Can you help provide therapy to children with autism?
It’s a tragedy that parents are being forced to take their children out of critical early intervention therapy for their autism disability.
Without warning or consultation, the NDIS has slashed support packages by up to 60% for children with autism. Without funding, many parents are forced to take their child out of specialised therapy.
When you donate to AEIOU, you will be supporting children like Oscar to get the critical therapy they need.
Accessing early intervention before the age of seven is critical in supporting a child who has developmental delays.
Please donate today to support mums like Laura to maintain access to therapeutic support for her 4-year-old son Oscar.
“Mainstream school is for kids who can understand what you're saying, take direction, transition between rooms & between things. Mainstream schools are for kids that play with each other and can let you know if they're upset, or when they need to go to the toilet.
Oscar can't do any of that! He’s not capable of that. None of the kids at AEIOU are.
So, putting them in that mainstream environment is not fair on them.
It's also not fair on the other kids, and it's not fair on the teachers.”
Laura, mother to Oscar who has level 3 autism and attends AEIOU
Children with level 3 autism NEED specialised therapy
Upon enrolment at AEIOU, the average child is aged four, and has a developmental age of under two years old.
Often, they cannot communicate and may experience serious behaviours, sometimes self-harming, and high levels of social anxiety. Research shows their parents are experiencing clinically high levels of stress.
They are being told by the NDIS that they should put their autistic children into mainstream settings and their funding is being denied.
These children simply cannot be expected to cope within mainstream settings. Many children attending AEIOU have already been excluded and do not have anywhere else to go.
In fact, if they are forced to leave AEIOU, parents report they will be forced to stop working and stay home with their children as they have no other options. This impacts a family’s financial stability, mental health, and creates strain within the family.
