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Parents welcome Autism House - an organisation that takes a more holistic approach to the disorder. Valerie Schuler finds out more

Adele Kane is well acquainted with the challenges of raising an autistic child. "People judge you and criticise your parenting. It's not like a physical disability that people can see, and a lot of people label Jasper as naughty or difficult," says the  mother of two. Jasper, 6, was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome - an autism spectrum disorder - about three years ago.

"A friend sat me down and told me she thought he needed to be assessed. I knew he was a little different, but I was still annoyed," says Mrs Kane. "It's a real shock when your child is first diagnosed. General practitioners know little about autism. They refer you to a paediatrician and you are more or less left to your own devices."

That's where Autism House came in. Through the organisation, Jasper's family got information and attended programmes tailored for people affected by autism.

Since splitting from Autism New Zealand  in October, the organisation says it can offer families an even better service. "We can take more of an advocacy role and a much more holistic approach," says general manager Felicity Roberts. "As part of Autism New Zealand, we had very strict regulations and had to ask and get approval for everything we did."

Autism New Zealand says the split came about because of "irreconcilable differences". Autism House sometimes recommends alternative treatments, whereas Autism New Zealand does not promote services without research to confirm their benefits.

Since the separation, Autism House is no longer funded by the Ministry of Health and has moved from St Lukes to Albany. Although daunting at first, Mrs Roberts says the move has been positive. "Finding alternative sources of funding is difficult, but it has forced us to become more innovative in how we do things."

Jasper's dad, Dave Kane, says the split has also been good from a  parents' perspective. "Rather than offering us a one-size-fits-all solution, they've come to our house, listened to our specific needs and come up with something that works for us and Jasper. There seems to be less red tape and they've advocated for us between all the different agencies we have to go to," he says. 

Autism House now runs workshops, including a school outreach service, parent education courses and Bright Sparks - a social and recreational programme devised for those with autism. 

Jasper goes to Bright Sparks twice a week. On Saturdays, he has swimming lessons and on Sundays a trampolining class in Mt Roskill. "It's something for us to do on a Sunday and I don't have to worry about what other parents will think," says Mrs Kane. 

Why our child?

Autism affects about one in 100 children. Ten years ago it affected one in 1000. It is four times more common in boys than in girls.

The exact causes are not known - genetics, changes in environment, processed foods and pollution are believed to be some of the triggers.

Asperger's syndrome was discovered by Austrian paediatrician Hans Asperger in the 1940s. It became an accepted diagnosis in 1994. The word autism  comes from the Greek word "autos", meaning "self".