 15 hours kindergarten per

week was timetabling. After much deliberation and a little

rejigging, we were able to offer three kindergarten groups

catering to the needs of 53 four-year-olds (including eight

hearing impaired children). Additional hours also meant

changes to administration and curriculum. Specifically we

had to ensure enough classroom material and lesson plans

to cater for the additional face-to-face sessions. Collaborative

and creative brainstorming amongst the team has seen the

inclusion of children’s yoga, expanded use of our library and

increased use of the beautiful Taralye grounds.

Following the 2012 implementation of the National Quality

Framework (NQF) for Early Education and Care, each early

childcare provider is required to prepare and maintain a

Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). The plan, which is readily

available to parents and regulatory bodies, contains a service

philosophy as well as information about seven key assessment

areas. With our plan now documented and in place we

eagerly await assessment. One of the key assessment areas

is sustainability - environmental, classroom, playground - and

we have spent much time reflecting, reviewing, and bringing

increased awareness to the way we do things in this domain.

Observation of children’s learning and development was

another key area of focus this year. Co-educators as well as

educators must now undertake observations of children. This

has meant internal training and professional development

but will ultimately lead to the task being shared more

equally. Observation templates are expediting the process

and ensuring consistency in how we report children’s

development.

Our team participated once again in Education Week,

welcoming Parliamentary Secretary for Education Ms Inga

Peulich to launch the week, and opening our doors to

showcase our work to the wider community. We continued

to support professional development of our staff and we

regularly accommodate the needs of local work experience

students.

I take this opportunity to thank our team of dedicated

teachers, inclusion aides and assistants for their exemplary

work and their willingness to give generously of their time.

Deborah Exton

Director, Kindergarten and Early Learning Program


Taralye’s Audiology and Otology Clinic provided over 5,000

occasions of care for Victorian families in 2013. We also

facilitated 700 occasions of specialist Ear, Nose and Throat

(ENT) services through the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear

Hospital Spoke Clinic based at Taralye.

We continued to be a major provider of diagnostic

audiology services to babies and families who received

a ‘refer’ result through the Victorian Infant Hearing

Screening Program (VIHSP). In the past year we diagnosed

25 children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (VIHSP

and non-VIHSP). Twenty-three of these children required

hearing aid fitting and a further 11 were diagnosed with a

unilateral sensorineural hearing loss.

The full roll-out of the VIHSP has resulted in the age of

diagnosis of hearing loss gradually reducing. In 2012/2013,

more than half the children diagnosed with sensorineural

hearing loss at the clinic were aged less than 1 month.

We are grateful to the Miller Foundation and Baker

Foundation for providing funding to reintroduce our Outreach

Screening Program in 2012/2013. This visiting audiologist

program sees a Taralye audiologist spend one or two sessions

in local kindergartens and schools, providing a hearing

screening test. Approximately one third of all the children

screened have required diagnostic follow up and management

of their hearing loss.

Mild

Mild-moderate

Moderate

Moderate-severe

Severe

Severe-profound

Profound

Number of children diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in 2012/2013

Age of children at diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss (months) in 2012/2013

0 – 1

1 – 3

3 – 6

6 – 12

12 – 24

24 +

Our clinic continued to contribute to the wider audiology

community with professional development sessions for VIHSP

screeners. The purpose of the sessions was to show screeners

the full diagnostic procedure and to give them a holistic

view of what happens to children after they are on-referred.

The audiology team also contributed locally to professional

development by hosting a Diagnosis and Beyond seminar

during Education Week in May. This one-day event was

held to support external audiologists and early intervention

specialists.

Taralye provided regular professional development

opportunities for staff including Auditory Processing Disorders

training with the University of Melbourne’s Dani Tomlin.

Markus Dahm, our consultant ENT specialist, also ensures

that Taralye audiologists stay informed and we are most

appreciative of his collegiality and collaboration.

