Positive Behaviour Support for teenagers in Dapto.
NDIS behaviour support for young people aged 12 to 20 in Dapto, Kanahooka, Koonawarra, Horsley and the growing West Dapto area. We come to you, at home, at school and in the community.
Same-day acknowledgment on every referral. Free 15-minute chat before anything is signed.
Behaviour support for young people in Dapto
Dapto is one of the Illawarra’s fastest-growing areas. Wollongong City Council’s West Dapto Urban Release Area is planned to bring around 19,500 new homes and about 56,500 more residents over the coming decades, so many young families are arriving. At the 2021 Census, about 12% of Dapto’s 10,954 residents were aged 10 to 19.
Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) is for young people whose behaviour is getting in the way of school, family life or friendships. We start by understanding the reason behind the behaviour, whether it is overwhelm, avoiding something too hard, a need for connection, or a response to past experiences. Then we teach skills and build supports so the young person has better options.
Settling into a new area
Moving house, changing schools and making new friends are big changes for any teenager. For a young person with disability or a trauma history, they can be overwhelming, and behaviour is often how that stress shows. If your family has recently moved to Dapto or West Dapto, a behaviour support plan can help your young person settle, and help their new school understand what they need from day one.
Working with local schools
Young people in the area attend schools such as Dapto High School and Kanahooka High School. There is no School for Specific Purposes in Dapto itself; the nearest are Peterborough School in Warilla and Para Meadows School in North Wollongong. With consent, we work with whichever school your young person attends, so everyone is using the same calm, consistent approach.
Where sessions happen
We come to the young person. In Dapto, that might be at home, at school, at Dapto Library inside the Dapto Ribbonwood Centre next to the Showground, or at the Dapto Heated Pool. The library runs free after-school activities for school-aged young people, so it is already a familiar place for many families.
Local supports alongside behaviour support
The nearest headspace centres are headspace Wollongong and headspace Shellharbour, both for young people aged 12 to 25. Wollongong City Council’s youth services also run outreach programs in nearby Kanahooka. With consent, we coordinate with the people already supporting your young person.
Getting around
Dapto station is on the South Coast Line, and local buses link Dapto with Wollongong, the University of Wollongong and Shellharbour. Because our practitioner travels to you, you do not need to get anywhere for sessions.
We also support young people in Wollongong and Shellharbour. Behaviour support in Dapto is led by Yosmerys Aparicio Cuencas, an NDIS behaviour support practitioner with eight-plus years of frontline experience across disability, out-of-home care and community services.
From first call to a plan that holds.
Referral and getting to know the young person
What's being asked, how it's funded, consent, and time to understand the young person: their strengths, what a good day looks like, how they communicate, their health and sensory needs. Rapport comes first.
Functional behaviour assessment
Conversations with the young person, family, school and support team, records, observation and simple data, to understand what the behaviour is doing for them.
Interim plan, if needed
Within one month when there is an immediate need: safety, changes to the environment, and calm ways for adults to respond.
Comprehensive behaviour support plan
Within six months: the full picture, skills to teach with clear steps, proactive and response strategies, and a data plan a real team can keep up with.
Coaching and review
We model and coach the plan with family, carers, school and support workers until it holds, and review it at least every 12 months, or sooner if things change.
Also supporting young people around Dapto.
We also work in Kanahooka, Koonawarra, Horsley, Brownsville, Avondale, Penrose, and across the Illawarra. See our Illawarra location page for every service we offer locally.
Related: our Positive Behaviour Support service, NDIS youth mentoring, positive behaviour support explained, and how PBS is delivered and registered.
Common questions about PBS in Dapto.
Do you provide behaviour support in Dapto?
Yes. We provide NDIS Positive Behaviour Support for young people aged 12 to 20 in Dapto and the surrounding suburbs. Sessions happen at home, at school or in the community.
Can you work with Dapto High School or Kanahooka High School?
With your consent, we can work with whichever school your young person attends, including Dapto High School and Kanahooka High School. We help the school team use the same strategies that work at home.
We have just moved to a new estate in West Dapto. Can you still come to us?
Yes. Our practitioner travels to young people across the Dapto area, including the new estates in West Dapto.
Is there a headspace in Dapto?
There is no headspace in Dapto itself. The nearest centres are headspace Wollongong and headspace Shellharbour. Behaviour support can work alongside them, and with consent we coordinate with the rest of the young person's team.
How do I start?
Use the referral form, call 0480 800 521, or book a free 15-minute chat. Every referral is acknowledged the same day.
How is behaviour support funded by the NDIS?
It is paid from the Behaviour Support budget in the young person's NDIS plan (called Improved Relationships on older plans). If it is not in the plan yet, we can help you ask for it at plan review.
Who delivers behaviour support at SCA?
Yosmerys Aparicio Cuencas, an NDIS behaviour support practitioner who works only with young people aged 12 to 20. She does the functional behaviour assessment, writes the plan and coaches the family, school and support workers who use it.
Refer a young person for PBS in Dapto.
Free 15-minute chat. Same-day acknowledgment. No commitment.