Monday 10 October, 2016

On Friday 7 October The Hon John Ajaka, NSW Minister for Disability, launched the SDN Beranga Mealtimes cookbook at SDN Beranga Children’s Education and Care Centre in Rooty Hill. This is an autism-specific service that integrates early childhood intervention and mainstream early childhood education.

Mealtimes: cooking for and sharing meals with your child with autism, which was developed by SDN Children’s Services, is a free cookbook, designed to assist parents, carers and families that have children who are fussy eaters and those affected by food allergies or autism.

When launching the book Minister Ajaka said, “This is more than a cookbook – it is a powerful symbol of the great work done by Beranga. It is practical, friendly, ease to use and full of understanding about the experiences of families… It is my great pleasure to launch the book and I hope helps countless families at dinnertime”.

SDN Children’s Services Deputy CEO, Kay Turner, was thrilled to launch the cookbook. “We are passionate about quality child care, we are passionate about inclusion and we are passionate about early intervention. SDN Beranga is an autism specific preschool and we combine the best of early education and care with early intervention. We are thrilled to have the Minister to officiate the launch of the SDN Beranga Mealtimes cookbook,’ she said.

Mealtimes combines a range of budget-conscious, allergen-free recipes with strategies for minimising the stress that is often associated with mealtimes. The book outlines the importance of having familiar and predictable routines to help children develop a positive attitude toward food and mealtimes.

Read the SDN Beranga Mealtimes cookbook.