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.  Our Committee meets regularly and on an annual basis we meet for our Annual General meeting.  This meeting is usually held in November following our primary fund raising event (our Annual Ball) which is held in October, to review the success of our fundraising and to agree how best to distribute the fundraising dollars.  Please review our Annual Report for 2009-2010 for more information regarding our goals and achievements for this year.

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 Clinical Director, Program Consultant, 3 supervisors and 25 plus 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 $65,000 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 three models of client family programs:

 

Full Fee Paying Program

Full Service Model

This model is an individualised ABA program that is delivered in the child’s home by a full team of Learning for Life staff comprising a Program Supervisor and between 3-5 Learning for Life therapists.

Learning for Life takes on all the responsibility of recruiting and managing the therapist team on behalf of the family and also provides for the insurances, workcover and police check requirements necessary with the provision of home-based services such as our ABA early intervention programs. 

 

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 between $54,000 per annum (for a min 25 hr/week program) and up to $65,000 per annum (for the 40 hr/week program)

Subsidised Program

Annual subsidies are offered to some families who are in need of assistance and are calculated against the Full Fee Program.  The Committee of Management reviews each family’s application on a case by case basis.  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 $5,000 pa to $10,000 pa.

 

Workshop Model

This model is an individualised ABA program that is delivered in the child’s home by a team of between 3-5 therapists managed by the child’s parents or carers and supervised by the Learning for Life Program Supervisor.

Learning for Life provides the Program Supervisor to direct the child’s individualised program and to supervise and advise the therapist team.  It is the responsibility of the child’s parent / carer to recruit and manage the therapists.

The maximum total cost for the Workshop Model is $13,500 per annum, which includes the Initial Workshop and the annual fee for the Learning for Life Supervisor. 

The initial workshop will be invoiced separately prior to the workshop – advance payment is required.  A typical workshop will require 7 hours per day for 2 days conducted by the Program Supervisor and will be charged at a rate of $125 per hour.  The workshop cost will not exceed the total amount of $1,750. 

The ongoing Learning for Life supervision and therapist training will be invoiced monthly for the hours of service delivered by our Program Supervisor, again charged at a rate of $125 per hour.

 

Our Service Criteria

Since we are unable to guarantee access to our service at the time your child is diagnosed or requires our program, we highly recommend contacting ABIA for a list of service providers.  We advise you contact as many service providers as possible to increase your chances of receiving the right service for your child as early as possible.

Eligibility for our service:

• The child must have a formal diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (CARS – Childhood Autism Rating Scale)
• The family must reside within the service area agreed upon by the committee

Conditions of service:

• The parents / carers of the child must support the commitments that our service requires:
• Child to receive a minimum 25 hours of therapy per week (research supports that this is the optimal level for catch-up and long-term success)
• Selection of clients is entirely at the discretion of the committee
• Availability of service
• Full-fee paying positions – these may be provided at any time, on the condition that the above requirements are met and there is a supervisor and therapy team available.
• Subsidised positions – availability of subsidised positions are reviewed by the committee on an annual basis.  We do not maintain a waiting list during the year since many families seek alternative service providers if their initial requests or timeframes do not suit our schedule.  We strongly recommend that you contact us  in early December to inquire about position availability for the following year. 

Please do not wait for us!  We appreciate that the window of opportunity is limited to help your child following diagnosis of ASD.  We strongly recommend that you do not wait for one of our positions to become available. Please contact as many services as possible, as soon as possible, to ensure the best outcome for your young child.

 

School Consultancy Program

This program is for primary school age children with behavioural problems, for example social interaction, inattention, compliance, coping in the playground, tolerance and independent completion of work.

One of our experienced consultants will conduct a 2 hour observation/meeting at the school.  This is followed up with a written report outlining the consultant’s recommendations which is given to the parents.

The consultant can also provide ongoing support based on the recommendations of that report.  This involves 2 hour fortnightly/monthly consultations at the school and includes observations and meetings (which ideally should include the parent/s).

Our service is available in metropolitan and regional Victoria but is dependant on staff availability.