FOR a really smart kid who could read at the age of three, but didn't respond when his name was called and struggled to engage, it hasn't always been easy for six-year-old Ryder and his mum, Katie Cowey.
With non-verbal autism, being safe and understood at school, and supported to reach his potential, is critical.
That's what Miss Cowey treasures about having her son attend Autism Spectrum Australia's (Aspect) base school at Thornton.
"It's been absolutely amazing," Miss Cowey said.
"It's great peace of mind knowing they have a speech therapist and an occupational therapist here, who have helped us put in place the same consistent approach at school and at home across the board with visuals to help."
"I honestly never thought he'd be toilet trained and within six weeks he's out of nappies."
The demand for places at the school, and Aspect's satellite classes, is on the rise.
Aspect already caters for more than 200 students with autism at a number of campuses - their base school, at Thornton, and at seven satellite schools in mainstream and Catholic schools, says Hunter School principal Lara Cheney.
This week, Aspect announced it will develop a second school with the purchase of a former Bupa aged care facility at Cardiff which will be converted into a primary school for up to 60 students. That is going to be an invaluable addition, Ms Cheney said.
"There is definitely a growing interest in our program. We have a school tour twice a term and at each tour we have an average of 15 families attend to learn more about our program - it's the first step," she said.
Although there were many children on the waitlist, vacancies come up fairly regularly, she said.
"We do offer positions regularly because we are a transition setting and students are moving onto their local schools - some students stay with us for a short time and others stay with us longer," she said.
"The great thing about Cardiff is we have for a long time wanted to provide more support to people living in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie areas, so having a main school site in Cardiff will really help reach a much broader area than what we currently do."
There are more than 5500 children on the autism spectrum living in the Hunter/Newcastle region, according to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, leading to long wait lists for supports and services.
It's been absolutely amazing.
Katie Cowey
The new facility will house distance education program, which provides education for students in year 3-8 from across NSW, and also aspect therapy services.
