DreamTree School:

The DreamTree School is the first initiative of the CACT and is an independent, non-profit school founded by Paul and Henriette Hubers, also founders of De DroomBoom School for Children with Autism in the Netherlands. Their dream was to build a school for their son, Thom, and other children who, like him, are living with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The DreamTree School serves children in our community who have been diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder or related learning disorders. Our vision is to create a unique, autism-friendly, integrated, developmentally focused and therapeutic educational environment in which the optimum growth of each learner can be achieved.

At The DreamTree School, learning takes place in a social classroom environment with a higher adult to child ratio: one teacher and one classroom assistant to a maximum of eight children per class.

Constructive Social Activities also form part of our daily schedule. During these activities we aim to create opportunities for spontaneous engagement among the learners and staff/volunteers that will reinforce social interaction in a playful manner. Skills that are taught in the classroom are reinforced during these activities. Activities such as Kinder Kinetics; music; various forms of arts and crafts; fantasy play and walks are included.

The DreamTree School should be seen as a stepping stone, enabling learners to reach their full potential.

"God created me to be one of a kind
There's no one like me!
I can do some things really good
But some things,
No matter how hard I try,
I will never be good at
That's just the way I'm made
I'm glad you don't expect me
To be someone I'm not,
But you always encourage me
To be the best me I can be"

PiPbook:

Another initiative that is aimed at allowing those dealing with autism to reach their full potential is Pipbook. This is a social platform, similar to that of the ever-popular Facebook and is intended to help the whole of the autism community, including friends and family, to connect, share ideas and interact on a very honest and heartfelt level and in a safe environment. It is seen as a place for those to feel they belong to a special group of people who are dealing with similar issues and to share their daily highs and lows.