McKenzie Centre Services
From individual programmes to group support and more, our services have been specially crafted to benefit your child and family/whānau.
McKenzie Centre has been a trusted community-based organisation since 1984. We are also a registered charitable trust and licensed Early Childhood Centre.
We draw on the diverse expertise of our specialised team to provide tailored support for children and families/whānau, including education, therapy, information and training in a variety of settings — in the home, at the child’s early childhood centre, at McKenzie Centre , during the child’s transition to school, and in other community locations.
We Value Care & Respect.
At McKenzie Centre, you will become part of a community of support, and develop relationships with our team of specialists as well as other children and families. We are constantly creating innovative approaches to meet the needs of whānau.
We value respect and use a family centred approach which is evidence based, and encourages family participation, because you spend the most time with your child and have the biggest impact on their learning and development. We work with you towards the goals which are important to you, so that your family is empowered.
Partnership is our priority, we are always beside you.
We value partnership, because when we work as a team around your child, the best results are achieved. We use a transdisciplinary approach to early intervention, where each family has a key worker and we add new members to the child and family’s team as needed, to support a high-quality service. Our team are on site which ensures you get the best outcomes all in one place.
View our full list of services below.
For Children.
McKenzie Centre offers a variety of programmes for children, delivered in partnership with families/whanau. Our services are delivered by a team of passionate and skilled therapists, teachers, education support workers and tuakana (peer workers). Our specialists can provide you with information and skills relating to their professional background. We can also link with other agencies in the community when this is required.
Our practical services and support help children and families to enjoy and use the time they spend together, every day, as valuable learning opportunities.
We offer services and have specialist staff trained in areas such as:
Early Intervention
Speech Language Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Physiotherapy
Assistive Technology
Psychology
Social Work
Peer work
Early Intervention Sessions
Meet with our highly skilled team to talk about your child’s development and create the right plan for your child and family. Learn through play, which research has shown is the most effective way to engage children, and by using everyday (naturally occurring) routines. Sessions are a safe place to connect with other families to share information and experiences. Our early intervention sessions and programmes are planned using Te Whāriki- the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum – which all licensed early childhood centre’s must adhere to.
Early Intervention Play Groups
These are fun and interactive groups facilitated by our skilled team, and are a fabulous environment for children to learn new skills. They are also an important way for parents to connect with other families, as well as the McKenzie Centre team, and take place in a play environment where the whole family is welcome.
Behaviour Support
All behaviour is a form of communication. This service will help you to understand your child’s behaviour, and to then develop a practical plan and implement a strategy to address any challenges.
Visits to Early Childhood Centres
To support inclusion, ensure shared planning processes and support the team around the child to have the right skills and knowledge to successfully implement your child’s Individual Plan and learning goals.
Fee for Service
In certain situations, individual services can be arranged. This will be dependent on need and staff availability.
For Families.
McKenzie Centre supports the whole family through courses, events and workshops. Families are the key decision makers for their child, and we aim to support them in this role by creating opportunities for them to share their knowledge and skills, as parents to other parents, and to access valuable training from our specialised team. Everyone is welcome at our workshops: extended whānau, grandparents, early childhood teachers and school teachers.
Families Empowering Families (FEF)
Incubated by McKenzie Centre, Families Empowering Families (FEF) is a new initiative which fosters peer workers, or tuakana, in early childhood intervention. FEF is an evolving group of parents supporting other parents to create unique benefits to families of young children with disabilities and developmental delay through the sharing of experiences that complement existing services. Peer networks have enormous potential to build collective capacity amongst parents and significantly impact our community.
Pictability
An innovative way to envision and plan goals for your child, yourself and your family.
Unlike traditional planning methods typically led by professionals, Pictability™ puts families in the driver’s seat. Through playful exploration, families reconnect with what is truly important to them, their family and their child.
Pictability™ looks at the family as a whole. Research shows that parents often place all their energy into the child with a disability or delay. This is not sustainable in the long term and carers risk burnout and mental health challenges. The Pictability™ experience is designed to consider parents as an individual and their family as a whole. Children thrive when their family thrives.
The Pictability™ experience shines a light on a child’s abilities and strengths and helps families to focus on the things their child can do, opening the possibilities for a bright future. The experience provides a launching pad for the family to get started with achieving some of the goals which builds parenting efficacy. It also clarifies what goals the family will need professional help with thus providing a starting point for early intervention services.
Created by Plumtree Learning.
Sydney, Australia.
Now and Next
A ground-breaking parent led programme which teaches families how to set goals and achieve them.
We all want our children to thrive, and you make the biggest difference as parents and carers. By building on our children’s strengths, we can help them to lead a good life. Now & Next is an award-winning program that makes that happen.
Now & Next is facilitated by trained parent peer workers with lived experience in raising a child with a disability or developmental delay. By learning through shared experience and connecting with other families, the program complements the therapists and professionals you work with, to deliver great outcomes.
From Plumtree Learning
Sydney, Australia
Whānau Workshops
Whānau development is a primary focus of the McKenzie Centre journey through connections, advocacy and education. We know the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of whānau. Our delivery model aims to empower whānau on their journey by firmly placing caregivers in the ‘Driver’s Seat’. To this end, workshops are strategically woven through the McKenzie Centre whānau journey.
Transitions.
Children typically attend both McKenzie Centre and an early childhood centre in their local area. We support inclusion at other early childhood centres through visits, information and advice. Some children are eligible for additional support at their early childhood centres and, if this is the case, McKenzie Centre can employ an Education Support Worker (ESW) for them.
At McKenzie Centre, we provide focused support for transitions from early childhood centres to schools, so that the experience is well-planned and prepared by the team supporting the child, to achieve a more successful result.
Communication Programmes.
We utilise the effective Hanen© Programmes: It takes Two to Talk, More than Words and Talkability.
Hanen© programmes are evidence based programmes that teach parents how to develop their child’s communication skills.
Talk to us for more information on any of these programmes.
Equipment Prescription.
We offer consultations to assess, select and adjust specialised equipment or housing modification services for young children.
Talk to us for more information on this service.
Alternative Communication (AAC).
At McKenzie Centre we have access to a range of equipment, tools and strategies to enhance and develop communication and learning skills. We can also link to other resource organisations.
Ask us more about this service, we look forward to helping you.
How To Access Our Services.
Referrals are welcomed (with parental/caregiver's prior consent) from anyone who feels a child may benefit from our support.
For example:
- Parents/Caregivers
- Family/whānau
- Health professionals (such as doctors/nurses)
- Education professionals (such as early childhood teachers)
- Social Workers
- Social Support agencies
Contact us for more information.
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