ACTION in Autism is calling on businesses, schools and individuals to help create safer, more inclusive spaces for autistic children, young people and their families.

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The organisation is appealing for support through its Adopt a Classroom initiative, which aims to refurbish four classrooms at Action in Autism’s Early Learning Intervention Centre (ELIC), as well as the Shahumna Centre, which provides adult training, and dedicated calm rooms.

The classrooms have been specially designed to meet the needs of autistic learners but, after years of daily use, now require painting, repairs, improved lighting and sensory-friendly upgrades.

The calm rooms are also being enhanced to give learners a quiet and safe space where they can regulate when they become overwhelmed.

Action in Autism is appealing for donations of paint, classroom furniture, educational resources, stationery, sensory equipment, educational toys, storage solutions and décor. Volunteers can also assist with painting and maintenance, creating educational resources, assembling sensory materials or offering professional skills.

Among the items being requested are 67 stationery packs to help children with essential school supplies and 67 sensory packs to support regulation, communication, focus and participation.

Sensory pack donations could include bubbles, play dough, sandpit sand, balls of different sizes, textured items, water and beach toys, gym or yoga balls, mini trampolines, foam mats, paint, shaving cream and fidget toys.

Action in Autism is also appealing for support for 67 hygiene packs to assist children with daily living skills and 67 food vouchers for families.

A R250 grocery voucher could help ease some of the financial pressure faced by families dealing with the costs of therapy, transport and caregiving.

Director of Action in Autism, Diane Mariah-Singh, said the campaign was about creating environments where autistic children could feel safe and supported.

“Every child deserves a learning environment where they feel safe, understood and empowered to reach their full potential. By investing in our classrooms, we are investing in the future of autistic children,” she said.

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Mariah-Singh, a social worker with 26 years of experience, joined Action in Autism in February. She said working alongside autistic people and their families had deepened her understanding of both the strengths within the autistic community and the barriers created by environments that are not always inclusive of neurodiversity.

“It has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Working in the neurodiversity space has reinforced that autism is a natural variation of human neurology, not something that needs to be ‘fixed’. The challenge often lies in the environments and systems people are expected to navigate, which are largely designed around neurotypical ways of thinking, communicating and interacting.”

She said Action in Autism was committed to creating opportunities where autistic people and their families felt understood, valued and supported.

“Inclusion is not about expecting autistic people to fit into existing systems; it’s about ensuring our communities are flexible enough to accommodate different ways of being.”

She said one of the greatest challenges remained societal attitudes rather than autism itself.

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