Spurred on by young son's experience Kiwi mum raises $7k for group of teachers to better understand autism

April 17, 2018
A woman holds hands with her child.

A Manawatu mother fundraised enough money to train 34 teachers to better understand children with autism, in a bid to stop other children with autism experiencing the same treatment as her son. 

Sarah Blythe told Fairfax, teachers said her son Neko at 6-years-old did not have autism and instead was a naughty child who needed better parenting, despite an early intervention team saying he was on the autism spectrum at four. 

He was provided with a teacher's aide, but Ms Blythe said they weren't used only for her son. 

Neko moved to a school in Fielding, where his social skill improved, as did his reading and writing, according to Stuff. 

Ms Blythe then decided to help other children, by raising $7,000 which goes towards 34 teachers from the region attending a day-long Altogether Autism course next week, to teach them to have a better understanding of students with autism. 

"Every teacher deserves the right training and every autistic child needs a teacher to understand them. We need to remember not every disability is visible."

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