As the leader of Audiology and Otology I commonly hear

positive and constructive feedback about our service; most

commonly that our audiologists are tremendously patient

with children, especially those presenting with challenging

behaviour. My thanks go to the clinical team for their ongoing

commitment.

A special thank you to Ellen Panjari and members of the

Taralye early intervention team who are available to step in

immediately to support families receiving news of a diagnosis

of deafness if required.

Thank you also to the ENT specialists - Dr Elizabeth Rose,

Markus Dahm, and Vasuki Anpalahan - for their support of

children with hearing loss.

Judy Rogers

Director, Audiology and Otology



The Sound Connections projectTaralye is proud to be a member of First Voice, a national

collaboration of organisations whose primary focus is the

provision of oral-language therapies to children with hearing

impairment. Collectively, First Voice centres service the largest

cohort of children with hearing loss in the world providing

support to over 1,000 children and their families.

Started in 2010, First Voice has members based across

Australia. These consist of Taralye in Victoria, the Cora Barclay

Centre in South Australia, Hear and Say in Queensland,

Telethon Speech and Hearing in Western Australia, the

Shepherd Centre in New South Wales and the Australian

Capital Territory, as well as an international collaboration with

the Hearing House in Auckland.

The consortium provides a national platform for leading and

advocating on evidence-based early intervention practice for

children with hearing loss and their families. First Voice also

actively lobbies government, raises public awareness, and

carries out research in the areas of hearing loss and early

childhood intervention.

First Voice advocates for access to spoken language for

children with hearing impairment (Image source: First Voice

2012 Annual Report).

As part of First Voice’s research efforts, Sound Connections is

a 3-year major research collaboration involving all member

organisations. The project’s aims are twofold: firstly, to

articulate best practice in early intervention for children

with hearing loss by longitudinally tracking and measuring

clinical outcomes, and secondly, to determine the impact of

communication ability on broader social wellbeing.

Together with input from researchers at the Australian

National University, Sound Connections has been working

on the concept of ‘social inclusion’ for children with hearing

loss and what being included means for these children and

their families. A questionnaire was developed from this work

focusing on how children interact within the community in

which they live. Questions included caregiver impressions

of their child’s social resources, acceptance, social networks,

and social participation. Results from the questionnaire will

investigate the relationship between speech, language and

broader social skills.

To date, 127 Taralye families have agreed to participate in the

Sound Connections project. Families of children aged between

4-6 years of age at all centres were invited to participate in the

questionnaire on social inclusion. Over 100 families around

Australia responded, of which 12 were from Taralye.

Sound Connections was funded by the Telstra Foundation.

Further information about First Voice and its activities can be

found at http://www.firstvoice.org.au.

Dr Andrea Simpson

Manager, Research, Assessment and Education



Chief Executive OfficerTherese Kelly, BSc (Hons) Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP) AAICD CCEO

Chief Financial OfficerNoel Cousins, BBus (Acc) MBus

Development ManagerKevin Gray, BEc (Hons) CA FCIS

Executive StaffDeborah Exton, Dip T (IECD)

Lisa Ockenden, Cert IV (Customer Contact)

Ellen Panjari, Dip T (Prim) Grad Dip Spec Ed (HI)

Margaret Polacska, Ass Dip Arts (Interior Design) Dip Engineering (Technology)

Judy Rogers, BA Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP)

Andrea Simpson, BCommPath MSocSc PhD

Medical ConsultantsVasuki Anpalahan, FRACS (Eng) FRACS

Markus Dahm, FRACS PhD MD

Elizabeth Rose, MB BS FRACS

AudiologyRobyn Horner, BSc MClin Aud MAudSA (CCP)

Margaret Howells, BSc Dip Aud Dip Ed Psych

Rosslyn Johnston, BSc (Hons) Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP)

Lisa Kennedy, BSc Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP)

Jennie Madders, BSc Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP) MBA

Donna Morris, BBSc Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP)

Early InterventionJudy Bainbridge, Dip T (Early Childhood) BEd (Early Childhood) Post

