A thank you card from a family after a therapeutic residential placement:  

Dear all staff at MASS,
Please take this tree to Mansfield and get the kids to plant it. Get them to watch how big it grows and see if flourish.

This is a symbolisation of just how our family and all the families you work with grow strong, resilient and flourish under your care.

It’s amazing how a little bit of water and nourishment makes something small grow so big and strong.

The reason we choose the olive tree is because firstly it symbolises gratitude and secondly its known for being tough and is equipped to deal with drought, sub zero temperatures, frost and even fire. It’s resilient like all of you and all of the families you help.

A thank you email from a family after our school holiday program:  

I am emailing to say how grateful we are that Mansfield Autism was able to look after our son during the recently concluded school holidays. It really gave us a much needed break – mostly recovery time, but also time to do some things with our other child. More importantly, it was so good for our son. As I said when dropping him off two weeks ago, he really was at a loose end for the first two days of the school holidays and was becoming a little destructive and quite a handful for us. But as you saw when we dropped him off, he was so happy to be at MASS. When we collected him last Sunday, he was also very happy and calm, occupied but also very glad to see us. His stay with you was very therapeutic, and clearly left him less anxious than he had been.

Thank you again for looking after our son.

Feedback from a family on our respite service: sent to our feedback email address

Our child has accessed respite services a couple of times over the last year. Prior to each block, we are generally frustrated by our limited ability to occupy and entertain him in the home. But when he reports for a few days respite, his familiarity with Mansfield Autism is immediately apparent; he smiles, laughs and is happy. He is in familiar surroundings and a recognised the routine. And when he returns from a few days respite, he is in a happy and healthy mood. The energy which he possesses has been dissipated in activities on respite including a significant amount or walking, sometimes swimming and various excursions. When he returns, he also appears to be more regulated and generally calmer. The experience is positive both for him and for us.

We are of the view that the services offered by Mansfield Autism (MASS) are of an unparalleled standard. As parents of a severely intellectually disabled child on the ASD, we value the safety provided by MASS in its provision of services, and the comfort we feel in entrusting him to the care of MASS staff. At the same time, the clear happiness and enthusiasm our son evidences when attending MASS gives us confidence in accessing MASS services. Finally, the apparent confidence he appears to possess (apparent in his bearing and interactions with family members and others) on his return is evidence that he has had a good experience.

Feedback on our in-home MAP service: from a client satisfaction survey

During our MAPs first visit (about 4 hours), she observed and took notes. At the end she relayed back to me all the positive things she saw with my son and my current approach. She was so respectful and intelligent in the way she did this. It’s hard to describe how important this experience was. At that point in time, things were really hard and I was really overwhelmed. Her encouragement was vital. And not just glib things that people say to parents of challenging children, like you’re a saint. etc. She saw me and saw my child and relayed it all back. This never happens, people see you with your kid and they judge. It was so valuable for me to muster the energy to keep going.

Feedback on our family camp

“We just returned home from a week away at a Mansfield Autism Statewide Services family camp. I can’t even begin to explain how life changing and amazing this week has been.

We were all pushed out of our comfort zones and challenged to try new things. We were supported and held as a family while we got to meet other amazing families who experience all the same day to day challenges as us.

We had a digital detox removing all screens from the kids and minimal for us. We deeply connected as a family and have now returned home and plan to continue this as much as possible with only limited scheduled screen time.

This was by far the most liberating and freeing thing and so good for everyone’s mental and physical health.

If you ever get the opportunity I highly recommend doing this.

Absolutely the best holiday ever.”