Page 3947 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 30 October 2013
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those who do not know about the AEIOU philosophy, it is one based very strongly around early and intensive intervention.
The centre believe, and their work is backed up by research, that intervention should start as soon as possible after a child is diagnosed with ASD. They have proven that early intervention can prevent a decline in intellectual development and can also lead to measurable intellectual and capability improvement.
What is the AEIOU Foundation? For a start, AEIOU actually stands for Autism Early Intervention Outcomes Unit. It is a not-for-profit organisation providing full-time early education for children with autism who are aged between 2½ and six years. Each centre is staffed with full, specialist early childhood teachers and skilled learning facilitators, with support from speech pathologists and occupational and music therapists. The foundation was established in 2005 and currently operates nine centres across Queensland. It enrols around 200 children.
In addition to providing early education and therapy support, AEIOU Foundation chairs a research advisory group and is a founding partner of Griffith University’s Autism Centre of Excellence. It has also funded research through the Australian Catholic University ARC linkage project.
Because we had such faith in this program and felt it was a perfect addition to the range of services offered in Canberra, we advocated for the foundation to set up a centre here in Canberra. It is now history, and regrettable, that the initiative was not taken up, although we know that former Greens MLAs with a strong interest in education have subsequently looked at the AEIOU model and now understand and appreciate its value for Canberra.
It is no secret that the University of Canberra is seriously looking at establishing such a centre on campus. This would have similar duplicate benefits that the Griffith centre does, where students studying teaching and special learning modules have an on-site laboratory and practical opportunities to observe and learn how children with autism can be taught.
Since the AEIOU model was first discussed, there has been criticism by people who probably have not fully appreciated its value. Concerns have been expressed that introducing such a centre in Canberra would, or could, reduce the number of services already available and programs that many families are very happy with. Why? The reality is that the number of children being diagnosed with autism is increasing. It is estimated that one in every 100 in the population has an ASD; so as public policymakers, we should be seeking as many new and extended therapy programs as are available.
This centre is designed to complement what is already available and would provide another option for families seeking the best for their children. Early intervention services need to be expanded. And when one is offered to us, surely we should take the opportunity with both hands, especially when it has the results that the AEIOU program has. Up to 75 per cent of AEIOU graduates are able to transition into
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