Our Story

Background to the Initiation of “Little Souls Taking Big Steps”

In 1997, the two year old son of Richard and Robyn Hawkins was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  After undertaking extensive research in to what interventions were available to help her son Ben, Robyn determined that early intervention based on the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) was the best chance for Ben to reach his full potential.

To have the best chance for optimal outcomes, young children with autism must receive intensive one-on-one behavioural treatment from trained therapists for a large number of hours per week over an extended period of time.

This type of therapy can, over time, result in dramatic improvement.

Despite the fact that there was no organisation that could provide appropriate treatment, Robyn through sheer determination and the encouragement and support of her family, was able to provide her son with early intervention therapy in their home.

Ben is now attending a mainstream state school and is academically performing as well as or better than his peers and is developing strong social bonds with both his classmates and teachers.

Ben’s achievements are a constant source of pride for his family when they consider just how far he has come since his diagnosis.

As a result of her experiences, and the knowledge that many parents are desperate to provide this kind of therapy for their children but simply don’t have the resources to access it, Robyn has decided to commit her working life to establishing and operating a centre to provide early intervention therapy for autistic children.

To gain academic qualifications appropriate for the Principal of the centre, Robyn who already had a degree in Business Management, undertook further study and graduated with a degree in Behaviour Management from Bond University in 2006.

Because there is no precedent to follow, the centre has to be innovative and creative, and significant funding is also required.  Robyn’s family purchased a suitable building and  provided sufficient additional funding for its conversion to a fully equipped centre.  A public company with charity status has been formed, and the family has made the building available to the charity.

Charity status has been granted in order to assist parents who are unable to meet the full cost of their child’s therapy.