Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia

Prime Minister Gillard announced $31 million for a CRC for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (see http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/70-million-boost-world-class-research). This is a welcome move from the Gillard Government.

"The implementation of a highly innovative 'whole-of-life' research portfolio will deliver a continuum of support required for people with Autism to participate successfully in education, employment and all facets of the community."

At last! The Australian Government decided to fund a Co-operative Research Centres (CRC) for Autism Spectrum Disorders.

"The CRC for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders will receive $31 million to enhance the lives of individuals with lifelong development disabilities arising from an autism spectrum disorder." (see http://minister.innovation.gov.au/chrisbowen/MediaReleases/Pages/70milli...).

The number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders continues to grow in Australia.

A presentation at the inaugural ASfAR conference (7/12/2012) shows the national average autism prevalence in school age children exceeded 1.4% (1 in 62.5) by June 2012, based on Centrelink Carer Allowance data. These Centrelink data were described previously as the best available indication of autism prevalence in Australia.

The growth continues a pattern described previously (see http://a4.org.au/a4/node/389).

... given the right environment, an autistic adult could not just hold down a job but also be the best person for it.

A4 sent a submission to the the Review of Health and Medical Research in Australia (see http://www.mckeonreview.org.au/).

The submission suggests that research funding has a greater chance of having more impact when it is addresses health issues with higher "burden of disease and injury". It mentions that autism has a high burden for children (highest for boys), based on the available evidence ... yet very little of Australia's health and medical research funding is spent on autism.

A report on the education of students with a disability in Victorian was released by the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission.

Jack Sullivan

September 15, 2012 Opinion Sue O'Reilly

Why did government agencies allow Jack Sullivan to be placed in a respite facility - where he later died - which they knew had a questionable history? Sue O'Reilly reports

In early 2008, when Esther Woodbury waved goodbye to her disabled teenage son as he was driven from their Ainslie home for one of his occasional weekends of government-funded respite care in Queanbeyan, she had no idea childcare and disability agencies in NSW and the ACT had recorded numerous allegations of physical, sexual and emotional abuse against the respite facility.If anyone in authority had bothered to alert her, Woodbury says, she would immediately have withdrawn her 18-year-old son, Jack Sullivan, who as a result of severe autism and epilepsy was particularly vulnerable. But nobody in authority did bother to alert her - and that weekend, in respite care funded by the ACT government agency Disability ACT, Jack Sullivan drowned while having a bath.

A4 wrote to The Hon. Mr. Shorten MP about the especially poor labour force participation (employment) of people with autism spectrum disorders. We referred to the report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics that shows outcomes for people with autism are significantly worse than the outcomes people with a disability generally and Australia's indigenous population experience.

We provided the Minister with a recent example of a person with severe autism trying to access a supported employment service.