This year, the AEIOU Foundation is celebrating a 'Decade of Difference' - ten years of making a difference to the lives of children with autism through our early intervention program. Joshua Cottrill is one of these children ...
Our son Josh was diagnosed with autism at the age of four in April 2007. Josh, though verbal, was significantly behind his peers with language. He would also shut down in front of anyone he didn’t know, be deathly afraid of places he hadn’t been before and struggled with other sensory factors such as sound and touch. This was an extremely difficult time for us, particularly given we were told that Josh’s autism was so severe he would never be able to interact properly with others or attend mainstream schooling.
We were told we could register with Autism Queensland but there would probably be a 2 year wait for a place, so our best bet was to enrol him in a Special Education Development Unit. Josh received a SEDU place almost immediately but as it was not autism-specific it offered only a fraction of the therapy and support Josh required. We were struggling to do the best we could for our son within a system ill-designed to cope with his needs. We were lost. All we wanted was to be able to help Josh connect and feel safe in the world.
When friends of ours told us about AEIOU, it sounded just perfect for Josh. We joined the waitlist and were thrilled when he was offered a place at the beginning of 2008. He began his time at AEIOU Moorooka with very little speech and a number of sensory and behavioural issues. Though he was able to communicate with us in a very basic way, he was far less developed than his peers. Within a couple of months we noticed his speech had improved and his sensory issues were less severe than when he started.
What we found at AEIOU was not only incredible support and guidance for Joshua, but for all of us as a family. All the staff were very supportive and quick with reassuring words if needed. The lengths the staff went to in order to bring the best out in Joshua was nothing short of amazing.
He continued to make such great strides in his areas of need that soon talk of transitioning him to a mainstream school was taking place.
"It proved what we had suspected and hoped for; Josh just needed the right teachers teaching him the right way."
After just 12 months at AEIOU we began looking for a school that was a good fit for Joshua. He was clearly not intellectually impaired (which we had also been told was a possibility), but he still would need significant help within the classroom. Our attention quickly turned to a local Catholic primary school located just around the corner from AEIOU Moorooka; St Brendan’s. We were encouraged by the class sizes which were quite small compared to other schools and by the level of support that could be offered to Joshua if needed.
Josh started 2009 with a dual placement at AEIOU and St Brendan’s Catholic Primary School as a prep student. With each term the days at AEIOU reduced until we finally said goodbye to the beautiful team at Moorooka at the end of Term 3. By Term 4 of 2009, Josh was full time in a mainstream school system; something which we had only dared dream.
Josh completed his first year at St Brendan’s without a single meltdown during the day. He worked well with his aides in the classroom and played happily at lunchtimes in the playground. This gave us an immense sense of pride at what he had accomplished during the year.
Josh has continued to blossom into a funny, caring, intelligent and happy little boy who enjoys going to school and playing with his friends. With a love of running and playing, it’s no surprise that PE is his favourite subject.
Though he has a different learning style to his peers, he’s made so many friends and enjoys all the same aspects of school life as his friends.
Today Josh is a Senior in Grade 6 at St Brendan’s and wears his senior badge each day with pride. He has a prep student he “buddies” - a responsibility he takes very seriously and enjoys immensely. He has read in front of the whole school as part of the school liturgy, given many oral presentations to his class and spoken in front of the entire Parish during school Mass. It’s sometimes hard to believe this is the same boy who was once too scared to do anything with people watching him. With each year he has grown increasingly independent both in and out of the school environment and is now looking forward to starting High School next year.
Outside of the school environment Josh is also thriving. He recently celebrated his 12th birthday by having eight of his friends over for a birthday party. He is a keen runner, taking part in the 2km Junior Dash section of the Gold Coast Marathon last year. This year he is keen to run the 4km on his own! Josh is also proving to be a wonderful older cousin and has already begun sharing with them his love of Pixar and DreamWorks movies.
Josh will always have autism however its impact on his life has lessened. He is able to function significantly better than when he was first diagnosed in 2007. He is still bothered by loud noises and prefers to keep his fingers in his ears until he’s comfortable in a new environment, however the rest of his sensory issues have all but disappeared. His speech and comprehension continues to improve and his social interactions are markedly different now to when he was first diagnosed. He’s so proud of all the things he’s achieving and is the first to tell everyone about them.
"We could not be more thankful for the team at AEIOU Moorooka who not only found the way to open Josh up to the world but supported our family through a very difficult time."
Josh has already exceeded all of our expectations and so it’s exciting to imagine what the future may hold for him. Whatever happens, his entire family will be proudly supporting him every step of the way.
Alys and Michael Cottrill
Come and join us on our 10 year Anniversary page for more family stories and a timeline of our milestones and achievements celebrating AEIOU's Decade of Difference.
You can also help celebrate AEIOU's 10 year anniversary at our 'Time to Shine' Masquerade Gala Ball on Saturday 30 May at Brisbane City Hall.
Tags: Autism, Early Intervention, Joshua Cottrill, Aeiou,
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