Just before their son’s second birthday, Kevin Stevens and his wife were given the news that their son was autistic.
Days later, the Stevens family spent the weekend away on what was supposed to be their son’s birthday celebration.
“It was a bit of a shock to us,” said Mr Stevens. “We basically spent the whole weekend crying.”
Since then, Mr Stevens and his wife have come to accept their son’s condition. “We’ve gone out of our way, in whatever way we can, to try and find ways to make his life easier,” Mr Stevens said.
“But of course, you have your dreams before you have your child that they’re going to go to school or … that they’re going to be able to talk to you – things that most people take for granted. And that’s been the biggest thing – things that most people take for granted have been a real struggle and a real challenge.”
Last year, Mr Stevens started Swim 4 Autsim to raise money for Giant Steps Sydney – a school for children with autism. In that first year, he swam 16 kilometers in five hours, raising $21,000.
Last Sunday 35 swimmers took part in the second Swim 4 Autism at the Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool in the Domain, helping to raise more than $35,000 for the school.
“The school has had tremendous success in integrating children into the mainstream schools and teaching them skills for everyday life,” he said.
“For the children that are lucky enough to participate in the school, which at the moment has about 450 children on the waiting list, it gives them the opportunity of a better chance of normal integration in life.”
Giant Steps Sydney is a special school and preschool that provides an intensive and integrated approach in the treatment of children and adolescents with autism. It is also a registered charity.
According to Mr Stevens, Giant Steps is one of the few places that provides the expert help that is required for children with autism. The school provides individual educational programs, occupational, music and speech therapies combined with instruction in daily living skills.
“Having an autistic child is incredibly demanding on all aspects of your life and requires non stop attention,” Mr Stevens said. “Finding the time for yourself is a luxury, but as I pace up and down the pool my daily questions always persist about my son Carlos, will he wake up in a good mood, will he get on the transport to school, will he eat something different today compared to every other day, will he say a word today, will he ever talk to us and how will he manage later in life?”
by Ehssan Veiszadeh
