Autism Clinic trials new Aotearoa-style support

Autistic children and their whānau attending Victoria University’s Autism Clinic may feel more at home with a new style of support on offer this year.

Autism Clinic Lead Dr Hannah Waddington and the clinic’s Māori and autistic advisory groups have co-designed Raupī te Raupō, a New Zealand-appropriate programme aimed at supporting children and their families to flourish. The programme is being piloted this year with a $41,000 grant from the IHC Foundation. It is thought to be the first programme in the world to be developed alongside autistic adults and indigenous peoples.

The Autism Clinic—Te Rāngai Takiwātanga was established in 2017 in partnership with the IHC Foundation and Autism New Zealand to evaluate best-practice early supports for young autistic children in New Zealand.

The clinic focuses on upskilling the adults around the child to enable better support and to improve their quality of life. The clinic also works with therapists and other health and education professionals.

One of the first programmes delivered through the clinic was the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), developed in the United States. Around 200 children have gone through the ESDM programme at the clinic and Hannah says families have been positive about the results. “The training has made our therapists better therapists.”

She says, however, that whānau, particularly whānau Māori, have reported that ESDM is not culturally responsive or well suited to an Aotearoa New Zealand context. At the same time autistic members of the clinic’s advisory group have stressed the need for a neurodiversity-affirming programme of support, developed alongside autistic people. “At the moment there is no such programme worldwide, as all established programmes have been developed without significant input from autistic adults.”

Raupī te Raupō has been created by Hannah, colleagues Dr Jessica Tupou and Carla Wallace-Watkin from Victoria University; Lee Patrick, an autistic Research and Advocacy Advisor from Autism NZ, and with input from the two advisory groups. The Māori advisory rōpū includes, a psychologist, kōhanga reo teachers and several whānau members. The autistic advisory group includes advocates/researchers, a parent, and a part-time user of augmentative and alternative communication.

Hannah says the programme is flexible. “We want to support the child to be happy in their own unique skills.” Families have the ability to choose the areas they want to focus on. “Families really liked the ability to choose their topics.”

Four therapists, including one Māori therapist, will be trained to deliver Raupī te Raupō. The funding provided by the IHC Foundation will provide weekly sessions over nine-weeks for 22 autistic children this year. The sessions include practical sessions at home and discussion sessions over Zoom. Hannah says a donation from a private funder has since boosted the number of children to receive support to 35. The children will be drawn from the clinic’s waiting list. At present families can self-refer to the clinic but may wait up to six months for their child to be seen.

The autism clinic team will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of Raupī te Raupō through research and will adapt the programme according to feedback from participating families.

“Our criteria for this programme is that the child is under five and autistic or showing signs of autism.” To find out more about Raupī te Raupō email autism-clinic@vuw.ac.nz or phone 0220106855.

Caption: A child enjoys some learning and play at the Autism Clinic in Petone. The clinic is now offering Raupī te Raupō, a New Zealand-appropriate programme for children and whānau.