Claire's Cottage

What is Claire's Cottage?

Claire's Cottage is a small, family enterprise born out of a desire to facilitate adults with disability. Our focus is to help assimilate our participants into the community so as to be seen as valued members of society. Our goal is to support the development of independent living and social skills, encourage individual interests and promote positive experiences throughout all of these endeavors. Thank you for finding us here, please explore our site to learn what we are all about and the services we offer... we would love for you to join our growing family!

Our Services

SUPPORTING & ENCOURAGING

Adults with Disability

Our Story

Where It All Started

Claire is a loving mum of 6 who has dedicated her life to raising and supporting her children. Her journey in the disability sector began with the birth of her twin daughters, Betsy & Emma, who were soon diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy. In the early days of their life, Claire was told that the girls would be unlikely to walk or talk, that they would be destined for wheelchairs, remaining totally reliant upon others throughout their lives. It was then that she embarked on her mission to enrich their lives as much as possible by giving them a chance to defy the path that had be laid out before them. It was through much hard work of her own, and the support and direction of physiotherapists, speech therapists and other pediatric specialisits, that she was incredibly proud to see the twins defy those odds as they began walking, talking, playing and eventually attending mainstream schooling throughout their young lives.

Claire's Cottage was Born

It was a very proud day to see the girls graduate high school and receive their senior certificates, but it was this milestone that brought about the next great challenge. Claire was disappointed to learn that there weren't many opportunities for them after leaving school. She had worked so hard to help the girls develop many important life skills, that they found themselves slipping through the cracks of the system, with needs that weren't high enough or low enough to be effectively catered for by the large disability programs that were on offer. There was not much choice but to enroll them in these programs... but all the while, a dream began to form.

It soon became apparent that the area that was most lacking and what the girls (and their friends) were craving, was the freedom to socialise - just as they saw their older siblings doing as they grew. And with this, Claire's Cottage was born. Initially as a social program that enabled adults with disability to socialise on their own terms, engaging in activities that they chose, and laying the foundations that Claire's Cottage is built upon.

Where We Are Today

Since these humble beginnings, Claire's Cottage has continued to build strong relationships with our participants, and grown to the point where we have acquired a property to operate a day program throughout the week. This program works with small groups to develop important life skills that are often overlooked in large scale programs. We have now become an NDIS approved service provider, offering many other services, including in-home support and short term respite... but never forgetting our grass roots. We continue to run our social program on weekends to ensure that, above all else, our participants - your children - are living happy, fulfilled lives that bring them joy. Please see Our Services page for more information on what we can offer your family, and please get in touch if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!