By Emily Iannello
A “godsend” for families with autistic children has opened in Geelong.
The city’s first Little Learners centre for pre-schoolers provides 20-plus hours a week of early-intervention services.
A mother, who did not want to be identified, said the program had “changed our lives for the better”.
“I was previously travelling to Melbourne up and back twice a day to send my son to a Melbourne centre,” she said.
“It has absolutely changed our lives. I don’t know what I would have done without it.
“My son has started talking, his communication skills have just flourished. Before he wasn’t doing anything constructive but now he’s doing puzzles and he can understand so much more of what we’re saying.
“The intensity is so hard to find. No-one else in Geelong offers it.”
Little Learners director Karen McKinnon said the program’s applied behaviour analysis (ABA) model was based on learning theory.
Students attended four days a week, learning in one-on-one and group sessions.
The response to the new centre in Bellerine St had been “really positive”, Ms McKinnon said.
“Families are really happy to see an ABA provider in Geelong but they’re still getting their head around the NDIS and what services we can access.”
Ms McKinnon said autism rates were a “growing concern”.
“There used to be just one or two autistic children in every school but now we’re more likely to see one or two in every classroom. Many other local agencies are now referring parents and their children to the centre.”
