John Futer

ohn Futer, his wife Lisa, and son Mark have been members of the Townsville community since 1998. John’s professional experience has been in business, legal practice and most recently, public school teaching with the Queensland Department of Education.

John’s teaching experience has included the delivery of young adult education courses for indigenous youth where he helped students achieve their goals to access employment and work experience in the residential building industry. John believes that the identification of a student’s interests is paramount when developing programs for individual development. He also provided his students with both moral support and advice in their place of engagement.

ohn’s teenage son Mark has severe autism, and John is acutely aware of the challenges and achievements that parents can experience in their role to nurture and meet the needs of their children.

He is currently part of a network of other parents with similar circumstances who share their experiences in dealing with complex behaviours. This in turn has given him valuable insight into how important it is to have caring and empathetic support to help provide the best outcomes for his son. His philosophy is not based solely on the emotional support these experiences provide, but their value in utilising the diverse talents, communication skills, strengths, and knowledge that other parents, carers, professionals and providers can offer.

John has also had experience in dealing with government departments (such as NDIS) and service providers that has given him valuable experience in navigating the system and acquiring relevant levels of support. The success of these outcomes can be attributed to the rapport established with the individuals working within the support providing organisations. The hard work and dedication provided by such individuals have offered invaluable insights in helping to achieve positive outcomes for John’s family.