Brackendowns-based I Am Centre for Autism hopes to expand
Today, 24 young autistic learners are schooled here.
SINCE its establishment in 2016, the Brackendowns-based I Am Centre for Autism has been growing steadily and, today, 24 young autistic learners are schooled here.
I Am Centre for Autism was founded by two married couples – Celeste and Jan-Frederik Viljoen and Bronwyn and Cuen Sharrock. The couples each have a child suffering from autism and when they tried enrolling their children in schools they noticed how difficult it was.
“We saw that there was a great need for schooling for our children and other children with autism, which is why we decided to accept the challenge and start this centre,” explained Bronwyn. “Today, we are very lucky to be a school of 24 learners and hopefully it will keep growing.”
Joy in little things
Bronwyn added that it is very expensive to care for a child with autism and parents of autistic children often struggle to keep up financially. This is why I Am Centre for Autism tries to keep their school fees as low as possible while still doing their best to provide learners with quality education and attention-rich teacher-learner engagement.
“Our centre relies a lot on fund-raising events to keep the fees as low as possible,” said Celeste. “The biggest challenge for us is having enough money and resources to keep our centre growing without having to ask the parents for more money.”
However, despite these hardships, Celeste and Bronwyn elaborated on their favourite parts of the job that makes it all worthwhile.
They both agreed that their joy lies in the little things, for instance, when a child understands a concept after struggling for a long time, or just making little improvements every day.
“Seeing the gradual growth and spark in each learner is very rewarding for us,” said Bronwyn.
As for the long-term goal for I Am Centre for Autism, Celeste said with an eager smile: “Eventually our centre will grow to accompany matric learners, and we’ll prepare them for their future careers. This school will take care of its learners and teach them to lead their lives independently.”
Think before you judge
Their message to the community: “‘I am’ are two of the most powerful words, for what you put after those words shapes your reality,” said Bronwyn. “This is our school’s motto.”
Celeste added: “Please accept and love our autistic children just the way they are. They are beautiful children who just think and behave in a different way. Please stop and think before you judge.”
Feel free to support I Am Centre for Autism’s upcoming fund-raiser. You don’t have to be involved in the centre to attend one of its support group meetings for parents with autistic children. Anybody is welcome to come and listen.
For more information, please call Celeste or Bronwyn on 083 964 2020 or 084 851 4023 respectively, or follow their Facebook page – I Am School for Autism.
For free daily local news in the south, visit our sister newspapers Alberton Record, Comaro Chronicle, Southern Courier and Get it Joburg South Magazine.
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