Shining the light on Autism AEIOU Foundation Annual Report 2010/2011 ii AEIOU Foundation Annual Report 2010-2011 Welcome to AEIOU... Shining the Light on Autism It’s been a challenging year for many That same year, AEIOU Foundation Registered office: Our reporting process Queenslanders, but here at AEIOU was established. It was the first N70 Recreation Road This is the second annual report submitted Foundation we never cease to be organisation of its kind, and Nathan, Qld, 4111 by AEIOU Foundation. This report amazed by the generosity we have continues to lead the way in Australia documents the Foundation’s financial, Telephone: 07 3320 7500 witnessed in our community. It’s also in providing best practice early operational and community performance Facsimile: 07 3277 5500 for the financial year ending 30 June 2011. incredible to celebrate the triumphant intervention to children with autism, We welcome your feedback on this report. milestones the children and families along with practical and caring Postal: PO Box 226 Nathan, Qld, 4111 To contact us, please phone 07 3320 7500 in our centres achieve every day. support for families. Today, with nine or visit www.aeiou.org.au. Email: [email protected] Because at the end of the day, our centres located across Queensland, Website: www.aeiou.org.au goal is a simple one: it is to make a we remain committed to raising difference to the lives of every child awareness and understanding about ABN: 19 135 897 255 autism, providing exemplary education with autism. AEIOU Foundation is a registered charity services and helping families to break (CH1818) under ‘The Collections Act’ of You might know that in 2005, a report the bubble of autism. 1996 and is endorsed as a deductable gift found that more than one in 160 recipient under the Subdivision 30-BA of children are diagnosed with autism in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. Australia every year, which makes it A full list of our centres across Queensland more prevalent than childhood cancer, is available on our website. diabetes and HIV infection combined and twice as prevalent as cerebral palsy. AEIOU Foundation Annual Report 2010-2011 1 Contents Shining the Light on Austism Part Two: Our fundraising and 28 community engagement AEIOU Foundation Annual Report 2010-2011 Our events 28 Part One: Our business 2 Our partners 30 Our donors (over $5000) 31 Our mission 2 Our grants 34 Our vision 2 Our volunteers 34 Our purpose 2 Our ambassadors 35 Our values 2 Our campaigns 36 What is ASD? 2 Message from the Chair 4 Part Three: Our families 40 Chief Executive Officer’s report 5 Performance overview 2009-2010 6 How we work with our families 40 Financial Snapshot 6 Lynn Wright Memorial Fund 41 Operational Performance 6 Year in review 7 Part Four: Our concise financial report 42 The year ahead 9 About us 10 Who we are 10 Our goals 10 Our structure 11 Our people 11 Board profiles 13 Our executive team 15 About our curriculum 16 About our centres 16 Our research 26 2 AEIOU Foundation Annual Report 2010-2011 PART ONE: Our business Our mission We do this by: We operate our program from nine What is ASD? locations across Queensland, including To enhance the lives of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is •• Creating individual plans for each Nathan, Park Ridge, Bray Park, Carrara, autism and their families through early a lifelong disorder characterised by child based on their strengths and Toowoomba, Nambour, Emerald, Hervey intervention coupled with practical and difficulties in three main areas, including areas for growth. Bay, and Townsville. Our Moorooka centre caring support. social interaction and relationships, was providing early intervention until communication and language (including •• Providing a multidisciplinary program December 2010. At this time, we extended body language and facial expressions) and Our vision with a high staff to child ratio. Children our licence at Nathan and all families were repetitive behaviour and routines. To be recognised as the leading provider of engage with skilled facilitators, qualified transferred. The centre at Moorooka will be quality early intervention and learning for early learning teachers and allied health refurbished and will become a hub for our Autism Spectrum Disorders include children with autism and to ensure every professionals such as occupational Education Support Service and Education autism, Asperger syndrome and Pervasive child is given the best opportunity to reach therapists, speech pathologists, music Department in late 2011. Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise their full potential. therapists and psychologists. Specified (PDD-NOS). Approximately 90% of children who •• Delivering a curriculum that helps Our purpose complete our two year program are able Autism is not a rare disorder, with more children develop independence, to communicate functionally, and 73% AEIOU Foundation is leading the way than one in 160 Australian children communication and language skills, of children successfully transition to in Australia with our best practice early affected, and around 350 Queensland social, fine and gross motor skills and mainstream school. All children have the intervention program for children with children diagnosed every year. ASD cognitive and pre-academic skills. opportunity to achieve milestones that autism aged between two and a half and can profoundly affect families, and can many others take for granted, reach their influence a parent’s ability to work, create five years. •• Delivering our program in a long day full potential and gain a greater level of sibling social disadvantage as well as care setting, ensuring children can independence. We are a not-for-profit organisation that be cared for by skilled professionals isolation and depression. provides unprecedented access to full-time with a high staff to child ratio, but also Our values Males are four times more likely to have early education, therapy and support for ensuring families can access greater autism than females, and the exact cause children with autism and their families. We financial support through child care Passionate, committed staff of autism is not known. However research also actively advocate for families across benefits. Respect the nation, striving to foster improvements Empowered and supported parents and shows early intervention can make a difference, and improve the chance of a in Government policy to ensure all children •• Supporting families by making home families can access high quality early intervention. visits and providing access to resources Advocacy at all levels child learning new skills and adapting to and materials. Open and transparent communication their environment. We are also extending our service delivery Recognition to deliver support to children in the next •• Leading a research and advisory Integrity stage of their learning and development, in team to provide long-term benefits to Promoting a culture of best practice their primary school environments. children with ASD and their families. The program we deliver changes the •• Working with key stakeholders such trajectory of children’s lives, and we as Griffith University to deliver an are committed to delivering our high Autism Centre of Excellence which quality service throughout Queensland and will empower teachers, families and interstate. students with autism to achieve the best results in learning environments. AEIOU Foundation Annual Report 2010-2011 3 The program we deliver changes the trajectory of children’s lives, and we are committed to delivering our high quality program throughout Queensland and interstate 4 AEIOU Foundation Annual Report 2010-2011 Message from the Chair If there is just one word to describe Our staff members, across all corners of The milestones that stand out to me by a clear and uncompromising vision AEIOU Foundation, it is dynamic. the organisation work incredibly hard to include creating the Autism Centre of which is to ensure all children can access bridge the gap in early intervention, not Excellence (ACE) with Griffith University, early intervention, regardless of where Here, we have a team of people who only by delivering a high quality curriculum lighting the Story Bridge Blue (and in they live, or what their family’s financial share a vision and who are committed that is unprecedented in Australia, but by doing so, joining a world-wide awareness circumstances are. We believe that early to making a difference to the lives fostering change and driving growth. campaign for autism) and hosting the intervention changes the trajectory of of children with autism. Our team is first in a series of Take a Hike initiatives. children’s lives and as a result, should be a It is this energy which sets AEIOU We also launched our first global social right, not a privilege. empowered to make change. Foundation apart. Despite the challenges networking campaign Communication encountered by the Foundation, our local Shutdown, opened our Regional Autism We are fortunate to have a team of more community and the families in our program Pilot Program and won a tender to launch than 130 permanent staff members who during the flooding disaster in January, we our service in Bundaberg in 2012. We have share our vision. I am also grateful for our were able to provide additional support nearly completed construction of our first strong support base comprising individual and remain on track to meet our targets. inclusive centre at Sippy Downs and will donors in the community, corporate soon launch a unique Education Support sponsors and government support to help Making a difference for children with program. us deliver our program and achieve growth. autism is at the heart of our organisation. As the new financial year approaches, We issued results from a new ‘Cost of Today we operate nine centres across we are close to enrolling nearly 200 Autism’ study with Synergies Economics Queensland. This year, around 90% of all children, which represents nearly half of Consulting Group, and we are on track to children that completed our program were all children with ASD under the age of six launching our service interstate within the able to communicate and 73% of children in Queensland.