Manawatu mum raises thousands to send teachers to autism awareness course

April 18, 2018

Spured on by the treatment of her autistic son, Sarah Blyth says teachers need more support from the government.

A Manawatu mother has raised thousands of dollars to send teachers from around the region to an autism awareness course.

Spurred on by her son who has autism, Sarah Blythe says Neko was often misunderstood by teachers.

“He was always in timeout… we got told he had naughty behaviour [and] that it was our parenting,” Ms Blythe says.

Things improved for Neko when he moved to Lytton Street School in Feilding, but the experience got the family thinking about the need to train teachers around autism.

The Blythe family started fundraising and with the help of an organised motorbike rally last month, they raised a total of $7,000 which paid for about 30 teachers to attend a one-day course.

Catherine Trezona who ran the course for Altogether Autism says she was impressed with the dozens of teachers who came in during the school holidays.

She wishes all teachers nationwide received similar training, but at a cost of $200 per teacher, money does become a barrier.

Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin says the Government is spending $700 million on learning support but she admits it’s not all being spent in the right places.

Ms Martin says the Government is working through that spending now.

Meanwhile, Sarah Blythe is thrilled with what her family has achieved and she says she’ll continue fundraising so more kids like Neko can get the help they need.

SHARE ME

More Stories