Michael Gibbons, a father of five sons from Parkes, has seen first-hand the benefits of using Royal Far West’s services, such as speech pathology.

His nine-year-old son Finley is now flourishing due to his once-weekly telehealth sessions that were held over two years.

Michael is an education officer in the Catholic Education Diocese of Wilcannia Forbes and first noticed Finley needed speech support early on.

Finley was meeting his early childhood milestones, except for language and articulation.

“Working in education, you know where your children should roughly be at with their milestones - saying between 50 and 300 words by the age of two. Red flags were starting to show,” Michael said.

“Speech challenges can affect a child’s confidence, friendships, learning and academic work."

“Accessing paediatric support was extremely difficult in Parkes, especially during COVID.

"There were long waitlists, and when we did manage to see a paediatrician, it was very sporadic.

"There was also limited staff to assist us. A speech pathologist went on maternity leave and was never replaced.

"It was an incredibly challenging time for us."

Royal Far West - that offers multidisciplinary developmental, mental health and disability support services for country children up to the age of 12 - was introduced to the family through school.

"We jumped on board when an availability came up for Finley to see a speech pathologist weekly through telehealth,” Michael said.

Finley was assisted by a Royal Far West speech pathologist for two years, when he was five years old.

“Before seeing a speech pathologist, Finley was frustrated and could become insular – knowing that other people couldn’t understand him,” Michael said.

Fast forward two years, and Finley has gone on to win two inter-town public speaking competitions.

“We couldn’t have done it without Royal Far West,” Michael said.

The support from Royal Far West has had a dramatic positive impact on Finley’s life.

“His literacy and reading have taken off. His confidence and social skills have improved, and he now experiences the joy of being able to communicate with other people and being understood – something that we take for granted,” Michael said.

“Every parent wants their child to grow up with the hope they can be successful, and this has allowed that to happen.

"It has helped our son to flourish and put his best foot forward."

Read more: Royal Far West feels at home in Parkes

The annual Royal Far West Ride for Country Kids is coming to Parkes this Sunday, raising crucial funds to provide vital supports to improve the health and wellbeing of children in rural and remote areas.

Cyclists will travel through Molong, Manildra, Trundle, and Eugowra over three days before finishing in Forbes.

There will be an official ribbon cutting at 7am on Sunday at the Cooke Park Pavillion for anyone in the community wishing to attend.

Last year Royal Far West assisted 512 children, 302 parents and carers, and 496 educators across 29 primary schools and five early childhood centres in the region, delivering services including assessments, speech pathology, therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, and social work.