Costen family decided to road trip around Australia, homeschool children living with autism

When a southwest Sydney family’s son started school, it only took one term before his level two autism caused him to regress so much he lost his speech. So his parents decided to jump off “the hamster wheel of life” and take a trip around the country.

Lauren and Stan Costen with their children Stanley, 6, and Malachy, 4 . The family have been road-tripping Australia while they do homeschooling.

When school was not working out for their son with autism, a family of four from southwest Sydney packed their bags and hit the road.

The Costen family, who had been living in Camden, have spent the last few months travelling around Australia and using the opportunity to “roadschool” their eldest son.

Laura and her husband Stan sent their son Stanley to a school in southwest Sydney, but it only took one term before his level two autism and ADHD caused him to regress to such an extent he lost his speech.

“Our decision was a direct result of what had happened because we had moved to southwest Sydney so he could go to that school,” he said.

“He was struggling, and his psychologist went in to see what he could do, and he said, ‘I will back you if you want to pull him’.

Malachy, 4, and Stanley Costen, 6.

“The wait for a specialised school was 18 months.”

When Mrs Costen spoke to the school, they said they did not have the capabilities to cater for Stanley.

So it was decided the family of four would pack up their home and hit the road, with Mrs Costen homeschooling Stanley with the help of online homeschool provider Euka.

At first, the family stuck to NSW as they tested the waters, but in December, they began travelling to North Queensland.

In those few months, Stanley improved dramatically, which was an incredible relief to his parents.

The family have been learning on the road.

“It’s not simply road-tripping or homeschooling individually that’s helped. It’s the combination of the two,” Mrs Costen said.

“He’s literally found his voice. As a family, we get to see Australia and give both our children that experience, but Stanley is also learning so much with Euka and at his own pace.

“There’s no stress, no social anxiety. He’s a wonderful speller. He loves science – we couldn’t be happier with our decision.”

Mrs Costen documents her family’s travels on her Instagram page, autismtravellingeducation, which has almost 14,000 followers.

“My four-year-old daughter Malachy also has level two autism and sensory processing disorder, and we’ll be using Euka for her too when she starts school,” she said.

“In fact, she already actively joins in with Stanley so she can write, knows her numbers and wants to read.

“She can join when she wants to, and she counts to 20 and reads the first lot of books, and it’s not through us pushing. It’s by watching him learn.”

Mrs Costen said the change had been “mind-blowing”, and the chance to travel had improved their quality of life.

She said they had been “on the hamster wheel of life”, and the children had learnt how to swim, interact with nature and even enjoy the beach when it used to be overwhelming for them.

The Costens are not putting any particular time frame on their trip, with Mr Costen taking mining work between stops.

“We get to go on excursions as a family, and that really is part of their education,” she said.

“Stanley’s psychologist, who he sees every month, says he’s back on par with every other child his age now.

Stanley has thrived since leaving school to learn on their trip around Australia.

“I know that wouldn’t be the case if we’d stayed in school in Sydney.”

Euka CEO Jarryd Van Poppel says homeschooling – or even ‘roadschooling’ – is great for children who suffer from social disorders and may not cope well in group settings.

“Classrooms can be a really overwhelming place for children with autism and similar conditions, so that’s where homeschooling removes them from that and allows them to keep learning,” he said.

“Incorporating travel into a child’s education is also fantastic for their development.

“A lot of our families are learning on the road and absolutely love it.”