Posted on
It is with a mixture of sadness and pride that we wish to inform you that Amaze’s work delivering the Early Days program will be coming to a close at the end of December 2022.
Amaze has been a foundational partner in delivering the Early Days program in Victoria since 2014, and we’ve been blessed with dedicated and passionate facilitators and leads who have worked across the state, in person and more recently online, to support parents and carers of newly diagnosed Autistic children to build their skills, capacity and confidence.
Across our history we have delivered 320 Early Days workshops to 3,297 participants, ensuring parents have access to essential skills and training, but also that they are connected to Amaze and our ecosystem of supports, resources and tools.
We acknowledge our current team of facilitators and leads who have worked tirelessly to adapt and deliver workshops through the ups and downs of COVID-19 and the switch to online learning. Their passion for our community shines through in all of their work. We also pay our respects to our staff who have previously worked to deliver workshops, all of whom have been intrinsically linked to Early Days and shaped much of what the current team has been delivering today.
While it is disappointing that Amaze is no longer delivering Early Days, we are reassured knowing the workshops and supports for parents of young, Autistic children in Victoria will continue under the new “National Early Childhood Program for Children with Disability and Developmental Concerns”. This will be delivered by a consortium of organisations led by the Australian Catholic University, which includes health and community service providers.
Amaze continues to be available with information around the early years, where our Autism Connect Advisors can tailor information for individual needs. We encourage all of our community to continue to reach out to Australia’s national autism helpline on 1300 308 699 whenever there is a question about autism.
As we know more about the organisations that will be delivering Early Days in 2023, we will make sure our community continues to have clear information about participating in this important program.