COMMUNITY eNEWSLETTER
APRIL 2024
Supporting children and adults on the autism spectrum across Sydney and Melbourne.
1700 STAIRS - WE DARE YOU!
On Sunday 28 April, Melbourne’s iconic Australia 108 skyscraper will welcome hundreds of people set to climb 1700 stairs as part of the Australia 108 Stair Challenge. Every step will help support Giant Steps Melbourne.
The climb is open to anyone aged 8 and above, including all fitness levels; run, walk, or crawl your way to the top! This is an awesome physical challenge, rewarded by an incredible 360-degree view of Melbourne from the 96th floor.
By participating in the climb, you’ll be helping Giant Steps Melbourne provide crucial support to autistic individuals and their families. Whether you’re just starting out on your fitness journey, a seasoned athlete looking for a new challenge, in search of a great family friendly activity, or someone committed to making a difference in the community, this event is for you.
96 levels, 1700 stairs, 317 metres of vertical height – we dare you!
Sign up now to participate in Australia’s biggest stair climb!
TRANSFORMING MENTAL HEALTH
10 years ago, we wanted to find a better way to support the mental health and quality of life of our autistic students and adult participants. We opened the Rob Llewellyn Jones Clinical Centre and added a psychiatrist, developmental paediatrician and later a consultant paediatric neurologist to our onsite transdisciplinary team.
Understanding the possible mental health, medical and neurological issues driving challenging behaviour and disengagement from learning has been the primary focus of the onsite clinic. Identifying patterns and tracking students using individualised data collection that can show changes over time has been a key feature for staff and the clinic team to consider both acute and long-term changes for students and participants.
The doctors can visit students and participants in the classroom or playground, removing the need to attend hospitals and clinics. Parents can also attend appointments without juggling the needs of their child in the room at the same time, allowing them to concentrate on the discussion.
During COVID the clinic pivoted to include online meetings, allowing for more extensive case conferences involving families, support teams and residential supports, as well as NDIS supports.
In 2018, the clinic program was extended to include Giant Steps Melbourne, with a visiting branch of the Sydney clinic travelling to Victoria twice a term.
The evolution of the clinic has helped countless students, participants and families at Giant Steps and continues to drive our understanding and ability to support those who need us most. Many thanks to our consultant doctor’s past and present, and the generous donors who have made this once pilot program a permanent and essential service at Giant Steps.
WHEN LIFE THROWS CURVEBALLS...
At just 21 months it became clear that there was something more than autism going on for Luca given his motor delays and slow progress with physiotherapy. We all went through genetic testing and waited almost a year to find out the results! I will never forget the day we had the follow-up appointment with the genetics counsellor.
We were told that our little boy had been unlucky and experienced a random mutation at conception, resulting in a disease called ‘KCNQ2’ – a cause of severe intellectual disability. I was devastated! We were told that KCNQ2 was usually associated with significant seizures, mobility, incontinence and feeding issues. Around 20-30% of people with KCNQ2 are also autistic. Luca has needed hundreds of hours of intense physiotherapy to learn to walk on top of early intervention, including speech and occupational therapy.
Given the rarity of Luca’s disease we do not know what lies ahead for him, but we do know what he needs in the form of supporting him with his autistic needs and Giant Steps do an incredible job in this! From the beginning, one of my biggest fears was schooling. When Luca was in kinder, I visited a special development school. I found this experience to be deeply disturbing and knew it was not the educational experience I wanted to have for my child. Shortly afterwards, I arranged to visit Giant Steps and was blown away by the difference. Students were known, appreciated, and happy!
Now, almost 3 years later, Luca is one of the happy students in his first year at Giant Steps. The relief and gratitude I feel for the school is tremendous! Staff understand autism and celebrate every student. They prepare and plan for changes, sensory regulation needs, and individualise each student’s goals.
When I reflect on the early dreams I had for Luca, I can see that some have already come true. He is happy and carefree, loved, cheeky and playful! Luca, who also has ADHD, is our energiser bunny! Although some adventures are not possible for us, Giant Steps has given us one truly valuable thing, hope. Thanks to our positive experiences, the dark and terrifying worries of the future are fewer and fainter than before. Seeing the smiling faces of the older students and young adults of Giant Steps progress through school makes things seem more hopeful for Luca.