Grad Dip Ed Studies (HI)

Jenni Bird, Dip T (IECD) Grad Dip Spec Ed (Early Childhood) BEd (HI)

Beth Brislane, BSpPath MSPAA CPSP

Margaret Charlton, BA Hons (Clin Psych) Dip Soc Studs B Spec Ed MEd Psych MAPS CEDP COHP

Francesca Coles, MSp Path BA (Hons) Linguistics/Russian

Heather Elkhuizen, MEd (LIHI) Dip T (IECD) BEd (Early Childhood)

Sally Fleming, BEd (Prim) B Early Childhood

Martine Henderson, BSW, BSS

Maura McCabe, BEd (Prim), Grad Dip Spec Ed (HI) MEd (HI) Cert AVT

Janice Millard, Ass Dip App Sc BA LIS

Jean Moores-Chadwick, BEd (Science) (Performing Arts) Grad Dip Special Ed (HI)

Trudi Sayers, BOT Grad Dip Ed (Prim) Dip Ed Stud (HI)

Danelle Shuttleworth, BAppSc (Speech Pathology)

Marisa Skok, BSc (Hons) Dip Aud MAudSA MEd Psych MEd (HI) Dip Ed LSLS Cert AVT

Jenny Tuck, BApp Sc (OT)

Rebecca Vanderspek, BSW

Heather Venditti, BSpPath CPSP

Early ChildhoodBronwyn Baker, BA Cert III (Children’s Services)

Robyn Barrow, Cert III (Children’s Services) Dip Children’s Services

Jennifer Borg, Cert III (Children’s Services) Cert Ed (Integration Aide)

Jane Chrystie, BEd (Early Childhood)

Melinda Fry, Ass Dip Social Science and Childcare (Mothercraft Nurse)

Rita Gibb, Cert III (Children’s Services)

Christina Kalkipsakis, BEd (Early Childhood) Dip T(Early Childhood)

Kirsten McFadzean, Cert III (Children’s Services), Ass Dip Bus

Rose Russo, Cert III (Children’s Services)

Elspeth Stanton, Cert III (Children’s Services)

Paula Viola, Cert III (Children’s Services)

Meredith Wilson, Cert III (Children’s Services), RN Div 1 Hospital

Research, Assessment and EducationHannah Stark, BSpPath CPSP

Australian Hearing (Taralye Liaison)Anne Archibald, BSc (Hons) MAudSA (CCP)

Suzi Nottas, BSc (Hons) Dip Aud MAudSA (CCP)

Cochlear Implant Clinic (Taralye Liaison)Sandra Lettieri, BSpPath

AdministrationJanine Carroll

Kelly Lavale

Vivienne McCarthy, Cert IV (Bookkeeping)

Alison Sorlie, Adv Dip Bus Man Cert IV (TA)

Building Maintenance Sam Dempster

Geoff Kotz


The 2013 Parents and Friends Committee

comprised of a very dedicated and

motivated group of parents who

worked tirelessly to facilitate

fundraising and social events

that could be enjoyed by the

Taralye community. This year

the committee raised in excess

of $35,000. This would not be

possible without our committee

members hard work and also

the families who so generously

donated their time over the year.

The committee once again funded the

fabulous incursions for both the three and

four-year-old kindergarten programs and donated

$30,000 to Taralye.

The social events are an opportunity for both

existing and new families to get to know each

other and build a community relationship. This

year we ran three social events, the Teddy Bears’ Picnic,

Dads’ and Kids’ Movie Afternoon and the Christmas Picnic.

The fundraising events this year included a garden bulb

fundraiser, picture plates, hot cross bun fundraiser, Baby

& Kids Market, Community Chest Annual Door Knock

Appeal, pie drive and Ladies Afternoon of High Tea and

Fashion. These fundraising events raised over $7,000.

