When Mickleham parents Addie and John De Nittis married 10 years ago, they never thought their lives would be dedicated to raising awareness about autism and money for therapy.
Their three children, Michael, 8, Marco, 6, and Daniel, 3, have all been diagnosed with autism.
Mrs De Nittis will be one of many running up the Eureka tower next month to raise more awareness for an expensive, but “miraculous”, autism therapy – applied behaviour analysis (ABA).
The therapy costs $65,000 a year for one child but is not funded by the government.
“It’s such a shame because ABA has changed our children’s lives dramatically. It’s a miracle – my children learned how to talk,” Mrs De Nittis said.
“Typical developing children’s parents take for granted what we have to struggle with every day.”
She’s urging the government to fund ABA therapy.
Visit facebook.com/MrsAutism or eurekaclimb.com.au for more information about how to help.