By ALANA MITCHELSON
Children with autism will have more therapy options with additional services to be offered in Geelong next month.
School readiness programs, social skills groups and early intensive behavioural intervention (EIBI) are among school services that Autism Partnership Australia plans to launch by 11 April.
The organisation’s facility in Bellerine Street, Geelong, is being refurbished with rooms to mimic different environments, particularly a classroom setting and specialist rooms with different teachers, such as art classes.
An outdoor area is another major feature of the expansion, creating more opportunities for play spaces such as a garden area, vegetable patch, sand pit, climbing equipment and a cubby house.
These new spaces will help children learn how to transition from outdoor play time to an indoor classroom setting when the bell rings, and from mat time to time spent at a desk.
Autism Partnership Australia managing director Shannon Eeles said research showed that EIBI was the most evidence-based approach with each autistic child requiring at least 20 hours of therapy a week.
EIBI involved an individualised approach that breaks down skills and behaviours to ease the learning process, Ms Eeles said.
“We’re the only service provider that offers EIBI in Geelong,” she said.
“In the past we’ve had families travelling all the way up to Melbourne to access services because there are more options.
“We want families in Geelong to have the same opportunities and a greater choice of services for their children.
“In Melbourne we’ve just introduced a new program called Little School this term which has shown just how quickly kids can learn when they’re given the opportunity to practice over and over again rather than trying to teach them when they’re older in a real school environment.
“Depending on the need in Geelong, we’d be hoping to introduce Little School in Geelong in the future.”
The facility would cater for up to 15 children for EIBI, 12 for the school readiness program and a larger number for social skills groups, Ms Eeles said.
The organisation expected its Geelong staffing to more than double in time for the launch.
Latest NDIA figures show that Geelong has more than 300 autistic children aged under five.
