The Kasangula Family

When our second child Jed turned two, he still wasn’t talking or making any sounds. When we saw a paediatrician, he started asking questions about how Jed played and interacted with his toys. Then he used the term ‘autism’. I heard him saying the word, but I didn’t understand and refused to believe it at first.

In the end, it took two and a half years to get a formal diagnosis. At the time we lived in a mining town in Central Queensland but the week we received the diagnosis, we packed up and moved to Brisbane with the hope of sending Jed to AEIOU Foundation.

In the time we were with AEIOU, we saw so many changes in our son. When he started the program, he couldn’t say a word, but after only six weeks, he was forming words, which blew us away. One of the most defining moments was when we were driving in the car and Jed said to me “where are we going Mummy?” I thought to myself, did I really hear that?

Jed also started to learn how to play with toys and developed from a shy, quiet boy into a more social child. We also credit AEIOU with teaching him vital independence skills including washing his hands and focusing on his daily routine.

The wonderful staff at AEIOU have taught us so much about helping Jed and talking to him in a way he will understand. It has made life so much easier and while this experience has been very challenging at times, our family is much stronger for it.

My advice to other parents out there would be to never give up. Our children are far more capable than we sometimes give them credit for. They are amazing so give them a chance to shine. Our Jed is now at big school and his reading level is above all the other children in his class.  From where we came from, it’s just getting better and better.

By Rachel Kasangula