A fundraiser highlight is the annual Bush Dance, forming

part of the kindergarten program where the children learn

about Australian animals, bush songs and perform a bush

dance for their families. Laburnum Primary School generously

offered the use of their hall and the bush band ‘Blackberry

Jam’ entertained both young and old. There were baked

goods, a BBQ, dancing and a silent auction. Special thanks to

Kylie North and Christine Bertolotti who obtained the auction

items for this event. The afternoon was great fun and raised

approximately $4,200.

The major fundraiser for the year is always Market Day which

is held in August to coincide with Hearing Awareness Week. It

takes a very dedicated team of people months to organise this

event. This year we had many emergency services vehicles,

amusements, entertainment by ‘The Kazoos’ and ‘Hey Dee

Ho Music,’ animals and pony rides for the children to enjoy

as well as stall holders selling their wares. A huge thank you

must go to Taralye staff member Jenny Borg who invested

countless hours to ensure that every last detail of the event

would be a success. Market Day is truly a combined effort with

the volunteers and Taralye community coming together and

families making generous contributions to ensure the success

of the day. Thanks to the involvement of many individuals the

day was an enormous success raising in excess of $24,000.

Finally,

we would like

to take this opportunity to

thank all of the Group Representatives

who helped facilitate our social and

fundraising activities and the businesses that have

generously supported our events. We would also like to thank

our Treasurer Lisa Ireland, Communications Coordinator

Petter Lonnstedt, Minutes Secretary Kylie North, Working Bee

Coordinator Warwick Gee, Christine Bertolotti, Jacqui Berger,

Maria Lyster, Sue Brooks, Suz Russo, Sharon Jones, Anna

Hardy, Rebecca Thomson and Diane Atwell for their hard work

and dedication to Taralye.

Cathy Allan & Chris Stilling

Co-Presidents, Parents and Friends Committee 2013

TARALYE PARENTS AND FRIENDS

Co-Presidents: Cathy Allan and Chris Stilling

Treasurer: Lisa Ireland



and services. The development

team continue to actively research

and source new funding

opportunities from the

philanthropic sector

each year.

Commercial

partnerships

with supportive corporations have opened new prospects for

future growth, while contributing a modest income stream in

2012/2013. This segment is undergoing change, where more

traditional donors are moving on, to be replaced by newer

businesses with more contemporary community relationship

requirements. We are adapting to this changing environment,

not missing out, while always eager to show business how an

association with Taralye can benefit their bottom line.

Passive income streams continue to be developed, again

with long term strategic direction in mind as well as

immediate cash flow. Our small change boxes are

an effective new marketing tool and now feature

on the counters of more than 20 businesses.

This initiative has the potential to significantly

develop brand awareness and to provide

an additional regular income stream in the

future. Our mobile telephone recycling

program continues to provide regular

income while assisting the environment

through the safe recycling of potentially

dangerous obsolete equipment.

Google has generously provided Taralye with

a complimentary subscription to their Adwords

service. Adwords displays our ads first to anybody

making a Google search using any of fifty key words

we nominated, thereby connecting Taralye with potential

supporters looking for our services.

Taralye set itself a goal of improving its brand awareness by

In a year of challenging economic conditions the Taralye

development team adapted well to an increasingly competitive

environment and they continued to achieve success with a

number of fundraising activities during the year.

Loud Shirt Day continues to be our biggest annual fundraising

event realising $53,000, a pleasing result achieved by

employing economies of scale through our national alliance,

First Voice.

Our annual Race Day held at Melbourne Racing Club, Caulfield

in May netted $46,000 while providing a memorable day out

for over 200 guests, many of whom have enjoyed this event

for a number of years now.

Taralye Market Day run in partnership with the Taralye Parents

and Friends was a hugely successful event despite the threat

of dark and cloudy skies on the day. A crowd of more than

3,000 visitors attended the market.

A new initiative, the Community Lottery run by People’s

Choice Credit Union, where all prizes are sourced and supplied

by the Credit Union with Taralye retaining 100% of ticket

sales, was undertaken this year. The future looks bright for

this risk-free activity as we look forward to partnering with

other community groups to assist with promotion and ticket

sales.

