people
William Ready
William Ready is a place created out of the love for one boy , William Ryan . The school readiness program in Melbourne ’ s north-east aims to prepare children with autism for the transition to primary school . Having been dedicated solely to William so far , enrolments in the program are now open for 2019 , to assist more children on the spectrum to succeed in their own way .
William Ready was established nearly two years ago after parents Julia and Andy Ryan and their son William faced their first rejection in the school system .
“ A kindergarten that we felt would be the best one for William ended up being the one that denied him a spot on their books ,” Julia said .
“ From the hurt and rejection , that then inspired us to create a program for William , which in turn saw the start of William Ready . A place where he could be himself . Where there would be no judgement and that would allow his strengths to shine through , while also supporting any challenges in a fun and safe environment .”
William Ready is run by Julia , Andy , and Liz Shaw ( William ’ s aunty ). Andy recently left his career as general manager in the engineering field to work on the company fulltime , and Liz , who is an experienced teacher with over 14 years dedicated to the education profession , is the William Ready educator .
Together , their driving desire is to see all children succeed , created from the needs of ‘ one very special boy , William ’.
William , now aged five , was diagnosed with autism at 22 months .
“ Being our first child , you ’ re never really sure at what point they should reach their milestones ,” Julia said . “ For so long , I kept believing William would reach his milestones when he was ready . Did it really matter that he screamed hysterically
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