Frequently asked questions.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Why choose Omni Connect Co to do What’s the Buzz?

• Facilitators with oodles of experience, compassion and empathy

• Neuro-affirming approach

• Experience running groups together

• Additional training available for parents; pre and post group

• We plan and prepare groups to incorporate our participants’ interests and strengths

• We are great at thinking on our feet and making modifications on the run, as needed, to ensure our participants are getting the most out of their experience at group

Can my Child do What’s the Buzz? again if they have already done it?

• Repeating the group can be a great idea! Doing hte group with different group mates and facilitators helps generalise and consolidate skills.

• Over time, as your child’s other skill sets develop, their ability to interpret and utilise the skills taught in group will also evolve.

Can I access the group with my child’s NDIS plan?

• Plan and Self Managed fund users can use their NDIS plan to cover the cost of group.
  * NB it is your responsibility to ensure you have adequate funds available. We suggest contacting your Support Coordinator, Plan Manger or looking in the portal to see what funding you have

Can I access the group if I don’t have NDIS?

• Yes. You can access the group as a private paying client. We are happy to discuss payment installments if required.

How does What’s the Buzz? with Omni Connect Co differ to doing the group at school?

• Both are great options. For some kids, it will work better to do the group with less familiar kids who they do not already have set expectations of or set behaviors with.

• Doing groups with Omni Connect Co out of school hours is less disruptive to the flow of your child’s school day.

• Doing a group outside of school provides an opportunity for children and parents to broaden networks by meeting new families

Can I be in the group with my child?

• Ideally, to support the evolution of the connections between group members and to build independence and self confidence in the participants, parents would not be in the group. However if your little one is a bit wobbly without you, we are happy to have you in or near the group to start with and we will develop a transition plan to support them joining the group independently.

What age groups is What’s the Buzz? for?

• Omni Connect Co offers 2 age groups: Early Learners (5-8 years old) & Primary (9-12 years old)

What is covered in the What’s the Buzz? Early Years Program?

• The Early Years Program is a 16 week program designed for children aged 5-8 years.

Lesson 1: Meeting Archie and celebrating diversity
Lesson 2: Gently and smoothly joining play together
Lesson 3: The how and why of sharing and taking turns
Lesson 4: Cooperation - the art of working together
Lesson 5: Keeping calm and friendly while you wait your turn
Lesson 6: Making things better - how to repair friendships when you’ve been upset with each other
Lesson 7: Winning and losing gracefully
Lesson 8: Fact or opinion? Staying kind and friendly over different ideas
Lesson 9: Working on feelings
Lesson 10: Angry feelings
Lesson 11: Well-being - Building healthy bodies, happy minds and steady feelings
Lesson 12: Honesty - telling the truth
Lesson 13: Speaking up (learning to be assertive)
Lesson 14: Empathy
Lesson 15: A worrying moment - knowing how to deal with it
Lesson 16: Time to say goodbye

What is covered in the What’s the Buzz? Primary Program?

• The Primary Program is a 16 week program designed for children aged 9-12 years.

Lesson 1: Meeting people and exiting
Lesson 2: Seeking attention
Lesson 3: Peer pressure when to follow and when to go your own way
Lesson 4: Being friendly
Lesson 5: Competition - winning and losing with style
Lesson 6: Feelings - yours, mine and everyone’s
Lesson 7: Feelings and the warning signs
Lesson 8: Feelings and thinking positively
Lesson 9: Feelings and well-being
Lesson 10: Empathy
Lesson 11: Anxiety - Name it and work with it
Lesson 12: Handling disappointment
Lesson 13: Bullying and bullying Style behaviours - and dealing with them
Lesson 14: The connecting art of conversation
Lesson 15: Self-awareness building emotional intelligence and identity
Lesson 16: The value of giving encouraging feedback

How are the What’s the Buzz? sessions structured?

• Each session is delivered in 4 parts and are structured the same way. This helps the kids feel comfortable and predict the format of the group.

Part 1 - What’s the Buzz? - An introduction of the topic lets the participants know the set of skills to learned during the session. This is done by listening to Archie’s story. Archie is a character we follow throughout the program. Each lesson uses examples of his life to explore the session topics.

Part 2 - Show me the Buzz - This is where the students get the opportunity to exchange in a variety of activities and discussions, listen to others’ ideas and work through the content by doing activities such as role plays and receiving feedback from the group. We understand that role plays can be tricky. However research shows that role plays help heighten understanding and generalisation of skills to other environments.

Part 3 - Do you know the Buzz? - Provides the group with an opportunity for discussion and questions around the topic based in the format of a fun quiz that gives them the opportunity to review what they have learnt throughout the session. The quiz provides facilitators the opportunity for insight into the understanding each child has gained over the session.

Part 4 - The Buzz - The group play games and have fun together to practice the skills in a fun application.

• To ensure we are being neuro-affirming and making the group as accessible as possible, we will provide sensory tools and try to base games and scenarios around the groups interests. For those who find the role play hard, we can work with them on other options like writing a script for the role or doing their role play to a smaller group.