Until the age of one or so, Louise and James Morton found their son Andrew to be the most delightful baby any parent could wish for.
But after this time, his behaviour changed - he was always crying, and would get very upset when Louise or James left the house, or if they had visitors. He was also not attempting any baby talk, and was silent except for the word 'mum'.
Soon, if the family went out, or Andrew was left with a baby sitter, he would start severe head banging. Slowly, Andrew's parents found they were withdrawing from all outings and social contact, even feeling sick at the thought of dropping their elder child at kindergarten because Andrew would scream, kick and shout.
At the age of two, Andrew's behaviour was finally explained with the diagnosis of his Autism.
Louise and James wanted to find Andrew the best possible educational therapy, to give him the best chance at eventually attending a mainstream school. They discovered an early intervention pilot program run by Education Queensland that had a high teacher to student ratio, and focused on social developmental skills, play and speech skills, and behavioural intervention.
This program appealed, as other early intervention programs were strictly home based and James and Louise wanted to have Andrew's education take place in a social teaching environment. They knew it was crucial for Andrew to develop sharing and social skills. A picture card system was introduced to Andrew to make communication easier and this is how Andrew began to talk. Louise and James used this at home, and soon Andrew was able to hand them a card for the things he wanted, like food and videos. As a result, his anxiety and frustration levels dramatically improved.
Andrew's behaviour improved dramatically. Gone was the head banging and screaming if his parents went out. Now he cried if they left without him! This totally changed the Mortons lives, especially for their two other children. They could now start to interact like other families. After 18 months in the program, Andrew started to put sentences together, was learning the alphabet, and could count to 20. He played with his siblings and loved to go to parks, McDonalds and indoor playgrounds just like other children. Andrew was able to start at a regular kindergarten and loved it. He still needed ongoing therapy from his early intervention teachers though, to help him continue his educational development.
However, in 2003, Andrew's early intervention centre was closed, and Louise and James found there was no other service like it offered anywhere in Queensland. They continued his therapy in their own home, but were dissatisfied with the fact that Andrew, and thousands of children like him, had no opportunity to attend an early intervention facility that was dedicated solely to children with Autism.
In November 2003, James and Louise, together with Andrew's Educational Therapist Rebecca Allen, started AEIOU Autism Early Intervention Outcomes Unit, with the goal of opening the first centre of its kind in Queensland dedicated solely to an intensive early intervention learning program for children aged 2-5 years.
The first centre opened in February 2005 in Moorooka.
They hope that through AEIOU, many more Queensland children can reach their full potential through early intervention therapy the way that Andrew has.
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