emerging description of the new NDIS Early Intervention approach

By convenor |

The NDIA has released some new information  about how it will deliver Early Intervention for children. I surmise that the approach described in the NDIA's Market Position Statement for South Australia (June 2016) will apply pretty generally. This information is aimed at service providers, not at (prospective) NDIS participants, so it does not really explain the new approach for that audience. 

On page 22, the document says:

Jeanette Purkis on autism and empowerment

By convenor |

When Jeanette Purkis was first diagnosed with autism two decades ago, the condition was stigmatised, and poorly understood. From prison to parenthood, she shares her story of surviving, thriving, and learning to accept herself.

As a child, I was very odd. Everyone would say to my mum, 'What's she doing now?' because I was a very energetic child and I was quite naughty, very determined.

When I went to high school, things got very bad. People hated me. People really bullied me and I was the least popular child.

Aaron Pajich: Women charged with murder of teenager found buried in backyard appear in court

By convenor |

By Irena Ceranic

Jemma Victoria Lilley, 25, and Trudi Clare Lenon, 42, were charged after police found the body of Aaron Pajich under a freshly laid concrete slab in the backyard of their home on Broughton Way in Orelia.Two women accused of murdering an 18-year-old man in Perth's southern suburbs have appeared in court.

The Perth Magistrates Court was told Mr Pajich, who had Asperger's syndrome, was killed on June 13, the same day he was last seen at a taxi rank at the Rockingham City Shopping Centre.

Lilley and Lenon were not required to enter a plea and have been remanded to face Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court next Wednesday.

One of the accused women had studied with Mr Pajich at an educational facility in Kwinana.

Maitland mum calls for better support for children with disabilities in mainstream schools

By bobb |

Donna Sharpe

A Maitland mother has gone to the Human Rights Commission claiming her special needs child has been bullied and discriminated against because of a massive gap in the education system between children with and without disabilities.

The mother, Robyn, who requested we only use her first name, said her son, 13, had been the target of discrimination, excluded from school excursions and continually bullied.

NDIS rollout in Sydney: not perfect but at least it's here

By bobb |

Connie Vella had high expectations for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and what it would mean for her four-year-old daughter Hannah, who has bilateral hearing loss.

The Cranebrook woman went to her meeting with an NDIS planner earlier this year, well prepared with quotes from a range of hearing specialists and a list of the supports Hannah would require.

All up, the quotes came to $34,000 including early intervention services, speech pathology, language therapy, a school readiness program and hearing aids.

Mrs Vella was stunned when the planner returned with a package worth $12,000.

"It was a massive gap," she said. "We are supposed to be no worse off under the NDIS. We're a lot worse off. I'm a good advocate for Hannah but there are families out there who'll just accept what's on offer and that worries me for these children."

Screen all children for autism to combat 'devastating' diagnosis delays, says psychiatrist Valsamma Eapen

By bobb |

Belinda Hitchcock knew instinctively something was different with her baby.

Her placid son Bradley, who started talking when he was 18 months old, had regressed to incoherent babbling. By the time Bradley was two he had lost the ability to speak. 

His mother was fobbed off again and again by doctors as she desperately tried to find answers. 

Autism: Parents targeted by pseudo-medical charlatans with bogus treatments

By bobb |

Jane Hansen

PARENTS of autistic children are spending millions of dollars a year on bogus treatments in the hope of a miracle “cure”.

Now there are fears the National Disability Insurance Scheme will be ripped off by these charlatans, who are ­already preying on desperate parents.

Diane Verstappen from Aspire Early Intervention, an evidence-based program, said parents with self-managed funds from the NDIS would be a prime target.

Variability of autism/ASD prevalence between Australian states

By convenor |

The histogram shows the prevalence calculated from the population of children who receive Carer Allowance for Autistic or Asperger's Disorders (DSM-IV) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (DSM-5) at June 2014 relative to the ABS population numbers for the age group ... on both a national and a state/territory basis. 

There is clear variability in diagnosis rates between states/territories with the Northern Territory, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory having notably lower diagnosis rates for autism/ASD, well below the national average.

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