Meet talented Novita Kid Tiffany!

Tiffany is an all-round talent who visits our Parafield Gardens hub. We caught up with Tiffany to talk about her amazing skills in dancing, acting and modelling.

At six years of age, Tiffany has been very busy. She participates in dance and cheerleading competitions, with the splits and cartwheels being her signature moves. Tiffany has achieved first place in two of her dance concerts and plans to win more trophies soon at an upcoming cheerleading competition!

Tiffany says she enjoys cheerleading and dance because she can move really fast and have fun with her friends. She also does tumbling, a form of gymnastics which focusses on trampolining and somersaults. Tumbling has helped Tiffany improve her skills in dancing and cheerleading, making her more flexible and strong for competitions.

Aside from music and dance, Tiffany has appeared in a T.V. commercial for Radio Rentals, eating lollies for the camera. Tiffany loved her acting experience, telling us that she would love to do more television.

Tiffany wears leg braces to stop her joints from swelling and dislocating. Though she doesn’t have a particular diagnosis, Tiffany must be extremely careful in the activities she participates in, as running and jumping on hard surfaces could hurt her joints.

To support her mobility, Tiffany attends physiotherapy here at Novita. The goal of her sessions is to learn to support the control of her joints by strengthening muscles in her knees, ankles and wrists, so they don’t dislocate. These sessions are extremely helpful for Tiffany as they support her to be able to practise her skills for cheerleading and tumbling safely.

Tiffany’s braces and orthotics provide external control for her joints until she is able to have surgery. Her braces are very heavy, but she is required to wear them throughout the day to prevent any dislocation or pain. Although they are sometimes uncomfortable, Tiffany says her braces have been helpful in making her run faster than all her friends at lunchtime. Her progress with the braces and Novita’s orthotics has been very impressive, as Tiffany is quickly becoming a strong and flexible dancer and gymnast.

Tiffany’s gymnastic move in the ‘Bow and Arrow’, a tricky position which involves lots of flexibility and strength:

Novita Kid Tiffany in her Speech Therapy session at Novita

Tiffany has been coming to Novita for therapy for two years, participating in a range of classes to support her to achieve her five main goals: riding a bike, swimming, pronouncing ‘TH’ words, dealing with anxiety and trying different food textures.

Tiffany is a very determined hard worker and has made excellent progress. She can now ride her bike, feel comfortable in the pool, read at an intermediate level and even try new and exciting foods.

Because of Tiffany’s hard work in therapy, she has strengthened both her cognitive and physical skills to a very high degree. And, through her achievements in her psychology and speech-pathology sessions, Tiffany is now confident enough to have conversations with teachers and friends at school.

Furthermore, because of her amazing strength and flexibility, Tiffany has participated in state-wide cheerleading events with audiences over two-thousand. From these competitions, Tiffany has won a few first-place ribbons, proving the results of her hard work and perseverance. Tiffany looks forward to participating in more of these events in the future so she can continue to improve her abilities in dance and gymnastics.

Tiffany’s mum, Jessie, told us that these sessions at Novita have been very important in supporting her daughter’s long-term goals for her mental and physical health. Jessie says that Tiffany’s work in physiotherapy and hydrotherapy has helped her build strength in both her legs, as well as having confidence in the pool. In addition, her progress in speech therapy, along with the work she does in her psychology sessions, has enabled Tiffany to reach new goals with her confidence and communication skills. Because of her determination and hard work, Tiffany is now able to talk to her teachers at school and communicate her thoughts and feelings in a confident and clear way.

With everything Tiffany has achieved so far, everyone at Novita is looking forward to seeing her do even more. We are very proud of this talented Novita kid and will be continuing to support her as she reaches her goals.

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