Autism Cook Islands (ACI) had their final event of the year, their Christmas wrap-up party held at the Pacific Resort on Sunday.

The organisation was happy to spend time with all the families they had developed relationships with over the past year and celebrate all their achievements.

Perfect weather, beach activities, kayaking, a bouncy castle, and even a visit from Santa Claus bringing gifts for every child present made Autism Cook Islands’ last event in their “busiest year” the best.

All children received early Christmas presents, including friends of the ACI family. Those from the Down Syndrome Association came along to join in the fun as well.  

Certificates for all the programmes and sport activities that had just come to an end including swimming, badminton and gymnastics, were also given out. All their volunteers who had helped throughout the year with the different programmes as well as in the recent Te Kara Run were given Christmas gifts as well.

Kat Jensen, programme manager for ACI, said: “We have had an awesome year for autism, with huge community support and so we wanted to give back to the community.”

Jensen said that the year 2021 had definitely been the biggest year for the association as a whole.

She described it as “jam packed (year) with a lot happening,” and credited the staff and the executive team who all had the knack for “getting things done”.

“We are a really passionate, energetic team. We make things happen. We’re making really good relationships with families and children and plan to further these relationships next year. That’s how we can make change,” she said.

She emphasised the importance of building relationships with autistic children and their families and said that the ACI team’s ability to do that this year was what made her most proud.

“At the beginning of this year I think the executive team knew what they wanted but weren’t quite sure how to do it. Looking at us now we’ve come a long way.”

“Next year will be bigger and brighter,” she said.

The organisation is looking to roll out a transition programme with their autism specialist Donna Smith. The programme will aim to get autistic individuals ready to go from school out into the workforce. They are also aiming to bring in an autism speech specialist to help all the non-verbal children on the island as well as their families.

Jensen said that this alone would make a huge difference in the lives of these individuals and their families.

Due to the success of the four ‘Getting to Know Autism’ workshops they led this year in Rarotonga and Aitutaki, they are hoping to hold even more next year and to reach even more of the Pa Enua past Aitutaki.

Their next biggest focus will be the blue month of April next year which is the official awareness month for autism.

Jensen said she is wanting to make it even bigger than this year and have something on every week of the month dedicated to raising awareness. Reflecting on this past year, she said they were proud that they had achieved everything they set out to do at the beginning.

“We wanted to build awareness, implement programmes, build relationships with families and communities, and we did it all. It shows in our functions and turnouts,” she said.