Early Intervention - A volunteer led safe space

Founded by a local parent following her youngest child's autism diagnosis in 2019, the initiative began in collaboration with private speech therapist Lara Goldie, with the goal of providing affordable group speech therapy for children aged 3-8 years old. Although the service launch was delayed due to COVID lockdowns, Amanda, a social care professional, joined the team during this period. In 2021, a generous £10,000 award from the National Lottery enabled the expansion of services to include music therapy alongside speech therapy. In Autumn 2022, Aberdeen City Council provided modest funding contributing towards resources and room hire, enabling our volunteers to run seasonal activities during the autumn, summer, and Easter school holidays. By early 2023, Early Intervention was offering six small group therapy sessions per week, featuring music therapy, art therapy, drumming, movement, and mindfulness, as well as monthly themed stay-and-play sessions organised and delivered by volunteers and private therapists.

Early Intervention holds deep personal significance for us, rooted in the founder's own challenging experiences with the education system. At just 14 years old, she was permitted just two hours of schooling per week. Her brother faced similar struggles, being excluded from school at 15 and later as a young adult misplaced in an elderly care home, where he now requires additional 1:1 care and support as a young adult with incapacity.

These experiences have have shaped our mission and drive to ensure that children and families receive the timely, tailored support they need.

Although Early Intervention operates entirely with volunteers and has no paid staff, small funding grants have helped cover the costs of private therapists.

Your donations will help us to:

We are deeply thankful for your support every contribution, no matter how small, helps us continue to make a difference for those who need it most.