Prior to your child commencing Prep, a range of early childhood therapy, intervention, and support services are available within Queensland. The following information regarding early intervention services has been provided for your information but please note, the programs and services listed below may have specific eligibility criteria or may not suit your family or child's individual needs.
Department of Education
The department provides
early childhood development programs (PDF, 3.5MB) and services for young children with disability or suspected disability, including ASD, from birth to five years. The programs and services may differ across regions and include playgroup, centre-based and outreach services to your home and other educational settings.
The
Early Childhood Education and Community Engagement Division supports services to provide inclusive programs, for all Queensland children. The
Kindergarten Inclusion Support Scheme (KISS) funding program assists community-based kindergarten program providers to support the inclusion of children of kindergarten-eligible age (at least 4 years old by 30 June) with a diagnosed or suspected disability to actively participate in a kindergarten program.
The
Inclusion Support Programme (ISP) is a key component of the Australian Government's Child Care Safety Net and provides support to eligible early childhood and child care services to build their capacity and capability to include children with additional needs in mainstream services; providing them with an opportunity to learn and develop alongside their peers. Support for eligible early childhood and child care services includes onsite support visits, advice and information to address inclusion barriers that can assist educators to increase their inclusive capacity. There are also streams of funding support where identified needs are clear and eligibility requirements are met.
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services
The
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services provides funding for the Autism Early Intervention initiative for children with autism up to six years of age. The initiative aims to maximise the development of children with ASD through the provision of multidisciplinary therapy support and support families to develop strategies necessary to overcome the long-term challenges of caring for a child with autism. These early intervention services are provided by the AEIOU Foundation and Autism Queensland.
Early intervention services are also available through the Family and Early Childhood Services (FECS) for families of children aged up to six years who have or are at risk of having a significant developmental delay.
AEIOU Foundation
The
AEIOU Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation which provides a full-time intervention program for children aged two and a half to six years who have been diagnosed with ASD.
Autism Queensland
Autism Queensland (AQ) is a not-for-profit organisation that provides services to children with ASD and their families. There are specific early intervention programs and services for children aged birth to six years.
AQ is also responsible for delivering the
Autism Advisor Program that is part of the
Helping Children with Autism package. The role of the autism advisors is to provide a link between the clinical diagnosis and access to early intervention programs and support services. They also assist eligible families to access the Australian Government funding for early intervention services and grants to support families from rural and remote areas.
Further information
Further information regarding support options for children with ASD can be found in the
further learning and support section.