Two months ago, we launched a petition to our Health Minister, the Hon Greg Hunt, to demand he champions our country kids, because there are 100,000 country kids in Australia who are developmentally vulnerable and cannot access health services, simply because they live in country areas.

Jayden’s story

At age seven, Jayden couldn’t speak properly and he was often violent towards his family.
With the nearest specialist health service more than 200km away, his mum Rebecca had no support.

For years, Rebecca sought help for Jayden but no-one could tell her exactly what was going on with her son. Why did Jayden struggle with basic tasks? Why was his speech so delayed? Why did he resort to violence so quickly?

When Rebecca heard about Royal Far West, she felt we were her last hope.

Seeing the huge improvements that Jayden has experienced in his three years with RFW has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. Jayden is now a thriving young person, able to communicate with his peers, make friends, and be socially appropriate. In addition, his level of aggression and conduct disorder has markedly reduced to a level where it is well managed and mitigated. He is on a good trajectory now and much loved by his family and friends. This was not always the case.

Jayden’s story is not an isolated case. More than 330,000 kids living in rural Australia have health and developmental needs that cannot be met locally – we need to do more for these children.

SOME FAMILIES HAVE TO WAIT 16 MONTHS FOR AN APPOINTMENT

What you can do to help

Every day we see country kids with a range of complex problems including global developmental delays, speech and language concerns, and increasingly, severe behavioural and mental health issues. We work closely with the child and their family and their local community. And we fight for every country kids’ voice to be heard, loud and proud. We want a nation that recognises the importance of early intervention for vulnerable country kids and we need your help in this pursuit.

Will you raise your voice to stop kids like Jayden falling through the cracks?

SIGN THE PETITION NOW

Thank you

So far, we have collected 1,200 signatures and we extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you for signing  the petition.

To have our petition tabled in Parliament our target is 10,000 signatures. Help us to achieve this target by signing this petition and sharing it amongst your networks of family, friends and colleagues.