Townsville AEIOU autism centre set for revamp

Giving kids ‘the best possible start in life’ is the driver for a new $2m autism intervention centre in Townsville.

Operating out of a cramped old building, a Townsville autism early-intervention centre has secured funding and a new lease on life.

The sod is expected to be turned on a new AEIOU Foundation for Children with Autism building on Wednesday.

Herbert MP Phil Thompson said the new centre would give kids with autism the chance for the best possible start in life.

“The need for AEIOU’s services is constantly growing, which means their centre needs to grow too,” he said.

The new building will be in Idalia. The previous crampjed and “no-longer-suitable” centre was in Kirwan, he said.

“A fit-for-purpose facility in Townsville will improve their ability to give local kids with autism the opportunity for the best possible start in life,” Mr Thompson said.

The former federal Coalition government committed $2m to the project, but the ALP government terminated the scheme from where the money was sourced.

The federal Labor government replaced the grants fund with a different scheme.

The AEIOU Foundation was established in 2005 to provide early intervention for children aged between 2 and 6 with an autism diagnosis. Here a child plays an app called ‘Let’s Go Shopping’, which is designed to familiarise autistic children with a supermarket.

After Labor’s 2022 federal election victory, Mr Thompson said he went to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to advocate that the funding be committed. It was then made a line item in the October budget, with funding secured from a different program.

Budget papers show the money came from the Department of Social Services.

The federal government is spending $5.3m over the next two years on autism research, the Townsville centre, a national autism strategy and a national road map to improve the health of people with autism.

Autism is a collective term for a group of neurodevelopmental conditions that affect social interaction, communication, behaviours and interests.

As of 2018, more than 200,000 Australians had been diagnosed, according to the Department of Social Services.

Originally published as Townsville AEIOU autism centre set for revamp