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Have your say on the future of autism research

By bobb |

Today we call on autistic Australians, families, carers, and the broader autism community to have their say on the future of autism research priorities. Individuals and organisations involved in providing services and supports, as well as managing policy that affect autistic people and the autism community are also asked to contribute.



The outcome of this community consultation process will help guide the future focus of autism research activities and research funding in Australia.

 

My friend and mentor Les Murray - autistic savant

By bobb |

British-born author Daniel Tammet corresponded with poet Les Murray, who died on April 29 aged 80, and translated his poems into French. In his 2017 book Every Word is a Bird We Teach to Sing, Tammet describes how Murray’s inspiring example helped him come to terms with being autistic. In this edited extract he recounts how he and Murray came to share a stage in Paris in 2015.

Daniel Tammet

The Australian poet Les Murray makes life hard for those who wish to describe him. It isn't only his work, some 30 books over 50 years. It is the man. In PR terms, Murray seems the antipode of Updikean dapperness, cold Coetzee intensity, Zadie Smith's glamour. His author photographs, which appear to be snapshots, can best be described as ordinary. The bald man's hat, the double chin, the plain T-shirt. A photograph, accompanying his New Selected Poems, shows him at a kitchen table, grandfatherly in his glasses. The artlessness is that of an autodidact. Murray has always written as his own man. Fashions, schools, even the occasional dictionary definition, he serenely flouts. To read him is to know him.

Advocates blame NDIS failures as families give up severely disabled children to child protection

By bobb |

Richard Willingham

Children with high-needs disabilities are living in child protection because their parents can no look longer after them, with advocates blaming a lack of support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for forcing parents to give up their children.

Loving Lucy

By bobb |

Parenting can be tough—even when your child is considered so-called ‘normal’. Nine-year-old Lucy looks like a curly haired angel, but she's often strangely manipulative and physically violent. Her mum and dad are still searching for a diagnosis which could make sense of her extreme behaviour. But their patience and love for Lucy is extraordinary.

Ballarat musician Jack Stacey is breaking the perceived limits of autism

By bobb |

Rochelle Kirkham

Young Ballarat musician Jack Stacey is changing perceptions of autism and setting an example to others to live beyond their 'limits'.

At four-years-old Jack was diagnosed with autism, a lifelong developmental condition that affects how an individual relates to their environment and interacts with other people.

At the time of diagnosis doctors estimated he would only be able to write his own name and read basic text.

Families need guidance before buying a communication app for autism

By bobb |

Cathy Binger

Many children with autism have little to no functional speech, and their families are often desperate to help them communicate.

In today’s connected society, these families are likely to hear about a variety of communication apps — some specifically targeted at children with autism — available for mobile devices, including iPads. Often the advertisement includes a video of a child who starts communicating using the app’s voice output, effortlessly asking for a cup of juice or saying, for the first time, “I love you.”