Taralye was fortunate to receive continued support from

a loyal group of trusts and foundations, which provided

much needed funds to support a wide range of programs


Lutz’s FamilyOur family came into contact

with Taralye when…we

moved to Melbourne

after having lived with our

son Lutz in the UK and Germany. At that time, Lutz was

aged 18 months and had already been through diagnosis,

hearing aid fitting, testing, intervention support, and had

started learning two languages. As a result, we had clear

ideas about what kind of support might be desirable for

him, but no idea about what services might be available

locally, and how we might best equip Lutz for his growing

engagement in a social world and eventually school.

The greatest challenges we faced at the time were…

settling our family in a new country again and finding

out just what kinds of support were available for Lutz’s

hearing impairment and how to actually access them.

While we have all learnt a lot in the last four years, this

remains a challenge. We had to decide if and how Lutz

would develop competence in spoken English, German,

and/or sign language - which is also different in different

countries. We also had to decide which intervention

agency to engage with, and we met with staff from

several organisations. Taralye suited us best because we

decided we wanted to focus on Lutz becoming orally

bilingual. As we live in the northern suburbs, we’ve rarely

had the opportunity to access Taralye’s excellent facilities

and services in Blackburn, and we were glad of their

expanding support at Gowanbrae. But by far the most

valued part of our support was regular home visits by

Sally from Taralye. Sally has been tremendously helpful

in providing advice and moral support and she always

offers to engage directly with staff at Australian Hearing,

childcare and school to ensure Lutz’s needs are met. She is

one of Lutz’s best friends.

We look forward to the future because…Lutz has

developed excellent listening and speaking skills in two

languages. He is a great conversationalist and most

people wouldn’t realise he has a severe hearing loss.

People often ask us how often Lutz wears his hearing

aids, and are surprised to hear the answer is ‘always’. At

age four he is now skilled at putting his hearing aids on,

turning them on, and telling us when the batteries need

changing. His ‘ear buddies’ are a natural part of who he is.

Taralye’s assistance in getting Lutz an FM system while he

was still in childcare has helped him become comfortable

with this system before using it regularly at school. Lutz

attends a local kindergarten and gym classes. We are

looking forward to seeing him go on to school and to

continue developing as a confident and happy individual.

Quentin and Dagmar, Lutz’s parents

obtaining at least one

media story every month,

this year we achieved twenty.

Making ourselves known to the wider

community has also been advanced via social media. Our

daily Facebook posts are seen by over 720 friends while our

regular tweets through Twitter are attracting increasing

numbers of followers.

Looking to the future, Taralye is committed to an electronic

media strategy with a newly developed website and

newsletter, significantly increasing email prospects and

developing social media channels as a means of providing a

more economical way of engaging with potential donors and

sharing our good news stories.

Many trusts, foundations, corporations and individuals

generously supported Taralye during the year enabling the

provision of a range of programs and services to numerous

children with a hearing loss. For that support we sincerely

say, thank you one and all.

Noel Cousins

Chief Financial Officer



Board MembersChairman: Prof Richard Dowell, BSc MSc Dip Aud PhD FAudSA(CC)

Ms Naomi Baulch, BEd(Sec) MEd (Sc, Health & EnvEd) Post Grad Dip Ed St (Student Welfare) Grad Cert (ICT Ed) MEd (LIHI) Post Grad Cert Ed St (Specific Learning Difficulties) Level III Auslan Cert Rept Care VDEI MACE MACEL

Ms Ariane Barker, BA Econ & Mathematics CAICD

Ms Marilyn Dann, MEd BA TTCTD TPTC OAM

Mrs Joan Hale

Mr Paul Hockridge, BBus LLM FCA FCPA FTIA

Mr Nicholas Morrison, BSc MAcc CPA CIA MIIA (Aust)

