Advocating for inclusion and making a career out of it

Rowan is Northcott’s General Manager Early Childhood Services. Northcott’s NDIS early childhood approach allows families and carers of children under seven who have developmental concerns, a developmental delay or disability to access timely, targeted and individualised early childhood support for their child. 

In this story Rowan shares a little bit about his career journey and how his special relationship with his daughter has impacted his career choices.

Initial diagnosis

Rowan first became involved with Northcott as a customer back 2013, shortly after his daughter was diagnosed with autism.

“Like most Dad’s, after my daughter was born I would often think about her future and what it might hold. The things she’ll do, the places she’ll see, the life she will live. For Seraphina, things seemed to progress as normal, she was a happy baby.

Then at around 2 years of age, her development stalled, and even started to regress in certain areas. After many appointments over the next six months, she was ultimately diagnosed with level 3 autism. This was when I was referred to Northcott.”

The Northcott staff that Rowan worked with at the time left a really strong impression on him. “The staff had such a strength based approach to working with my daughter” says Rowan. Over the following years Rowan became more and more involved in promoting and advocating for inclusion in his local community. He explains, “I wanted my daughter to have the same opportunities to be a part of her community that everyone else does.”

Working at Northcott

In 2018 Northcott was successful in becoming the early childhood NDIS partner in the Mid North Coast. “I knew immediately I wanted to work with them and applied for a role straight away. I started in the role of ECEI Service Manager for the Mid North Coast, before stepping into my current role in 2020.”

When asked what he loves most about his role Rowan explains that it is the pivotal role his team has in building a genuinely inclusive society. 

“We are the common ingredient in the lives of more 11,000 children with disability and developmental delay. My team through the support they provide, can have a massive positive impact not just now, but into the future of so many children. Support now leads to improved outcomes later in life.”

 As a parent Rowan understands first-hand the significance of how support in those early days impact your child’s life.

Advice for parents at the start of their journey of support

Rowans says, “If I had one piece of advice to pass on to parents at the start of their journey, it would be to remember you will always love your child. They will continue to amaze you with what they are capable of. Like any kid there will be moments where they will make you want to pull out your hair, but there will be many moments where they will make you proud.”