Community
Collaboration
Join Acorn Neurodiversity and ASD Dads NZ for the
ASD Dads is a charity in Tāmaki Makaurau committed to supporting Māori and Pasifika families, particularly in low socio-economic areas, by providing advocacy and empowerment for autistic children. Led by fathers with autistic children, their initiatives focus on navigating support systems, fostering emotional well-being and creating free events for the autistic community.
ASD Dads and Acorn are fundraising for autistic children whose families cannot afford to pay for speech therapy lessons due to waiting times or lack of funding. ASD Dads have found that there are many children who miss the opportunity to have speech therapy. The know that the earlier their children have access to speech therapy the greater the impact.
“We understand the challenges faced by ASD
families in accessing vital resources, particularly
speech therapy,” says Jordan Lee Ikitule, Founder
of ASD Dads. “Through the collaborative efforts
of ASD Dads and the Acorn Charitable Trust, we
aim to alleviate some of these burdens by raising
funds to support those in our community who
need it the most.”
Acorn is excited to announce a new collaboration with the Pasifika Autism Support Group of Auckland. Acorn and PASG will be co-designing a programme to increase the accessibility of support for the approximately 65 families in their group. We are looking forward to learning about how we can better understand and support the Pasifika community of Auckland.
Acorn is pleased to be collaborating with Taonga to provide professional development for early childhood educators at the seven Taonga early childhood centres in South and West Auckland. Acorn therapists also provide direct support to neurodiverse children enrolled in Taonga centres at the request of their whānau and teachers. 100% of the children served are Māori or Pasifika.
Keith Park Accessible
Playground, Manurewa
Local Board
Winner- NZ Recreation Playground of the Year 2020
Acorn specialists teamed up with the Manurewa Local Board and other organisations to design Auckland’s first fully accessible playground. The playground was specifically designed to cater to children with disabilities and to be accessible and inclusive for all children.
Anderson Park Accessible Playground, Napier Council
Acorn specialists were recruited by the Napier Council to consult and collaborate on the design of the Anderson Park Accessible Playground in Napier. The park’s new playground will be fun and inclusive for all children and their whānau.