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Supporting

Fundraising is essential for the Puzzle Centre to continue to offer specialist early intervention to young children with autism and other communication needs. There is no statutory requirement to provide the level of specialist education that Puzzle offers.  Please note that 80% of the cost of Puzzle is allocated to salaries of staff, who are directly working with the children and their families. 

The Puzzle Centre needs around £200,000 each year in voluntary contributions. Without help from its supporters we could not provide our pioneering service which consists of:

• ·         A specially adapted nursery curriculum using the combined skills and expertise of specialist teachers and speech and language therapists

• ·         Individual assessment and ongoing detailed individual education and therapy plans

• ·         A communication-enabling, low arousal environment

• ·         Occupational therapy advice and guidance

• ·         Home visits and support for families

• ·         Support and advice to mainstream settings

• ·         Training courses for parents and practitioners

• ·         A resource centre and exemplar of good practice for practitioners from across the country

The Puzzle Centre believes passionately that children with autism and other communication needs only have the chance to reach their full potential when they, and their families, have direct access to teachers and therapists with specific and relevant expertise and experience. This will ultimately make a difference to both the lives of their families and themselves.

  ‘’Our boy has been at Puzzle, for nearly two years now and the progress he has made is phenomenal.  From having very little means of communication to now being able to respond as well as initiate spontaneous interactive short sentences is just amazing.  His understanding of the world around him is increasing rapidly showing that if our children are given the right environment in which they can appropriately access the learning opportunities available then we can expect them to develop, albeit at their own pace.

 Having witnessed such remarkable progress with our child, I would strongly advocate that there is a great need for such educational settings which uniquely cater for pre-school children with autism spectrum disorders, working in close partnership with their parents for best all round results.

Our children need the expertise to build on their specific strengths and have strategies in place to tackle their difficulties. It can be challenging to have a special needs child but finding the right educational setting is probably the biggest challenge special needs families face, however we count ourselves very lucky to have found the Puzzle Centre.’’

Punam – Parent at the Puzzle Centre, March 2009  

Last Updated: September 2009