Autism expert visits Bethlehem

Annalies van Rijswijk, an expert in the field of Autism, visited the Bethlehem Tutor Centre earlier this year, as well as individual learners in the area at their homes.  

Annalies’s Background

In 1985 Annalies started working as a teacher at the Vera School for autistic learners. The school had 45 children and there were only three children in a class. When the number of children on the waiting list increased, Annalies supported those parents by working with the children and training the parents on how to work on their children’s social, cognitive and behavioural skills. This is how the home programmes started.

Annalies had a fall at school, injured her back, had two back operations and was eventually boarded as medically unfit. Because she had already started the home programmes, she decided that she could still empower parents and train tutors to continue with the home programmes.Today, Annalies still helps children at their homes and she has a centre in Durbanville, Cape Town. She now has more than 40 years’ experience in teaching children with autism spectrum disorder and other special needs.  

Bethlehem visit Annalies visited the Bethlehem Tutor Centre from 15 to 19 September 2025. She did some training of the tutors and assisted a young boy with a private tutor at the centre. She also helped this boy’s family from Lesotho, who lives in Bethlehem. This is the fourth time that she helped them; this included assistance with his diet, which is vitally important. His tutor praises him when he complies. When he does not comply, there are complications. The same is being done at home and Mom is seeing the results. This boy can now make his bed, pack his own school bag, dresses himself and helps Mom with her chores. He waters the plants in the garden and does his schoolwork. He still needs help with his social interaction.

Another mom from Bethlehem approached Annalies; she needed help with her eight-year-old son who was still in a junior school. She spent one day at the school and four days with the family at home. He was resisting. Mom learnt how to stay calm and push through. Gradually he started to comply and co-operate. He now has chores to do and when visitors come, he greets them, shows good manners and makes simple conversation. After four days he was a different child, and Mom was feeling optimistic. They are now doing tutoring at home.

General information Autism is now in every country and every city and town. Autism does not equate uneducable. Annalies van Rijswijk can attest that any child can learn, regardless of their particular need - from developmental delays, social interaction problems to autism spectrum disorder. The Special Needs Adapted Programme recognises the uniqueness of each child and is geared to addressing the needs of each one. In the end, SNAP aims to enable children to reach their full potential.

Parents have been told that their child is developmentally disabled and will get nowhere. Parents are afraid, and the impact is enormous. Unfortunately, these families often become isolated. Some may keep their children at home due to their unruly behaviour or pity, and friends don’t visit. Parents don’t have support nor are they taught how to help their children. 

For schooling to be successful, it is vital to understand how autistic individuals learn and function. They are reliant on patterns that they build into their lives. As concrete thinkers, they can become difficult when there is a disruption in their routine or if they don’t understand a particular word or why something is happening.

Preparation is an essential step. You need to prepare these children for new things, like a shopping expedition or a doctor’s appointment. Apart from mentally preparing children, parents and educators must ensure that these children eat healthily. Food has a profound impact on their behaviour. It is important to follow a gluten- and casein-free diet because preservatives, colourants and sugar have a negative impact on behaviour. A nutritious meal can enable a child’s brain to open so that they can become more co-operative. 

In 1985, 4 in 10 000 children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Since then, the number has increased to 1 in 100. Many factors contribute to the drastic rise. These include environmental factors, increased susceptibility of biological triggers and improved diagnosis.

The Special Needs Adapted Programme (SNAP)

Annalies’s centre in Durbanville, SNAP, has evolved, 30 years after its first private student, into a centre that offers: parent consultations, one-on-one tutoring, workshops (for children all over the country and abroad. Children come for intensive one on one tutoring and parents are being empowered and taught to understand and help their children at home), SNAP Lite sessions (ad hoc tutoring sessions), training (for tutors, teachers, parents, facilitators and other professionals.), and SNAP Academy, offering classes for learners from Grade 00 to Grade 7.

SNAP Academy is registered with the Department of Education as an independent special needs school. They follow the CAPS curriculum but adapt it to the learners’ needs. When they do well, they are phased into mainstream.

Annalies’s first private student was diagnosed as uneducable at the age of four. After six months she made up three and a half years of delay and today has a BA degree and a driver’s license. She went to Beijing on a bursary because of her excellent Mandarin and is now studying towards a LLB degree.

SNAP contact details: reception@snap.org.za / 021 975 7224 / www.snap.org.za

  Photo: Annalies van Rijswijk (left), with tutors Thandi, Anita and Anél.