Latest news from the Ernie Els Centre for Autism in South Africa, providing lower resourced families of children on the autism spectrum with free access to effective education for their child via e-learning programmes.
1. Cresta Barnyard supports Els for Autism
We’re delighted to send you this invitation to an Autism Fundraiser at Cresta Barnyard Johannesburg on Friday 21 March, 2014. The Barnyard mantra is ‘friendship, good food, wine and brilliant entertainment’, so it promises to be an extremely enjoyable night. And, of course, all proceeds raised will be donated directly to the Els for Autism Foundation in South Africa. Doors open at 18.30 and the show starts at 20.00, with tickets priced at R160 per person. For bookings and for information on how you or your business can get involved in this or indeed any future events, please contact Claire Youngman: claire.youngman@ernieels.com.
2. An inspirational letter about an inspirational young boy
The nature of the work we do at Els for Autism South Africa is always reward in itself, but sometimes we’ll receive feedback from a child or a parent that really makes it even more special. Such was the case with this inspirational letter from Liezel and Johan Brand who’s son Lihan attends the Ernie Els Centre for Autism here in Johannesburg. It truly is an inspirational story.
“We would like to thank the Ernie Els Centre for Autism, yourself, Kerri-Lyn, Shani and Aretha for all the kindness you have shown us. Thank you all for the expert guidance and the wonderful opportunity to have used the Rethink Autism Program. When we first came to your centre, after realising that our son, Lihan, was autistic, we were unsure as to what his future would hold. Lihan was 2½ and could say only three words at the time. With your guidance and the Rethink Autism lessons I have potty-trained Lihan, and we’ve practiced imitation of sounds. Although Lihan’s pronunciation of many sounds is not 100% correct yet, he now has an immense vocabulary and speaks fluently.
“There has been many other improvements and lessons that he has also learned – besides the two huge milestones of potty training and speech development – over the past year-and-a-half in which we were privileged to have your great resources made available to us. I also learned how to be my child’s teacher and how to properly apply ABA. Thank you again for the wonderful opportunity. We are so proud of Lihan and optimistic about his future. Our plan is that I will home school him for the first two or three years, as of next year when he will be in Grade R, and thereafter we hope that he will be able to transition into a mainstream school.
“I work from home teaching extra classes to primary school children. My classes run from Mondays to Fridays from 2-5pm. This makes it very hard for us to come to the centre for Lihan’s next assessment, which is already overdue. This along with the fact that Lihan is doing so well and the fact that I feel that I am able to teach him new skills as the need arises, prompted us to now exit out of the program to make way for another family that needs your help as much as we did when we came to you.
“Thank you again. God bless you all and the good work that you do. A sincere thank you to Ernie Els for having the vision to establish the centre and for making the services available free of charge to us and many others who cannot afford other treatments and help.”
3. Autism Pins: Get Involved!
April is Autism Awareness Month and we’d love you to get involved, either through participating in events such as our Fun Walk & Picnic on 12 April or through our Autism Pin campaign. Please do get in touch. You can either purchase individual pins for yourself, family and friends, or you can take it a stage further and help us sell pins to the wider public. It’s all about creating awareness for the Els for Autism cause. The pins will be sold at golf clubs and other venues who have agreed to get involved. Pins will be R30 per a pin and all donations will go to the Els for Autism Foundation.
For more information please contact either:
Claire Youngman, email: claire.youngman@ernieels.com, or
Duncan Woods, email: duncan.woods@ernieels.com
4. A big thank you to one of our wonderful sponsors
Broadlink recently announced a renewal of its sponsorship for the Ernie Els Centre for Autism in Johannesburg. “We are incredibly grateful for this support,” writes Claire Youngman Development Director, Ernie Els Centre for Autism. “Broadlink’s contribution is making a difference in the lives of families dealing with the disorder and it is with the company’s gracious monthly donations that the Centre is able to hire a facilitator to work with our wonderful families. The Ernie Els Centre for Autism currently works with 130 families which would not be possible without Broadlink’s support.”
Broadlink provides connectivity infrastructure for South Africa’s corporate business market as well as many of the top Internet Service Providers. The company offers a range of innovative access technologies to provide business with high-quality, telecommunication solutions. In other words, it is the power behind the power, of your bandwidth. Enabling your business network to carry a mixture of traffic: from data streams and voice to video, hosted applications and much more.
5. About Els for Autism South Africa
The Els for Autism Foundation was established in 2009 by Ernie and Liezl Els to focus on the issue of autism. The Els’ son Ben is severely touched by the disorder, which affects 1 in 88 children. For the last five years Ernie and Liezl have devoted their efforts to a catalytic philanthropic project, The Els Center of Excellence. This first-of-its-kind Center will focus on a digital e- learning platform that gives children on the spectrum around the world access to best practices in education and therapy. It will also help connect the international autism community with best practices and the very latest information and research. South Africa currently boasts the first international link to the Center of Excellence. Located in Johannesburg, the Ernie Els Centre for Autism provides lower resourced families of children on the spectrum with FREE access to effective education for their child via e-learning programmes.
