Cecilia is passionate about basketball and is a big fan of her local WNBL club Bendigo Spirit.

One day, she hopes to interview star player Kelly Wilson live on Phoenix FM, where Cecilia works as a volunteer presenter with Distinctive Options’ own radio show The CD Rack. The show has been running since 2017 and provides opportunities for Bendigo participants to research areas of interest and develop public speaking skills in a live studio environment. Support staff encourage and assist where necessary so that everyone’s voice is heard.

“We also get to play music. One of my favourite bands is Cold Chisel,” says Cecilia, who is now quite at ease in the studio. She delights listeners with her relaxed style of reporting on the weather of the day and the latest WNBL game results. Cecilia is very much a team player herself and enjoys the social connections made through participating in group activities such as this. Listen in by tuning into Phoenix FM at 106.7 FM every Wednesday from midday. Go Bendigo Spirit! Go Cecilia!

James has been attending Distinctive Options since 2016 when DO first arrived in Bendigo and now enjoys a great variety of activities across the week, from sports to cooking, to swimming and trips to Melbourne - all with the aim of developing communication and social skills in small group settings.

James also participates in DO’s Rights and Responsibilities activity, which is a self-advocacy group. Speaking up and having a say is a right, not a privilege.

Music is important to James; ‘My favourite artist is Kylie Minogue,’ he says and with his remarkable memory for facts and figures, James could easily list all her hits without missing a beat. In fact James is the kind of person you want on your trivia team.

James volunteers with Phoenix FM every Wednesday, reading out community announcements for such not-for-profit organisations as Carer Solutions, which is an advocacy and support group for carers and partners. He also writes up and reads reports on Essendon AFL club – another of James’ passions!

Cherie’s eyes light up when speaking about her all-time favourite film – Frozen! She’ll happily sing the theme song at any time, all the while spreading good cheer and affection to those around her.

For Cherie, one of the highlights of DO has been the friendships she’s made during group activities. Most activities, including dancing, bowling, swimming and sailing are held in the local community, easily accessible from DO’s base in central Bendigo.

Cherie joined DO Bendigo at the end of 2016 when we first opened our doors and is a great support to any newcomers. She always goes out of her way to make everyone feel welcome.

With support from staff, Cherie travels on public transport both locally and further afield to Melbourne for shopping trips and other events. Cooking delicious treats is another of her passions, in fact she tackles new challenges everyday with a positivity that simply shines!

Matthew was pleased to move out of
shared accommodation and into his own
apartment. With support from Distinctive
Options, Matthew continues to live independently, with assistance provided for daily tasks such as shopping, cooking, cleaning and attending appointments.

Health and fitness is one of Matthew’s priorities
and with Individualised support from our Kyneton team; Matthew was able to visit an exercise physiologist over a number of weeks and develop a personalised hydrotherapy program. Matthew recognises that the benefits of hydrotherapy
are not limited to the pool: “The hydro helps in walking, climbing up the stairs and with my balance.”

Matthew’s support worker Brooke provides transport and assistance with his weekly hydrotherapy sessions. Matthew says that Brooke helps him follow the prescribed program, ensuring that he achieves his health and fitness goals: “Brooke encourages me to go and reminds me what to do. She keeps me motivated. The hydro pool gives me energy to start the day.”
Our staff takes time to build a positive rapport with participants and to understand each individual’s specific support needs to ensure that they are well cared for and feel comfortable. When Brooke suggested that Matthew might like to join her at the local bowls club one day, he went along and is now happy to visit the club by himself. We’re glad to see Matthew increase his independence and make lasting social connections within the wider community.

Paris is a great cook, a confident woodworker and a talented gardener. She shares her skills and knowledge with the local community by volunteering at Kyneton Community House
every Friday, with support from Distinctive Options:“
On Fridays I volunteer at Kyneton
Community House. We do gardening from
10am to 2pm and it’s very enjoyable. I have learnt a lot. I’ve learnt how to prune a rose bush, how to sow seeds and also to make a worm farm and a compost bin. Because our support worker Jason is a carpenter, I’ve been able to brush up on my carpentry skills as well.” On Thursdays, Paris attends our health and fitness program run by our qualified fitness instructor and support worker Rohan. This group-based activity is designed to keep participants focused on their health and fitness goals through such activities as playing tennis, basketball, cooking, going
swimming and following a gym program.

