The Ripple Effect

Here at AEIOU we are really grateful and proud of parents like Wendy Burke who have been so inspired by their child’s progress they do what they can to give other children with autism the same opportunity for early intervention.  

When our son Ryan was three and a half I could not fathom how he could ever go to school.  I could see the deadline approaching and just thought ‘no way’. But now, at age four years seven months, after two terms at AEIOU I can actually imagine Ryan operating in a mainstream school.  We are now preparing for Ryan's graduation from AEIOU and his transition to school next year - the change in him has been phenomenal.

Ryan was just like any baby for the first year of his life.  He crawled and walked a little later than we expected, but it was still within what was considered a ‘normal’ range.  His growth rate was good and he made lots of noise, adding to the noise of a busy household with a four year old brother. At about 18 months however we realised Ryan did not have any real words.  So we started a journey of what we jokingly call the ‘eliminating the variables’ journey.  First was a hearing test where glue ear was discovered, then came the removal of enlarged adenoids.  Speech therapy began and whilst there were some gains with this as he was getting older behavioural issues started to emerge like repetitive play patterns, massive tantrums resulting in inconsolable tears and constantly running away from us in public places.  Sensory issues were suggested to us so we started a block of Occupation Therapy.  Again, some gains were made but they were small.  We tried to toilet train him which was nightmarish and resulted in complete failure.

We decided to take him to a behavioural paediatrician where we heard the word ‘autistic’.  He was three years and nine months old.  We were shattered but not surprised – it made sense – and in some ways it helped us because at least we had a direction now. We knew Ryan only had one to two years left of intervention before reaching school age.  We researched AEIOU and were very impressed by the great feedback from families who had moved interstate to go to AEIOU, and with the staff ratios and intensive early intervention with therapists.

We were lucky enough to gain a part-time place in Term two of 2014 at the Bray Park centre.  The change in Ryan in just one term part-time was significant; more communication, fewer meltdowns, more comprehension.  Before, he didn’t even try to communicate because he couldn’t. His private therapists were excellent but because at AEIOU he has specifically trained staff with him all day it’s just a whole different level of education and therapy.  A full-time place opened up for in Term three and now he is fully toilet trained (which blows my mind) and his communication has greatly improved. 

The AEIOU staff are fantastic, not just for Ryan’s development but our own. The education we’ve also received has allowed us to really communicate with our son for the first time.  It’s great to have the tools to help him be the best he can be.

People who know Ryan have commented on the phenomenal difference in him like when he says hello to people without any prompting.  I’ve noticed a ripple effect amongst our community of awareness of autism and of what AEIOU Foundation does for children with autism as they have observed Ryan’s progress.  I was able to harness the ripple effect of awareness of autism and AEIOU amongst our community who all supported me in my goal to help other children with autism benefit from AEIOU’s program.

It makes me really sad that other children may not be able to access AEIOU’s service and gain from the huge, life-changing impact that early intervention for autism through AEIOU’s intensive program can offer a child.

When I saw an AEIOU Facebook post earlier in the year about the Stafford City Brook Run I thought, ‘I’m doing that and I’m going to rope in as many as my friends as I can to do it as well!’ It seemed to be the perfect combination of my love of health and fitness and an opportunity to raise funds and awareness for AEIOU. 

By the way, I wasn’t always fit – seven years ago I was 45 kg heavier, working in the corporate world and didn’t like myself much.  I decided to change, started going to the gym and then commenced study in Nutrition as I loved the way clean healthy food made me feel. Fast forward to this year and I just finished my Certificate 4 in personal training and am two subjects away from completing Nutrition studies. 

I got seven teams together all proudly named ‘Team Ryan’ and all raising funds for AEIOU. Team Ryan is made up of parents from my eldest son’s school, St Kevin’s, one from a kid’s multi-sport program that Ryan attended, Ants in Your Pants, and also from my gym One Stop Fitness.  We are so lucky to be surrounded by such great support.

My take home message for any parent who is concerned about their child’s development would be to stop wondering and do something about it.  There will be nothing lost by pursuing therapy or expert opinion and you potentially have everything to gain.  If there is something not right then the earlier you can address it thRyan Burkee greater chance there is to make developmental gains. 

Trust your instincts because the majority of the time they will be right.