Luke Michael

2017 was a “dismal” year for human rights in Australia, according to a report card which found the country significantly lagged behind in areas including disability rights, Indigenous rights and the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum.

The 2017 Human Rights Report Card from Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) graded Australia in a number of areas and also graded each state and territory, with mixed results.

Editor: this isn't about autism specifically but it may help some people on the spectrum.

Roughly ;one in five students drop out of university in Australia in their first year. Students with prior emotional difficulties, who are doing their degrees part-time, mature age at entry, or from a lower socioeconomic status background are most likely to be in this category.

Prime minister holds town hall meeting with residents in Lower Sackville, N.S.

A Nova Scotia activist and mother of a nine-year-old boy with severe autism asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about his government's stance on setting up a national autism strategy during his town hall meeting in Lower Sackville, N.S., Tuesday evening.

Raising a child is often one of the most challenging and joyous events in a person’s life. Watching your child grow and develop is a source of delight. However, some parents become concerned when their child appears to develop differently than others.

At times, parents may worry about the possibility of autism spectrum disorder, or ASD.

Carla Hildebrandt

An angry Mandurah mother has lashed out at the state government after being told a specialised education program at Halls Head College has been axed.

Late last year, Wannanup resident Sally Finlay said she was told her autistic son who had attended the Halls Head College Targeted Learning program, would have to find alternative education because the program would not be offered in 2018.

LOUISVILLE — Shalom Lawson, an 8-year-old Louisville boy who loved hugging people he just met, wandered from a relative's home last summer and drowned.  

He had autism, a disorder that causes many children to walk off. "Elopers,"as they are called, are especially drawn to water and are unaware of the risks. 

"Water makes them feel calm, but water is very, very dangerous," said Shalom's mother, Magdalene Lawson, who came to America from West Africa with her husband, Charles. 

She told Courier Journal she tried to protect her son by locking her bathroom to keep him from filling up the bathtub. She feared he would burn himself or drown. And she said she kept an alarm on her front door that would beep if he tried to get out.

Greg White

A SOCIAL gaming group is being formed on the Coffs Coast for people on the autism spectrum.

Local retailer Good Games Coffs Harbour has formed a partnerships with the Mid Coast Communities' Ability Links to offer the program.

The first gathering will be held from 10am on Saturday, January 13, at the Good Games store on Harbour Drive.

Study adds evidence to growing belief that current clinical tools fail to capture unique autism presentations in females

Ann Hickman

As a parent with two out of three children on the autistic spectrum, I nodded with many points by Jem Lester (Seen Rain Man? That doesn’t mean you know my son, Family, 30 December). However, despite the common feelings around having our verbal and non-verbal autistic kids, I feel that actually 2017 provided plenty of great autism-inspired TV.

I’ve written before about autism and dating from my own perspective. This time I asked my girlfriend to weigh in

MATTHEW ROZSA

When you have an invisible disability, the first challenge is getting other people to believe you — to encourage them to express empathy for someone else. After that, though, you need to learn to listen to how your disability may negatively impact them — that is, to show the very empathy for others that you insist on receiving.