This month, our family is climbing 96 floors (1700 steps) to raise funds for Giant Steps Melbourne as part of team “Leg it for Luca!” The Stair Challenge is a symbol of optimism for us as a family, where we persevere and keep going through the difficult times, and move onwards and upwards, until we reach the top!
Danuta Gill
SIBLING CONNECTION
Navigating life as part of an Autism family brings a unique set of challenges, especially for siblings. Sharing this with other siblings who know what you’re going through, is incredibly important. Rachel’s twin brother, Daniel, attends Giant Steps and Rachel really looks forward to Siblings Group.
This is Dan’s third year attending Giant Steps and the difference it has made for Dan and his whole family is amazing. As much as Dan loves coming to school, Rachel feels the same about Siblings Group: “I absolutely love siblings’ day; I look forward to it every time. The activities are always fun, and I like the people who lead the whole thing.”
Siblings Group was first launched in 2006 by Helen Appleton, National Director of Student and Psychological Services, who has a sibling on the autism spectrum and didn’t receive any support or understanding from peers while growing up. Helen wanted to create a safe place for siblings to enjoy time with other peers who understood their home environment and to have the opportunity for difficult conversations.
Fast-forward 18 years and Siblings Group is still thriving thanks to the many staff who have carried the baton across the years. The aim of the program is to support siblings of Giant Steps’ students to feel a sense of belonging, a sense of identity, to share their experiences and feelings and to make connections with peers. Each group is encouraged to discuss emotions, to talk about how we can understand autism for ourselves and how we can explain it to others. There is also a lot of fun!
Being part of the wider Giant Steps community has many benefits for siblings including reducing isolation, increasing social connections, and supporting long term relationships with their brothers and sisters.
Siblings Group is now led by Sarah Robertshaw, Family Support Coordinator, with input from Jake Bollard, a former Siblings Group member.
OUR BUILD IS UNDERWAY
It’s hard hats, steel toe capped boots and high vis jackets all round at Giant Steps Melbourne.
We’re no longer talking about our hopes and aspirations for our new school, we’re up close and watching as the site begins construction. This phase is both thrilling and challenging for all involved.
In the last few weeks students and staff have watched in awe from our upstairs windows as the arborists skilfully swung from trees and landed limbs, cranes lifted and carefully placed site offices and diggers scrapped the site just the other side of our fence.
The collaboration with McCorkell as builders and Fontic as the Project and Development Team fosters a positive approach to problem-solving. Delicately balancing project momentum with the needs of the school community, every challenge is met with creative thinking to minimise impact on students and school operations.
Utilising local community spaces including Kew Primary School, demonstrates a proactive and shared approach. It not only addresses the limitations with onsite play space but also strengthens connections with the surrounding community.
As the construction progresses, it will be exciting to see how our new school and adult service takes shape and contributes to the growth and development of Giant Steps Melbourne.
FUNDRAISERS
We would like to acknowledge our wonderful corporate sponsors whose contributions go such a long way towards the record-breaking results of fundraising events held this year. Thank you to our parent body for hosting such a diverse and outstanding range of events including the Chinese New Year Banquet, Giant Lunch, 21st Annual Golf Day, ‘Come Together’ Australian Hair event and Fashion Soiree. Check out our Golf Day Video here.
Chinese New Year Banquet – Sydney
Held on Saturday 2 March 2024, Sky Phoenix
Major Sponsor: Raiz Invest
21st Annual Golf Day – Sydney
Held on Thursday 14 March 2024, Bonnie Doon Golf Club
Diamond Sponsor: Australian Stockbrokers Foundation
Gold Sponsors: Affective Building Services, AI Topper, Alert Fire Protection, Bass Floor Company, BMG Air Conditioning, Classic Backyards, FlameSafe Fire Protection, Fugen Construction, Henry & Hymas, Horticultural Services Australia, J.A. Roofing, Metal Projects, Ogalo Kensington, Reece Onsite NSW, Bank of Queensland, Precision Fire Protection Services, Frango Charcoal Chicken
Melbourne
Australia 108 Stair Challenge
Sunday 28 April
May Day Charity Lunch
Friday 24 May
Giant Steps Social
Saturday 1 June 2024
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR WORK
All donations are tax deductible, please consider supporting Giant Steps. Every dollar makes a tremendous difference to the lives of autistic children and adults.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT