Max

Rocky Bay Occupational Therapist, Megan Booyse, has been working with Max toward his goal of a learner’s permit through the Keys4Life program by supporting him to develop the skills he needs to be safe on the road, having previously conquered executive functioning skills and money management.

Working with his Advanced Clinician Speech Pathologist, Danielle Garside, Max is building up his social skills when out in the community.

“I have been supporting Max on his social skills, particularly around having conversations, showing an interest in others, asking social questions, and building meaningful friendships,” Danielle said.

“This is particularly important as Max prepares for employment after schooling. We have built up his understanding around the theory behind social skills and why they’re important. We have targeted these specifically using role play activities, which help to prepare Max for meeting new people…and communicating effectively with his employer.”

At the end of 2020, Max was receiving support from Rocky Bay’s S.T.E.P program, which uses an individualised approach to transition people aged 16-23 years who live with a disability from school to employment, and supports them to work on the skills they need to find the right career.

At the time, Max was volunteering in a local candy shop on the Mandurah foreshore. Working with the S.T.E.P team, Max had some goals he wanted to fulfil in his workplace, including increasing his stamina from sitting doing his work to standing and being more mobile in the workplace; gaining product knowledge by creating a product booklet, and being a productive team member by showing initiative in undertaking cleaning tasks.