Our staff ensures that everyone in the group is able to develop their individual skills while also
enjoying the social aspects of being in a team; “The support workers help me with my mental and physical health on Thursdays. On Fridays they help me with my social skills and with gardening. They support me very well, I feel very comfortable and they have built up my confidence a lot over the last months.” Paris is currently enjoying the group cooking classes at Kyneton Community House, with nutritious and delicious food on the menu! “Today we made beetroot risotto with fresh herbs for the garden and with ingredients that we bought. We also made jam drop biscuits!

Brittany is like all other 20 year olds; she loves hanging out with her friends and being as social as possible.

Brittany has Cerebral palsy and uses both a wheelchair and walking frame.  She has struggled with mobility in her arms and finds it difficult to complete some daily tasks. Despite this, not much can stop Brittany from achieving her goals and pursuing her hobbies. Brittany enjoys making necklaces and bracelets for her friends.  Brittany will make tie-dye shirts and her own head bans too. Brittany really enjoys doing the gardening & eating lunch at the park with her friends.

At Distinctive Options we have been able to help Brittany with everyday living activities and rehabilitation.  Distinctive Options accompanies Brittany at both physiotherapy and hydrotherapy sessions, ensuring that she can achieve and exercise to her full potential and work towards achieving her goals.

Our staff take time to build a positive rapport with participants and to understand each individual’s specific support needs to ensure that they are well cared for and feel comfortable. Brittney has said that she has more energy since attending group services at Distinctive Options. It’s great to see Brittany a lot happier with herself and very proud of the progress that she is making daily, especially with her physiotherapy.

Tara is a champion swimmer, having won silver and gold medals at the Special Olympics over a number of years. Tara’s specialty is backstroke and her success in the pool is partly due to a regular training program and having support from family and sports’ organisations such as Special Olympics Australia.

Special Olympics Australia is part of a global sporting community for people with an intellectual disability providing people with opportunities to play sport and open the door to greater personal achievement, pride and inclusion.

Competing at this level requires a great deal of skill and Tara is a natural athlete with energy to burn! She is an inspiration to her peers in Bendigo and enjoys the friendships she’s made at DO Connect Bendigo through our varied activity program.

Even when sitting out on the bench during a recent netball match, Tara cheered her team along, knowing that supporting each other to achieve our personal best is one of the greatest paths to happiness!

Zachary is a strong advocate for speaking up when something’s not right.

With support from staff Zachary attends the Bendigo branch of SARU (Self Advocacy Resource Group) every Tuesday. Staff return after the meetings have finished, ensuring that participants share information and concerns with each other in complete confidence.

“We’ve been doing posters and flyers to try and get more people to join SARU so they can speak up and have their rights heard. I have spoken up to support my friends in the past and it’s a good skill for people to have.’

Zachary is also a passionate sports’ player and credits his speed and height as distinct advantages when on the court. It’s also why he enjoys attending the group sport activity on Mondays at DO Bendigo. Playing sport and speaking up are as important to Zachary as making friends:

“I have made lots of new friends while coming to DO – it’s like a big family. I know that Tara and Beau would listen to me if I had a complaint. I love all the staff, they are great people.”

Sarah first came to Distinctive Options in 2014. Sarah has Autism.  Now 35 years old Sarah is well known for her passion for singing and dancing! She could almost recite every song you have ever heard word by word and loves to accompany her singing with her famous dance moves.   

Sarah enjoys being supported to access the community and increase her health by visiting the pool and the gym.  Sarah says that Distinctive Options have helped her to achieve her goals and encouraged her to feel more confident in her community and daily living activities! With the support of Distinctive Options, Sarah is able to locate ingredients at the shops and prepare a basic meal.  Sarah has also built upon her daily living skills in a real life setting utilising our group support services in St Albans.

We cannot wait to see what is next for Sarah.

Sarah first came to Distinctive Options in 2014. Sarah has Autism.  Now 35 years old Sarah is well known for her passion for singing and dancing! She could almost recite every song you have ever heard word by word and loves to accompany her singing with her famous dance moves.   

