Desorgher Institute - Cramond Center

The site at Cramond exists now as a lovely large brick home in need of remodeling. It stands on approximately 4 acres of cleared land suitable for gardening. On the property is a rondel house in good repair. Their is ample room for addition and parking. The house is a quarter of a mile from the beautiful Bon Accord picnic area at Albert Falls. It is nestled in a lovely wooded area near a large family owned supermarket and near to the Cramond police station. Just across the way is a Zulu village with many unemployed but skilled crafts people. Next to the Cramond Centre is a fully operational creche and we are near to the local schools. Located just 10 miles from the center of Pietermaritzburg and Durban University make this peaceful area a location which we readily acknowledged to be perfect for our project. In the nearby town of Raisethorpe many skilled professionals are eagerly waiting to provide services i.e. speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and 'loving touch' a locally developed massage therapy best described as a combination of hug therapy and shiatsu. Many local women, already experienced as parents, are eagerly waiting to join us in Cramond. Our board of directors include Ms. Sihle Kraai from the SOS Children's Village who will be invaluable in selecting subjects for the initial research project and then relocating some of these children to alternative placements after their participation in the dietary intervention, combined therapy research proposed project. Durban University campus in Pietermaritzburg and the Children and Family services center will be utilized for testing and evaluations. A professional from the area will be solicited by our board of directors to oversee the research project.

After the initial research project the Cramond Center will provide services and evaluations for individuals with autism. We anticipate inclusion of individuals who will come from other countries and therefore anticipate purchasing additional available properties in Cramond for expansion. Services are anticipated to include dietary intervention, physiotherapy or a complimentary approach and speech and language as well as educational evaluations and recommendations, functional behavioral analysis and recommendations. We intend to train academic specialists to work with people with autism as they transition to their local schools as the 'inclusion' efforts are realized in South Africa. We hope to train people from all areas of the world in the unique and specific dietary needs of the autistic population. We anticipate housing boarding students who come to us for the full program implementation developed as a final outcome of the research project.

We anticipate that the cost for out of country clients may be substantial and will build on our fundraising efforts so that we can provide services for as many people as possible. We hope others will follow and develop similar programs all over the world. We will make every efffort to train people who can be brought to these sites for the initial program planning.

The Desorgher Institute - Cramond Project