An autism centre in George in the Southern Cape has become a haven for special needs children. Key to the success of the centre has been their awareness campaign, acceptance and stimulation. Over the past 3 years, the centre has evolved into a haven where children with different challenges are nurtured and stimulated in a holistic way.
Founder, Mariza van Deventer, says she started the special needs school after her own son was diagnosed as autistic. Van Deventer says society needs to stop judging and start learning.
“We see the judgement, we feel it and what we prefer is to feel the love. To know that we need support from society that our children are also welcome in any place in society and that’s why we do awareness campaigns so people can spend time with autistic people and see that they are not weirdo’s or from another planet, that they are just like us and that they have something to offer for society.”
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is said to affect 1 in 68 children. It’s one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders. Children affected by ASD have limited social interaction and communication skills. As a result, they’re misunderstood and also shunned socially. The Legacy Centre is trying to change all that by appealing to society to be more accepting and understanding.
One of the ways that the centre teaches children to socialise and communicate is via music therapy. For some who’ve have had limited verbal skills, music therapy has changed their lives.
Lasya Ventre has been teaching music to special needs children for more than a decade. She says its remarkable how they respond to it. ” I try to incorporate different angles, different techniques and methods with every child, but through the vehicle of music. And then we attain it at their own tempo because some of them move faster and some of them move slower. But there is always progress, no matter how small there’s always progress and we are thankful for every small step that they make.”