Mrs Chantel Myers-Hately, Dip (Children’s Services)

Finance and Risk Committee MembersTreasurer: Mr Nicholas Morrison, BSc MAcc CPA CIA MIIA (Aust)

Ms Ariane Barker, BA Econ & Mathematics CAICD

Mr Paul Hockridge, BBus LLM FCA FCPA FTIA

Ms Jennifer Lang, BBus (Acc) FCPA CFTP (Senior)

Honorary Life MembersMr Quentin Bailey, MA MB FRACS DLO

Mrs Pam Bunney, BSc (Hons) Dip Ed

Mrs Janet Calvert-Jones, AM

Mrs Joan Hale

Council MembersAssoc Prof Peter Blamey, BSc (Hons) AIA PhD

Mr James Calvert-Jones

Mr John Calvert-Jones, AM

Prof Graeme Clark, AO FAA FTSE MBBS MS PhD Hon MD FRCS FRACS

Assoc Prof Robert Cowan, BS(Hons) MSc MBA PhD DipAud Grad Dip (Tech Mgt) Grad Cert (Hlth Econ) FAudSA (CCP)

Mrs Rhonda DeStefano, Dip Technology in Renewable Energy, Cert IV Training and Assessment

Mr Bayne Floyd

Ms Michelle Frazer

Mrs Annie Grindrod, BA Grad Dip Child Lit

Mr Robert Jones, BBus MTax ASA

Ms Donna O’Mara, BBus DipEd

Mr Matthew Pearce

Mrs Anne Pringle, BEd (SpEd) MEd St

Assoc Prof Brian Pyman, MB FRACS DLO

Prof Field W Rickards, BSc (Hons) MEd PhD

Dr Julia Sarant, BSc Dip Aud PhD

Mrs Christina Stripp, BA (Hons)

Mr Andrew Sypkes, B Comm Grad Dip Finance MBA

Ms Kim Tsai, B.Comm Dip Ed CA

Prof Melissa Wake, MBChB FRACP Grad Dip Epi & Biostats MD

Mr David Wilson, BA Grad Dip Bus AAIBF

AffiliationsAG Bell Association

Audiology Australia

Australian Hearing

Bionic Ear Institute

Clarke School for the Deaf

Cochlear Implant Clinic

Deafness Foundation (Victoria)

Early Childhood Intervention Association (Victorian Chapter)

First Voice

Gowanbrae Community and Children’s Centre

HEARing Cooperative Research Centre

Kindergarten Parents Victoria

Monash University

National Acoustic Laboratories

National Disability Insurance Agency

Noah’s Ark

Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital

University of Birmingham

University of Melbourne

Victorian Committee for the Promotion of Oral Education of the Deaf

Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program

About TaralyeIn 1968 a group of families and early childhood education professionals formed The

Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing (ACCIH).

This group—consisting of Mrs Nancy John MBE, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE,

Mrs Frances Derham MBE, Mrs. Ethleen King CBE, Mr and Mrs Worrall Jones, Mr John

Calvert-Jones AM, and Mrs Janet Calvert-Jones AM—believed deaf children should have

access to the same educational opportunities as hearing children.

Taralye refers to the centre in Blackburn opened by the Advisory Council in 1979. It is

now an internationally recognised early intervention centre providing inclusive oral

language programs for deaf children and their families.

The Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing continues to advocate for oral

education services for deaf children throughout Victoria.

Our VisionTo be the leading model for oral language development in deaf children.

Our MissionIn partnership with families, other providers and the community to improve the

linguistic, educational and social outcomes of deaf children by promoting early

diagnosis and response to hearing loss through innovative early childhood intervention

services, research and advocacy.

137 Blackburn Road Blackburn, Victoria 3130 (Melways 62 A1)Postal address: PO Box 113, Blackburn, Victoria 3130Phone: +613 9877 1300 Facsimile: +613 9877 1922Email: [email protected] Website: www.taralye.vic.edu.au

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