On a warm and sunny Sunday morning in February this year, a small group of families came together in Royal Park on the edge of Melbourne’s CBD – all attending a special introductory rugby clinic for kids. Sense Rugby went on to establish itself in the eastern suburbs of the city, officially kicking off in April and running a 10-week clinic with weekly sessions across two age groups at the Box Hill Rugby Club.
The program uses occupational therapy methods to facilitate development in children who have special needs such as autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, anxiety and sensory processing difficulties. Children with these problems often have difficulty being part of a team and so an OT program which focuses on these issues gives each child an appropriate outlet for their physical and emotional needs.
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The Sense Rugby program launched in the Central Coast region of NSW in 2015, the brainchild of paediatric OT Carlien Parahi and her husband, Australian rugby sevens player Jesse Parahi. It has grown steadily over the three years since its inception, but the interstate expansion is a big step for this young business, which has now also spread to Queensland and Western Australia.
Jake Du Chateau, also a paediatric OT, worked with the Parahis and Sense Rugby for 18 months in NSW, but his decision to move to Melbourne this year proved to be an opportunity they could not ignore. Du Chateau is confident about the need for the program and initially considered various locations to set up clinics, finally settling on a base at the popular club in Box Hill.
Running two sessions each Wednesday afternoon for children aged from five and then those from 11-17 years, Du Chateau has been pleased with the initial community response. “The numbers we’ve had since the program started in Melbourne have kept really consistent throughout all the terms,” he said. “The feedback from all the families has been really positive, especially from the kids. You can always see from the smiles on their faces after a session just how much they’re getting out of it.”
While Sense Rugby is a 10-week program, Du Chateau said many of the children have stayed on. “There are a couple of kids who have gone in and out, but a lot of the kids we do see enjoy that first term and so keep coming back for consecutive terms.”
The progress he has witnessed across that short period of time has also been very gratifying. “From the start of this year to now, we’ve seen so much growth and development, depending on what the kids’ skills are, whether its co-ordination or confidence [in communication] or even giving someone a high-five, things which we might think are such little things, but it’s huge growth and development for a lot of our boys and girls.”
While the current groups have more boys than girls participating, the balance has varied across each term according to Du Chateau. “There are probably more boys than girls at the moment – last term we had three girls in our young group – so it’s not just tailored for boys. Rugby is perfect for both and the sensory benefits are equal for boys and girls and just as much fun. I think sometimes the girls tackle harder than the boys.”
Du Chateau underlines the fact that sport is an easy way to develop skills from both a social point of view, within a team and a friendship group, but also from a sensory point of view, which is the basic premise of the Sense Rugby vision.
“A lot of these kids have never been successful in sport but now they’re having fun, making friends and enjoying sport, which I think is really important,” he said. “It’s not always about whether they can be part of a rugby team. Sense Rugby helps build the skills which help you be part of a team, learning sport, with friendships at school and at home as well.
“A lot of the kids we see have some sensory processing difficulties, so are having some challenges in getting the right calming sensory input regularly during the day. Also with their social skills – winning and losing, turn-taking, sharing and little things like just waiting in line.”
While the key objective around a program like Sense Rugby is centred on the children, one of the most positive outcomes is also the effect it has for the families. Parents are introduced to others who are in similar situations and what emerges from these new relationships is the sharing of experiences and information creating a new and often much needed support network – and just sometimes gaining some new perspectives.
I think that’s what can be so powerful about sport, it brings everyone together in one big team
Du Chateau has also noticed an increase in the number of fathers attending in the older group, helping out in the sessions. “A lot of the dads have been coming in our older group and I think it’s just as powerful for the kids as well as for the parents seeing their son or their daughter being part of a sport, enjoying themselves, being part of a group. I think that’s what can be so powerful about sport, it brings everyone together in one big team.”
He has been grateful and impressed with the support the club has given the program across its first few months and believes that it has given the program a foundation and the confidence to expand.
“At the moment we’ve got the Box Hill area, but we’re looking to expand to different rugby clubs that are interested and different local communities that want to be a part of Sense Rugby.”