Still trying to enrol!

Been a while since I've posted...what with school coming to an end and xmas fast approaching. I am still desperately trying to get Grace enrolled at Correspondence school before the end of the year. I need to contact Cameron at the Hamilton Ministry of Education office at end of next week to see if she qualifies under the "non-enrolled" gateway. This basically means that because Ngaruawahia High is the nearest high school but they don't have the facilities or personnel to cater for her needs (so are unable to enrol her for 2012), Grace should qualify. But...as usual...still a lot of red tape to get through. I'm also looking for potential teacher-aides to help out with her learning programme. Well...hope everyone's christmas shopping is going better than mine. 24 days to go and zero presents bought! Can anyone beat that?

The phone merry-go-round!

Wow...what an exhausting day! I called The Correspondence School (TCS) today and asked if Grace would be eligible under the criteria of Geographical Isolation (she has been thrown off Gobus twice this year because she would regularly hit other students being transported). Since the school is 25 km away and we could not keep transporting her ourselves, she should fit the criteria (ie. must live over approx. 4 km away from school). Not that simple! I was put onto someone in "resourcing" at the Ministry of Education, who sent me their policy and referred me on to Regina at Multiserve (Waikato) who is the Ministry's transport agency for our area. Regina told me she only confirms how far the nearest school is from our home...and that that school was Ngaruawahia High! I told her that our local school could not cater for Grace's very high special needs (and I know since both Dawson and I work there!) Regina said that I would need to talk to TCS about that....gee thanks...back to the beginning! So guess what I'm doing tomorrow...ringing TCS to see if Grace is eligible under...blah, blah, blah! At least I've got a bit more info now (probably more than the recruitment officer I'll be talking to).  Sometimes I think they give you another number to ring just to hide the fact that they DON'T KNOW.

Shout out to whanau and friends!

Whanau - I am needing to collect large glass jars with lids (the bigger, the better). Large preserving jar size would be perfect or the large-size pasta sauce jars etc. In preparation for the GAPs diet, I need to prepare and store/freeze specific foods ahead of time. If you have any to spare, let me know.

Inspirational story of Dr Temple Grandin

Hey Kimai......wanted to post this on Gracies blog......its a trailer for the movie of Dr Temple Grandin, the worlds most famous woman with autism. Its an very inspirational story and there is a site you can watch it online.....just google......:)
Aunty Debbie


Click this link to watch the Movie Trailer: Temple Grandin

Whareponga, xmas 2009. Grace hitches a ride with Aunty Deb.

Leaving comments now easier!

Hi guys, some people have said that it's been difficult to comment on posts. Hopefully, I've now fixed that problem. You don't have to sign in - just write a comment and type in the code word on the screen (this stops spam). Hope that helps.

Enrolling at correspondence school

I called the correspondence school today and talked to the receptionist. We can enrol Grace online (21st Nov) and we will need to speak with special needs coordinators (Shirley jones and Sandra Stevens)about what a possible programme would look like; if I can access teacher AND teacher-aide hours and what the correspondence school would expect of us. We also need to contact GSE about getting an exemption under the Education Act 1989 (section 20) so we can enrol her. We've got prize giving tonight at school. It'll be a final farewell for year 13 students, which will be a bit sad because they're such a good bunch! Hopefully it will only take 2 hours - in the past it's gone on too long...oh well...roll on the holidays.

oops...here's the books I recommended earlier

"The ABA Program Companion: Organizing Quality Programs for Children With Autism and PDD" (Fovel, J. Tyler)
"Applied Behaviour Analysis and Autism: Building a Future Together" (Mickey Keenan, Mary Henderson, et al.)        *contains a NZ perspective
"Understanding Applied Behavior Analysis: An Introduction to ABA for Parents, Teachers and Other..." (Albert J. Kearney)      * I found this book really helpful

Getting ABA-ready for 2012

Lots to do if I'm going to be ready for home schooling Grace in 2012. Dawson and I went to a one-day course at Waikato University yesterday titled "An introduction to ABA therapy for parents and educators" with Dr Thomas. Long day with lecture-type structure, but some good basic information about the principles of ABA. For me, it was an opportunity to meet an ABA consultant. I now the name of ONE potential consultant based in the Waikato - check! I'm going to need to have someone who has trained in ABA to help out with initial assessment, developing a programme, some training and programme evaluation. I have managed to source some good books listed below, as well as a new website (est. 2011) that "supports parents as therapists" called Rethink Autism.

The plan for 2012 is to put together an ABA programme that I can run myself...yip, I said it! Now, I can guess what some (if not most) will be thinking. Too hard basket! Get real! Can you handle that? Do you know what you're doing? Believe me, I've asked myself the same things repeatedly over the last 3 months...but  I'm now at the point where I'm ready to give it a go. One year of my life! If I think where I was last year, I can't remember much I (or Grace) personally achieved.

I came home last night with a mission to seek funding for next year. After an hour of searching Ministry of Health and Education sites, I hit the jack-pot...tucked away in a site that supports Auckland Home Educators (www.ahe.org.nz/resources-and-links/faq). Basically, because of her very high needs, Grace qualifies for ORS (on-going Resourcing Scheme) funding, which can be used to pay for 20 hours per week of teacher-aide support if I home-school!!! But there is one condition...to access her ORS funding I need to enrol her with the Correspondence School under either an Educational or Medical exemption. I may need to get supporting documentation from a ‘professional’ to qualify, which means that the services of the Correspondence school will be free.  The Correspondence school will pay the teacher-aide. This can be someone that I already know of.  If I choose to home-school without enrolling with the Correspondence School, the Government will not give me access to her ORS funding.


Wow!! The mind boggles at what I could do with 20 hours of teacher-aide support next year. Get some funding for 2012 - check! Where to from here...contact correspondence school to begin enrolment process; contact GSE (Waikato) to ask for help in securing one of their ABA consultants for next year...oh yeah...and let my boss know I want to take time off without pay next year. I've been avoiding making this decision...I can hear the bank balance dropping as I type. 

Why this blog?

Kia ora! Greetings!
Our eldest child, Gracie, was diagnosed with global developmental delay at age 3 years and is now diagnosed as having ASD (autistic spectrum disorder).  She will turn 13 in January, and shows significant delays in the areas of communication and self-help.  Both Dawson and myself have a background in secondary education and after 11 years of teaching, I am now about to take a year off from work to "home school" Gracie. 


After looking into possible therapies for treating a child with ASD, we have chosen to run a programme that will involve a combination of ABA therapy and the GAPs diet. Both approaches are not widely accepted in treating autism (in New Zealand little is known about both), however, after reading up, searching on the net and asking for professional opinion (and sometimes ignoring professional opinion!)...we are prepared to try. 


This blog is an attempt to document the year's journey for ourselves, and also share our story with others who may also be seeking effective ASD treatment for their children. In particular, I hope it may be of help to other New Zealanders where little support (financial or knowledge-based) is available around ABA therapy and the GAPs diet. 


I will end with a well-known Maori saying (I must say that the essence gets lost in translation!)

Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe me maunga teitei

Pursue that which is precious, and do not be deterred by anything less than a lofty mountain.

Nga mihi,

Kimai