Annual Report Annual Report (Period April 1st 2013 – March 31st 2014) (Period April 1st, 2016 – March 31st, 2017) Ground Floor, Children’s Memorial Institute Ground Floor, Children’s Memorial Institute 13 Joubert St Ext, Cnr Empire Road. Braamfontein. 2001 13 Joubert St Ext, Cnr Empire Road, Braamfontein, 2001 Tel:Tel: 011 011 484 484 9909 9909 Fax: Fax: 011 011 484 484 3171 3171 [email protected]@autismsouthafrica.org www.autismsouthafrica.orgwww.autismsouthafrica.org PPO.O BoxBox 84209.84209, GreensideGreenside., 2034 2034 SectionSection 18A 18A TaxTax ExemptionExemption No:No: 18/11/13/221318/11/13/2213 NPONPO No: No: 000000 –– 454454 NPO NPO PBOPBO No: No: 2997/093/84/52997/093/84/5 AuditorsAuditors Oct∆gonOct∆gon CharteredChartered AccountantsAccountants PrivatePrivate Bag Bag X02X02 Highlands NorthNorth 2037 2037 Tel:Tel: 011011 531 73007300 Chairperson’s Report 2017 It is my pleasure and privilege to reflect on another very good year in the life of Autism SA. At a special general meeting convened on 4 June 2016, members of A;SA unanimously approved and adopted an entirely new constitution for the organisation. Besides recording a fresh vision and mission for A;SA, the constitution regulates more clearly the affairs of A;SA and its NEC. Readers may access the constitution at http://aut2know.co.za. In accordance with the constitution, each NEC serves a two-year term. At the end of its term, in October 2016, the outgoing NEC conferred honorary membership of A;SA on two of its longest-serving members, Petra Dillmann and Christine Koudstaal. At a function hosted in their honour, I noted that: “… we assemble tonight to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions to our organisation of Petra and Christine by conferring on them honorary membership of A;SA. This is a mark of our appreciation for the vital roles they have played in establishing and developing A;SA as a non-profit organisation with national reach and influence. Petra and Christine join a small group of remarkable individuals on whom this honour has been bestowed in the past: Bill Holland, Derek Uys, Marinus van Rooyen, Michael McGregor, Jill and Bob Stacey, Maggi Golding and Paul Pratt.” A new NEC was elected by members of A;SA at the annual general meeting held on the following morning, at which Dr David Griessel presented to attendees a summary of his experiences at the Autism Europe International Conference of 2016. Of the 14 candidates, six men and women were elected to serve with Sandy Usswald, who is an NEC member by virtue of her position as national director of A;SA. A further five members were co-opted onto the NEC to contribute particular skills and to enhance the representivity of A;SA’s leadership. With these developments, the incoming NEC comprised an adult with autism, two parents of autistic teens, a remedial educator, an assistive communication practitioner, a speech therapist, four medical professionals, two chartered accountants and a lawyer. At its first meeting Desirae Pillay and Melt Olckers were unanimously voted in as the NEC’s deputy-chairperson and honorary secretary. For personal reasons, two NEC members subsequently resigned and were replaced by Hector Kingwill, a stalwart in the organisation, who rejoined the NEC as its honorary treasurer. Vitally, the NEC is now meaningfully representative of our country’s racial, gender and provincial demographics and thus well-placed to deliver on its mandate. An early decision of the NEC was to establish a subcommittee dedicated to improving A;SA’s relevance to and interaction with adults who have autism, many of whom are forceful self-advocates and vocal critics of organisations such as A;SA. The subcommittee, chaired by Desirae and guided by Melt, is intended to listen to and learn from this vital constituency within the broader autism community. Allied to this development is A;SA’s deepening involvement in the wider disability community, as evidenced by Sandy’s election to the executive committee of the South African Disability Alliance and the NEC’s engagement in public debates. On 6 February 2017, for example, the NEC issued a press release on the Esidimeni tragedy that continues to haunt our country. The statement read, in part, as follows: “Autism South Africa notes with deep sadness the findings of the Health Ombud, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, in his report on the tragic release of mentally ill patients from the Life Esidimeni Health Care Centre. The report finds that, when the Gauteng Department of Health terminated its contract with Esidimeni, almost 1,400 extremely vulnerable patients were haphazardly and ill-advisedly transferred to public hospitals and non-governmental organisation facilities. The NGO facilities were unlicensed, unprepared, under- resourced and over-crowded. In consequence, some 94 patients lost their lives by the end of 2016. … As the report makes clear, the State failed to protect let alone promote the rights and interests of the released patients of Esidimeni. A;SA calls on the State to act speedily and decisively on the findings made in the