By Ashleigh Keating

Connor Winfield was a gifted student, so no one could understand why he found school so difficult.

Key points:

• Autism is the fastest growing disability in Australia, having increased by 25 per cent between 2015 and 2019
• Mainstream teachers often lack the training and resources to cater for the needs of neurodiverse students
• Experts and advocates are calling for autism-specific training to be mandatory for teachers

"I would bet that most of my teachers did not understand what autism was," he said.

By Amber Schultz

It took Mariam Mukhtar nearly two years to have her teenage son Raamiz assessed for autism following a paediatric referral, and she fears the delay in getting him support has cost him his high school experience.

“Having support at the right time … that would have been a life-changing experience,” she said.

Nancy Sadka, La Trobe University and Josephine Barbaro, La Trobe University

Ahead of the release of the government’s review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the topic taking centre stage is the diagnosis of autism. Over one third of people accessing the scheme list it as a primary disability.

Stephanie Convery

Chief of Children and Young People with Disability Australia says families are simply seeking help for their children, with the NDIS ‘the only place to turn’

An advocate for people with disabilities has criticised as “unhelpful” and “misleading” reports suggesting families are pursuing autism diagnoses because they see the NDIS as a financial opportunity.

By Natassia Chrysanthos

A diagnosis of autism is unlikely to be enough to guarantee future access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme as the government prepares to clarify that individualised packages were designed only for Australians with profound disabilities.

Elena Filipczyk Autistic writer

It took me two years after my formal autism diagnosis to build up the courage to ask my kind, empathetic GP to help me access the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). I was mortified, but most of all, I felt like an impostor.

As my GP smiled warmly and took the paperwork off me, she admitted she’d never filled in an NDIS form before. I looked down at my feet and dug my nails into my palms. Was I wasting her time? Was I wasting government money?

Danielle Cahill

Thousands of autistic drivers could find their Australian licences are in legal limbo due to changes quietly made last year to the national standards that govern who is considered fit to drive.

The national 2022 Assessing Fitness to Drive standards are the first to list autism as a condition that "should be assessed individually", which may involve a practical assessment.

The final report of the Royal Commission into into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (DRC) has surprisingly little to say about Autistic Australians. The full report is a dozen volumes.

NDIS policy (AAT Case Management Guide Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) - see below) fails some of the youngest and most severely autistic NDIS participants. Clinicians advise that some children with severe/profound or classic autism need intensive early intervention for their autism. NDIS policy (see below) says funding for the required early intervention depends on families winning a case against the government in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).