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This is an appeal to support the funding of the Perth Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre.
My son has attended the Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre (ASELCC) 2 days a week for 1 year and 8 months. We have traveled past many Childcare centres on our hour + long journey to and from daycare each day. At the end of this year Charlie will transition to full time school and will no longer need their services and thankfully the daycare is fully funded until that time.
I hope that fact, therefore impresses on you, the weight of my appeal to you. My son is covered, he will receive the amazing services of the Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre for as long as he needs them. But there are many parents and children who will need this service in the future who will not be as lucky as me and my son.
You may suggest that they can attend other daycares, after all isn’t that why we have inclusion services. Well let me speak to that first.
Inclusion Services isn’t always enough
My son started in our local daycare with my daughter; they both have autism. For my daughter local daycare was sufficient and she has remained there, but my son’s needs were not met in the local daycare. When it was clear more support was needed for my son, I arranged to have the staff trained and supported by therapists, but in the busy daycare environment he was still left for long periods of time to lay on the ground or post items into any hole he could find. I asked for visual routines that he never got, amongst other things. I had meetings with the daycare manager and the inclusion support officer and was made to feel like I was inappropriate and demanding, just for wanting him to be encouraged and included in all the activities and asking for visual supports. Charlie was never a behaviour issue, he would just sit and do nothing. I tried to get access to daycare at home where I could work with his carer more closely, but because he hadn’t been kicked out of a daycare we didn’t qualify.
Moving to the Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre
So I made the decision to travel 45 minutes each way to take Charlie to the Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre. I didn’t have to ask for anything. He had all the supports I requested before and more. He had a visual routine that was followed, they used his communication device with him, they supported him to take part in group activities, they have worked on developing his significantly delayed fine and gross motor skills and he doesn’t cry when he arrives at daycare anymore. They work with his therapists whether they come from the Autism Association or not and set goals to help him achieve the milestones of development.
What he has gained from the Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre
Since starting at the Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre, my son has come a long way. His joint attention and imitation skills have improved, his communication skills have improved, he is partially toilet trained and he is starting to interact functionally with other people. But most important he is happy and developing more and more independence everyday.
NDIS removes the need for such a Child Care Centre
Now these are the goals of the NDIS, supporting disabled people to become more independent and increasing their functionality in society. Therefore, you may argue that with parents receiving NDIS funding for these goals why do they need a daycare that focuses on such goals.
It is recommended that Autistic children receive up to 40hours of therapy or intervention services a week. I can’t even get my current NDIS funding, which I am extremely grateful for, to cover 3 hours of intervention and therapy services a week. The rest is left up to me as the parent to provide to the child. I am a single, full time carer, part time working mum who has care of my two autistic children 24 hours, 365 days a year. There is no one else to support my children’s development before school so I have to provide the up to 37 hours of intervention a week on top of the normal caring duties of a parent.
Oh and I’m autistic myself, though I don’t need access of any government funding for myself. I hope one day my children will be like me independent enough to access little to no government funding and will be able to contribute to the workforce and society, but that requires the appropriate amount of early intervention. In my son’s case that is a lot of intervention.
You probably don’t have a disabled child or a disability of your own, but it is exhausting living with an invisible (internalised) disability and it is exhausting raising disabled kids. I adore my children and all of parenting is hard work disabled or not, but most parents of five year olds are not still trying to teach there kids to use a spoon, or go to the toilet or ask for something instead of crying. And that is just the tip of what we work on in any given day.
Why Daycare- Why this Daycare
Many parents put their kids into daycare because they work at that time, some need to put the kids into daycare for respite. My reason for placing Charlie in daycare originally was a bit of both. I worked as a relief teacher and may be needed on one of the daycare days, but when I wasn’t working it was a welcome bit of respite. Now, daycare has become a welcome support in Charlie’s development. A chance for him to actually get the level of intervention he needs, because no matter how hard I try I can not fill the gap on my own. There are daycare days where he may spend only a few hours at daycare, but those hours are important for his development. This is the only daycare that has been able and willing to put his development first. It is not the fault of the other daycares; Charlie’s needs are just too high for them.
This Daycare is unique
Continuing funding of this daycare is important because it is unique. It bridges the gap in daycare services for children like my son with high needs. It uniquely supports the families who care for these children. If this funding ceases, these children will fall through the cracks in an otherwise great system. Please support the funding of this daycare into the future, so that children like my son can develop the skills they need to become productive members of our society in the future.
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