Disability Groups Slam Govt for Scrapping Royal Commission Into Abuse

​Ellie Cooper

The federal government’s decision to rule out a royal commission into violence and abuse against people with disability has been condemned by an alliance of disability advocacy groups.

A Senate committee proposed the royal commission in November 2015, following months of investigations into claims of abuse and neglect of people with disability in institutional and residential settings.

“There were so many accounts of violence, abuse and neglect that it is clear that abuse is widespread and occurring all over Australia, it is clear a royal commission is needed,” committee chair and Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said at the time.

However, the government said it would not follow the committee’s key recommendation.

Dismay at report on locking up children with disabilities

Lauren Martyn-Jones

THE mother of a child who was locked in a cell-like room for time-outs at a Hervey Bay primary school wants a State Government review to ban the practice totally.

The incident involving her autistic son Tate Smith triggered a State Government review and the appointment of a department "watchdog" to oversee the education of children with disabilities in Queensland.

The review has found that the restrictive practice experienced by Tate should be used as a measure of last resort to prevent harm to staff and students.

But Tate's mum Kelly-Ann Brooks said she was disappointed the review did not go further and call for an all-out prohibition on the use of restrictive practices on children with special needs.

Inquiry into the provision of services under the NDIS for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition

A4's submission

A4 made a submission to the inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS into the provision of services under the NDIS for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition. 

Tasmania: DHHS Provides A Free Evidence-Based Platform with Best-Practice Intervention Tools

Today, 1 in 63 children will be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (according to A4 2015).
For the past two years, the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services has been supporting schools and families in behaviour management and skill development with the world’s leading evidence-based platform Rethink.

Rethink provides a free on-line solution that helps teachers:

  • Develop custom learning curriculum (aligned to Australian Curriculum)

  • Monitor and track student progress

'We almost lost him': Canberrans with special needs turned away from hospital

Sherryn Groch

As new research reveals Australians with intellectual disabilities are dying avoidable deaths, two Canberra carers share their own 'horror' stories.

It started with just a runny nose and a routine trip to the doctor. Then Gungahlin mother Therese Bean noticed her son was losing weight. 

Nicholas, 23, who has non-verbal autism, began spending all day lying on the couch and struggled to keep food down. A lump the "size of a 50 cent coin" appeared under his chin. Eventually, it became difficult for him to breathe.

Urgent need for cause of death reporting system for Australians with intellectual disability

DAN WHEELAHAN

The deaths of more than 700 Australian adults with an intellectual disability could have been avoided with more appropriate health care and monitoring, a UNSW study has revealed.

Research by UNSW has found that while Down syndrome itself doesn’t cause death, it is still coded that way in a flawed classification system. Photo: Shutterstock.

A total of 732 Australian adults with an intellectual disability died in NSW over six years, many from causes or conditions that could have been avoided with more appropriate health care and monitoring.

NDIS: Federal Government announces independent review of National Disability Insurance Scheme

Henry Belot

The Federal Government has announced an independent review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to examine overall costs, value for money and its long-term sustainability.

Treasurer Scott Morrison announced the Productivity Commission review on Friday afternoon with a position paper to be released in May, followed by a report in September.

Disability Minister’s office disappoints on autism

Media Release

The response from Disability Minister Christian Porter MP’s office on increasing autism diagnoses is very disappointing according to Bob Buckley, A4 Convenor. Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia or A4 is the national grass-roots advocacy group for autism spectrum disorder.

Recently, A4 obtained data from Government and reported that the number of children diagnoses with autism continues to increase at a significant rate, as it has for several decades. In June 2016, there were 73,166 (>2.4%) Australian children aged 5-15 years inclusive who had their formal autism diagnosis registered with the Commonwealth Government. For this age group, autism is now more common than intellectual disability.

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