Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia

Here is a very disturbing story from the media in the USA.

Autism in America: A Perilous Diagnosis
By RADHA CHITALE
ABC News Medical Unit
Nov. 6, 2008

Liane Willey's father always told her that, if she was ever in trouble, she should find a policeman and ask for help.

In college, Willey befriended a young campus policeman. Recalling her father's advice, she asked him to escort her home late one evening rather than walk alone. Instead, the officer drove away from campus, took her to his trailer home, and raped her.

Uncertainty over what causes the syndrome has become a trigger for wild speculation, says Mark Henderson

Autism is a highly heritable disorder, which is strongly influenced by genes. But it is not a genetic condition in the same way as Huntington's disease or cystic fibrosis, in which mutated DNA is the one and only cause. It is influenced by environmental factors, but what they are we do not yet know.

by Ben Edwards, Daryl J. Higgins, Matthew Gray, Norbert Zmijewski, Marcia Kingston

Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2008.
ISBN 978-1-921414-02-2. ISSN 1447-1469 (Print); 1477-1477 (Online).

Full Report - The nature and impact of caring for family members with a disability in Australia (PDF 3.3 MB)

The Senate Inquiry into Special Disability Trusts published its report entitled Building trust: Supporting families through Disability Trusts (see http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/disability_trusts/repo…). The report is quite short (56 pages). It provides 14 recommendations.

We got an email ...

Dear Parents & Parent Support Groups,
please see attached update of the Autism State Plan.
I apologise for cross postings.
regards
Meredith Ward

I assume Meredith meant October 2008 as the date on her documents ...

We are all capable of the extraordinary savant skills displayed by people with autism according to Professor Allan Snyder, speaking at the Royal Society today. Snyder argues that it is our inbuilt expectations of the world that stop us from using them.

Prof Snyder spoke on the savant syndrome and his efforts to 'turn on' autistic savant skills in people who don't have autism at a discussion meeting jointly organised by the Royal Society and the British Academy. Snyder is director of the Centre for the Mind at the University of Sydney, Australia.