National PEKE Centre

23/03/2026

We are so excited to release our April school holiday group therapy programs at our Cranbourne clinic! Our team has planned some of our most loved and popular groups, so be sure not to miss out on the fun! 👩‍🍳🍪🚌🧪

22/03/2026

🧠 🌈

16/03/2026

When the nervous system is heightened, sometimes the fastest way back to regulation is through strong sensory input ❄️🍋

16/03/2026

A great opportunity for caregivers, allied health practitioners, teachers, education support staff and those with lived experience alike 🧠

Learn about wellbeing and stress across the Autistic lifespan, covering topics such as common stressors, burnout, health impacts, & supports.

15/03/2026

👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼

11/03/2026

This goes out to all of the caregivers of our neurodivergent kiddos ❤️‍🩹

04/03/2026

We have IMMEDIATE availability for speech pathology at our Werribee clinic 👄👅🗣️

Where? In-clinic appointments 🏥
When? Monday-Thursday⌚️

Contact us now to secure your child's spot
📞(03) 8742 4874
💻 werribee.admin@pekecentre.com.au

04/03/2026

We have IMMEDIATE availability for Creative Arts Therapy at both our Cranbourne West and Werribee clinics!

Why choose Creative Arts Therapy for your child? ANZACATA explore who CAT is for, and how it can support your child with their goals 🧠🎨🫟

Arts Therapy is not an ‘art class’. ANZACATA registered members are university trained clinicians. Art therapy supports emotional regulation, cognitive functioning, motor skill development and self-awareness, addressing a wide range of therapeutic goals. It is an allied health, clinical support, not an art class for fun!

03/03/2026

Maggie Dent and The Imperfects discuss raising capable, confident and loved males/boys and the importance of how to support children (at large) to reach their full potential 👧🏼👧🏽🧒🏾👦🏿

What an incredible discussion that shouldn’t be missed 👂🏼🎧

The Imperfects · Episode

18/02/2026

Reward charts can look motivating on the surface… but when it comes to toilet training, they often miss the mark. 🚽

Toileting is a developmental process — not a behaviour that needs to be “earned.” Many children (especially neurodivergent children) need body awareness, interoception, sensory comfort, safety and trust — not stickers.

Reward charts can unintentionally:
• Increase pressure and anxiety
• Create shame around accidents
• Shift the focus from listening to the body → to pleasing adults
• Undermine intrinsic motivation

Toilet learning works best when it’s responsive, relational and paced to your child’s readiness. Support the body. Reduce the pressure. Celebrate progress without conditions

15/02/2026

We love this post by Dr Justin Coulson's Happy Families that promotes risky play and discusses the benefits involved with encouraging this in our kiddos 🛝🪾🪁

Safety Second: Why “Safety First” Is Bad For Your Child

“Your children should be doing at least one thing each week that, if things go wrong, could land them in hospital.”

Provocative? Absolutely. But I’m not encouraging emergency department visits. I’m sounding an urgent alarm: our obsessive protection of children is harming them.

The Risk Paradox Explained
Here’s an uncomfortable consideration: “Safety first” is actually harming our children. How? The more we try to eliminate every risk, the more we compromise our children’s actual safety and success. Our anxiety about scraped knees and bruised elbows has created a generation that’s physically safer but mentally fragile – scared of everything.

Research from the University of British Columbia shows that children deprived of risky play develop poorer risk assessment abilities, decreased physical literacy, and—most alarmingly—heightened anxiety disorders. Professor Mariana Brussoni captures this perfectly: “Children should be kept as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible.”

Risky vs Dangerous: Know the Difference
Risky play involves manageable hazards that children can identify and navigate themselves. Dangerous situations involve hidden hazards beyond their developmental capacity to assess.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE: https://happyfamilies.com.au/articles/safety-second-why-safety-first-is-bad-for-your-child

15/02/2026

We’re growing our leadership team at our Wyndham Vale clinic 🌿

We’re looking for a passionate Team Leader (Occupational Therapist) to join our dynamic and values-driven team.

Key criteria:
✔️ Minimum 3 years’ experience working within the NDIS**
✔️ Strong commitment to working from a neuroaffirming framework
✔️ Leadership skills with a collaborative, strengths-based approach

If you’re ready to lead, inspire, and make meaningful impact in a supportive environment, we’d love to hear from you.

📩 Please email your CV and cover letter to:
stellaparaskevas@pekecentre.com.au OR admin@pekecentre.com.au

Join us in making a difference 🌈