Joe was a gorgeous little boy with an insatiable appetite for life, and beautifully gentle nature. He was enthralled by every little detail that his environment gave him. The wind in his hair, the waves against his legs, messing around in dry leaves, just like many other children do too.
However, Joe was also severely autistic and his prognosis was not great.
Joe embarked on his ABA programme shortly before turning 2.
He was, at the time, one of the youngest children in the UK on an ABA programme. He learnt to walk within the first month, and within six months he was starting to talk and use basic language appropriately.
Joe was singing songs, reciting nursery rhymes and stringing words together into sentences. His personality was developing and he was cheeky, clever and had a wicked sense of humor. He actively sought out attention rather than preferring to isolate himself.
Joe eventually began a slow integration into a local mainstream school, dividing his therapy time between the home and the school environment. He settled in to school well and had great ‘neuro-typical ‘ friends.
Joe Noakes passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in his sleep on the 6th April 2012, a week after he joyfully celebrated his 4th birthday.
Joe’s parents formed a charity with the aim of supporting families in the South East with children under the age of 5 and on the autistic spectrum, to enable them to access ABA.
ABA is not a therapy that should only be available to the privileged. We endeavour to raise the profile of ABA and to support the efforts to bring ABA into the mainstream.
Every child is entitled to reach their full potential.