Sarah enjoys being supported to access the community and increase her health by visiting the pool and the gym.  Sarah says that Distinctive Options have helped her to achieve her goals and encouraged her to feel more confident in her community and daily living activities! With the support of Distinctive Options, Sarah is able to locate ingredients at the shops and prepare a basic meal.  Sarah has also built upon her daily living skills in a real life setting utilising our group support services in St Albans.

We cannot wait to see what is next for Sarah.

Jack is 33 years old and lives with his parents. Jack is funny and caring and likes spending time with his friends. He is an avid Bombers fan and is a long-time member of the club. Jack loves attending their games and is also a huge fan of motorcycle racing, the MOTO GP and WWE. He has a broad and extensive knowledge of these hobbies.

Jack was diagnosed with Costello Syndrome, a rare and obscure syndrome at about 5 years of age. Jack’s goals include wanting to live as independently as possible, in his own house either by himself or with a friend, with some assistance. He also wants to enjoy a similar social life to any other young adult his age and enjoys socialising with his friends and accessing the community.

During Jack’s time at Distinctive Options, he has made fantastic progress towards his major goals. His confidence has increased and he has made many friends. He has participated in cooking and fitness and activities that help him navigate with some independence, the community he lives in. Jack loves that the staff are young, share similar interests and treat him as an adult. He has been able to have 1:1 support go on outings such as concerts and Bombers football games.

Jack very much enjoys the outings arranged by Distinctive Options with his immediate friends that are tailored specifically to his wants and needs. His confidence has grown enough to enable him to feel comfortable enough to self-advocate when appropriate, which is a major step towards reaching his goals.

“Jack has experience with other service providers, but has really made steady progress thanks to the wonderful programs and caring, approachable staff at Distinctive Options.” Deb- Jack’s mother

Alyssa in a 21 year old super friendly fun bubbly individual.

Alyssa enjoys presenting news and AFL scores at a local Bendigo radio station. Alyssa also enjoys going shopping, cooking hanging out with her many friends and karaoke. She also enjoys going bowling with her support group and being a social butterfly.

Alyssa's goals are to be able to live independently, engage volunteer work within the Bendigo community, obtain employment, organizing appointments and be part of events and activities in the community.

Alyssa has engaged in a vast variety of programs, ranging from going to a local Bendigo radio station and presenting the weather, Group supports for independent living, cooking and social activities. Staff at Distinctive Options have worked with Alyssa to ensure that she is happy and progressing with all of the activities that she participates in.

Alyssa expressed interest in gaining more home living skills such as scheduling, timetables, cooking, and organizing own appointments with the goal of someday moving out of her family home to live independently.

Distinctive Options has helped Alyssa learn the essential skills needed for individual living.  We have supported Alyssa by involving her within cooking groups, social activities, Rights & Responsibilities and Health & Wellbeing. The group sessions have been tailored to meet Alyssa’s needs and other participants who seek independent living in the future.  Alyssa has been involved with a local Bendigo radio station, building her confidence. Alyssa has also been involved with a budgeting and money skills group helping her understand and allocate finances.

Talisha is 20 years old and has Cerebral Palsy. She lives at home with her mum, 3 sisters and their dog, Gizmo. Talisha settled in well at Distinctive Options after leaving school in 2019 and loves the social interaction she has at group services with both staff and peers.

One of her NDIS goals is to be involved in her community by participating in social activities and having fun experiences. With support from Distinctive Options, Talisha has been able to explore new places and meet new people.

Talisha has recently obtained a new communication device, the NeuroNode Trilogy, and was able to have 1:1 daily sessions with the Communication Coordinator learning how to use the system. She now is able to practice using the device within her programs at Distinctive Options.

David has attended group services since 1998 and has seen many changes within the service, as well as in the town of Sunbury. David has an intellectual disability and vision and hearing impairments.

Living independently in his unit since 2017, Distinctive Options visits David for 1:1 support several times a week to assist with cooking.

David learnt to use public transport within our Travel Training programs, and catches the train into the city every Friday with his best friend, Gavin.

David has a passion for drawing and writing comics and is working on a story about an imaginary world. He bases his characters off himself and his friends and draws inspiration from history, culture, movies and TV shows. Distinctive Options assists him with the writing and layout of the book. He hopes to publish the book one day- this is one of his NDIS goals. Safe to say- art programs have been some of David’s favourite programs over the years!