report, including by implementing all its disciplinary and other recommendations. Those who caused or allowed the tragedy to unfold should be held accountable for their actions or omissions. And those released patients of Esidimeni who remain in inappropriate, unacceptable circumstances should immediately be accorded the care and respect that the Constitution demands and they deserve.” A;SA awaits the outcome of the ongoing arbitration proceedings before retired Justice Moseneke. On 11 March 2017 the NEC engaged in a strategic planning process facilitated by Chantell Ilbury, co-author of books such as The Mind of a Fox. During the course of the day NEC members discussed and debated the context within which A;SA operates, the scope and nature of its existing services, stakeholders within the broader autism community, the key certainties and uncertainties of the months and years to come, A;SA’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, the strategic decisions that will direct and shape the future of the organisation and its strategic goals for the three-year period 2017 to 2019. These goals were ultimately identified and defined as being: 1. to ensure the sustainability of all aspects of A;SA, including its: 1.1. financial integrity and security; and 1.2. organisational stability, including by means of effective succession planning; 2. to be the leader in and preferred partner for whole-lifespan autism awareness, education and advocacy (including self-advocacy and empowerment) in South Africa, including by: 2.1. pursuing the progressive realisation of A;SA’s vision and mission; and 2.2. monitoring, evaluating and enhancing its existing training and other services; 3. to grow as an organisation throughout South Africa, by: 3.1. establishing and developing an A;SA presence in Limpopo and the Western Cape; and 3.2. strengthening its existing presences in other provinces; and 4. to be a model for other African organisations that share A;SA’s vision and mission. With these goals in mind, the day was followed by a session chaired by Ari Seirlis of the QuadPara Association of South Africa, who shared with the NEC lessons learned and strides made by QASA in its own journey along a similar strategic path. Ari stressed the financial autonomy and integrity of an organisation such as A;SA, an emphasis that resonated with A;SA which, under the leadership of Sandy, has prioritised the attainment of financial independence. This objective requires ongoing diligence and vigilance but it seems fair to observe that A;SA finds itself today in more stable financial circumstances than perhaps at any other time in its three decades of existence. This assessment is reflected in the audited financial statements presented at pages * and * of this annual report. I am indebted to Desirae and our fellow NEC members for their commitments of personal and professional time to the affairs of A;SA. We extend our thanks to Sandy and her team, including all A;SA regional development officers, for the considerable energy and enthusiasm with which they continue to tackle the numerous activities and opportunities of A;SA, many of which are detailed and depicted in this annual report. ROBIN PEARSE 20 October 2017 National Executive Committee 2016 – 2018 Chairperson: Vice-Chairperson: Robin Pearse Desirae Pillay Practising Tech Advisor for advocate and Inclusive Solutions and father of son with mother to Autistic ASD Adult daughter Secretary: Melt Tumi Leeuw Olckers Paediatrician with Autistic Self- Special interest in Advocate Autism Treasurer: Hector Petrus De Vries Kingwill Professor of Child and Bookkeeper – Adolescent Psychiatry friend of Autism at the University of South Africa Cape Town David Griessel Neliswa Khumalo Principal Specialist Academic Support – Dept. of Specialist Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of the Free State. Shani Zuk Mmatlala Mabeba Program Director: Child Psychiatrist Ernie Els for Autism Centre 2016 was an exciting year for Autism South Africa! At the end of 2015 I decided on a goal to ensure that our organisation starts collaborating effectively with others and this was the year that this was truly realised! Jozi4Autism was conceptualised by a collaboration between Caring Women’s Forum, F.E.E.D. and Autism South Africa and our inaugural 2016 Autism Zoo Trot was realised and what a special day it was! Our Autism Awareness Campaign for 2016 has grown immensely and we saw awareness events taking place throughout April in all corners of the country! Our theme for the campaign was #CelebrateMyUnique and was so well supported! Thank you to all that lit it up blue for Autism Awareness and community solidarity, I salute you! 2016 was a year for firsts! It also saw the start of a collaboration between A;SA and the Institute for Psychology and Wellbeing, University of the North West with our national conference being hosted in Potchefstroom for the first time! It was a resounding success and I am so looking forward to our future collaborations! Autism South Africa continues its path to sustainability and showed growth during the financial year.