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How autistic NDIS recipients could solve our cybersecurity skills gap

By bobb |

Tess Bennett

Autistic NDIS recipients are willing and able to work but fear if they get a job and lose it they will be ineligible for any future financial support from the scheme, a disabled rights activist says.

Rhett Ellis is an autistic entrepreneur with an interest in technology and cybersecurity who has lobbied the government to introduce autistic employment programs.

Government agency accused of being 'at war with those it should be supporting' as appeals against NDIS cuts spike

By bobb |
Sarina and Kaden

Kaden McCarthy, 10, lives with autism and has difficulty using and interpreting verbal and non-verbal communication.

Key points:

  • There has been a big increase in the number of NDIS participants reporting their plans are being slashed
  • Lawyers say they cannot keep up with the demand for assistance and the appeals system is congested
  • The government says the increase in appeals reflects the overall growth in the NDIS

How to reduce autism prevalence and save the NDIS

By bobb |
Professor Whitehouse sits facing the camera

Jill Margo

Australia’s leading expert on autism says a new model of intervention could reduce long-term disability from the disorder, by a factor of three, and help to make the ballooning National Disability Insurance Scheme more sustainable.

“The NDIS is currently relying on an outdated model of when to commence autism therapy,” said Andrew Whitehouse, head of Australia’s leading autism research team, CliniKids, based at the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth.

Autism Alliance welcomes bold Senate Report to deliver positive change for all Autistic Australians

By bobb |

Amaze: Media Release

The Australian Autism Alliance today welcomes the release of the Senate Select Committee Inquiry’s history-making report on Autism. This is the first time there has been such a broad-ranging national inquiry into the issues facing Autistic Australians with recommendations for positive change.

Hannah Gadsby on her autism diagnosis: ‘I’ve always been plagued by a sense that I was a little out of whack’

By bobb |
Hannah Gadsby portrait

Even as a child, the comedian knew her brain was atypical. But it was only in her late 20s that her anxiety, depression and meltdowns finally made sense

ou don’t have to be an expert to know that people with autism don’t get to speak about their own experiences. Until very recently, autism has largely only been understood through the prism of the experience of parents and as a list of observations that mostly neurotypical medical professionals have made and assigned meaning to.

DSM-5 revision tweaks autism entry for clarity

By bobb |
DSM-5 cover with graph superimposed

Peter Hess

Two changes to the criteria for diagnosing autism are slated for release tomorrow in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), published by the American Psychiatric Association. The small changes add clarity and nuance to how the reference text defines autism, but they are unlikely to change diagnostic practice, experts say.

Carwoola Southport: NDIS clients face losing homes after complaint to council

By bobb |

Keith Woods

High needs NDIS clients risk losing their homes after a complaint to council amid claims they have been subject of antagonism from a minority of neighbours.

A GROUP of high-needs people are at risk of being thrown out of their homes after the company leasing units on their behalf was issued a show-cause notice by council.

Pleas for NSW flood survivors with disability to be prioritised for urgent housing, care

By bobb |
mother holding her autistic son

ToyNera Macgregor and her 16-year-old son Annan are homeless after floods swamped their Lismore rental.

Key points:

  • Governments are being urged to prioritise the needs of flood survivors with disability
  • Service providers say evacuation centres are often not accessible
  • The Northern Rivers was already experiencing a housing crisis before the floods
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