Our objective is to increase the number of subsidised ABA therapy programs to meet the increased prevalance of ASD, through:

 

We offer a full service treatment model through the recruitment, training and supervision of all our therapist staff.

We work to provide government agencies, medical professionals, teachers and ASD bodies with data that demonstrates the effectiveness of the ABA program on the development of our children.

The Learning for Life Autism Centre Incorporated was established in late 2003 by a group of professional behavioural management consultants who have worked in the specialist field of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and interested health professionals and parents.

Learning for Life has established a Committee of Management, responsible for determining the strategic direction, resolution of policy issues, monitoring of performance, assessment of risk and overseeing the financial state of the Learning for Life Centre.  The Committee of Management comprises 7 members from financial, legal, medical, marketing and political backgrounds, all of whom provide their skill and expertise on an honorary basis and also .  work to raise the profile of Learning for Life and identify influential contacts and potential supporters who can make a positive contribution to furthering the achievement of its objectives.

The founder of the Group is Tom Gleisner, high profile TV personality.  The director of the Committee is Mary Muirhead.

Learning for Life employs a team of 5 supervisors and 24 therapists dedicated to delivering the ABA therapy program to our client families

Over the past few years, we have found our client families prefer Learning for Life therapists who have undergone appropriate training, have a defined career path and have salary and workcover managed through the Learning for Life organisation.  We believe we are able to provide best-practice service provision in this instance as we are able to manage all risks and opportunities.

Due to the intensive level of treatment, ABA therapy is extremely expensive – a full time program can cost up to $70,000 pa per child. Parents wishing to embark on an ABA program have the additional hurdle of having to find a team of therapists to run their program – people with patience, knowledge, consistency and skills to teach their child with ASD

Learning for Life Autism Centre aims to relieve families of the financial and emotional burden to give their child the greatest possible opportunity of a normal life by subsiding the ABA programs.

Learning for Life offers two primary models of client family programs:

Full Fee Paying Program

In this instance, the pro-rata weekly hours up to 40 hours per week, is funded by the family with the complete program / full hours costing $70,000 per annum.

Subsidised Program

In accordance with funding constraints, annual subsidies are offered to some families.  The subsidy models offered are calculated against the Full Fee Program costs of $70,000.  The subsidies offered to our families do vary and are greatly dependent on the success of our fund raising events.  Currently our subsidies represent a saving to our client families of between $25,000 pa to $50,000 pa.

The Committee of Management reviews each family’s application on a case by case basis, with the subsidy offer being directly dependent on the success of our fund raising efforts.

Location

Our centre is located at 276 Canterbury Road, Canterbury. The building has been provided by a family who have chosen, as a special cause, to support early intervention for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This family has kindly donated the building for the purposes of providing therapeutic behavioural interventions for pre-school aged children. To assist with our building works, see How You Can Help.  The offices of Autism Behavioural Intervention Association (ABIA) are also located in our building.