A report into autism diagnosis in Australia has found discrepancies in how children are assessed for the condition and calls for a national standard to ensure early intervention.

The study was produced through the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism.

The senior author of the report, Professor Andrew Whitehouse from Perth's Telethon Kids Institute, said the study highlighted serious problems.

Children who do not meet the ­criteria for autism are being diagnosed with the condition, as desperate parents take their kids to private practitioners in a bid to gain a label, according to frank ­admissions from health professionals.

A report from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) said that in February 2014 the Department of Social Security (formerly FaHCSIA) funded $50,000 worth of research to establish "the extent of [ASD] over-diagnosis nationally".

A Deputy Secretary of DSS wrote back that

this wording is not intended to presuppose the findings of the Autism CRC report.

Members

Board of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)

Dear Board Member,

Australia's first autism biobank will open in Brisbane on Monday, paving the way for what researchers hope will lead to an earlier and more accurate diagnosis of the disorder.

Nearly 5,000 samples of blood, hair and urine, taken from autistic children, their parents and a control group, will be stored in freezers and could one day deliver the answers to what causes the condition.

Autism Queensland said parents typically raised concerns when their child was 12 months old, however in general they did not get diagnosed until at least two years later.

Natasha Bita

Half a million school students have a disability or learning ­difficulty, according to confidential data that exposes a surge in the number of children needing extra help in class.

A former Queensland police officer has left Bali amid allegations he was offering to cure children of autism and other diseases despite having no medical training.

Christopher William Savage returned to Amamoor in the Sunshine Coast hinterland after Indonesian medical authorities began investigating his activities last week, News Corp Australia reports

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015…