April
Meet our friend April. April is a funny and cheeky 9 year old girl who loves to dance! She often tries to get her family and school teachers to dance with her too! She has great fun watching herself dance in front of a mirror as she watches The Wiggles, and also loves Irish dancing and ballet. April loves to help her dad cook! She excitedly dons her chef’s apron and sets about chopping and mixing ingredients to create a culinary delight!
April lives at home with her 15 year old brother, her Mum and Dad, as well as two crazy funny cats!
When April was 19 months old she was diagnosed with autism and severe developmental delay. April is largely non-verbal and her lack of effective communication and impaired cognitive function leads to tantrums. She has many sensory and behavioural issues that are extremely distressing to both April and her family.
Dealing with these issues can be socially isolating. Brainwave has helped to reduce this isolation. April and her family have attended a family day at the Enchanted Adventure Garden in Arthurs Seat as well as Kids in Motion during the school holidays. Kathryn, April’s mother describes this experience, “It’s been wonderful to be with other families and their children and to be able to have fun with them in a non-judgemental atmosphere. Everyone is dealing with their own difficulties and can empathise with one another. It really helps to feel that you’re not alone.”
April’s parents also applied to Brainwave for speech therapy funding to assist April’s speech development. Kathryn describes, “This has seen April’s speech improve from being able to say just one word, to two and three-word phrases. She is starting to speak spontaneously now without constant prompting. This may not seem like much, but it’s a huge improvement and milestone and is very encouraging for us as a family.”
April and her family would like to thank Brainwave and their sponsors for their wonderful support.