4-Year-Old Learning 'New Words Every Day' After NSW Program

A little girl who arrived at a Sydney refuge barely able to communicate is now chatting with new friends at the playground every day.

Claire fled to the women's refuge in outer Sydney with her four-year-old daughter after escaping domestic violence. The child struggled with eye contact, stayed mostly nonverbal, and showed signs of sensory overload alongside developmental delays.

Once they found safety, specialists discovered the girl had autism and global developmental delay. But separating trauma symptoms from disability traits took expert eyes.

That's where the Specialist Workers for Children and Young People program stepped in. The NSW initiative places trauma-informed support workers directly inside women's refuges to help kids recover from family violence.

"She now maintains eye contact with others," Claire said after months of specialist care. "She is learning new words every day and loves going to the playground to make new friends."

Claire calls her daughter's caseworker a "guardian angel." The support included speech and occupational therapy, therapeutic play spaces, and help securing housing and childcare that could meet her daughter's needs.

The program recently received $48.1 million in state funding, expanding services to 32 refuges across NSW. At Claire's refuge, 95 percent of children have experienced traumatic family violence.

The Ripple Effect

Since launching in 2022, the program has supported more than 5,400 children and their families. Most clients are under 11 years old, and 43 percent come from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between trauma and disability, but there are different traits," said Suzy Pace, who manages the Macarthur support service through St Vincent de Paul Society NSW. "This is why we need these specialists on site."

The investment aims to break cycles of violence before they form. By giving traumatized children targeted support during their most vulnerable moments, the program helps prevent generational trauma from taking root.

Minister Jodie Harrison emphasized that young people experiencing family violence deserve recognition as victim-survivors in their own right. The program provides holistic support for both mothers and children rebuilding their lives.

Demand still outweighs capacity, but every child helped represents a future changed.