Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia

After almost 2 years in trial sites, the NDIA replaced it's "NDIS My Access Checker" web page. It has a new page that asks the key questions for NDIS eligibility ... and shows where the trial sites are operating.

The people currently getting NDIS support are those in NDIS trial sites. Others have to wait for the full roll out (which is getting closer).

The new web page is called the NDIS Access Checklist. Feel free to take a look.

People who are prepared to read a "new review and analysis of interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD)" can find one to download here: http://www.nationalautismcenter.org/nat…

This project is designed to give educators, parents, practitioners, and organizations the information and resources they need to make informed choices about effective interventions that will offer children and adults on the spectrum the greatest hope for their future.

How the search unfoldedThe moment a little boy lost was foundLuke Shambrook has had an emotional reunion with his parents after spending four nights lost in bush near Eildon, north-east of Melbourne.Luke, 11, who has autism, was found alive about midday on Tuesday after wandering off from his family's campsite at Candlebark campground on Good Friday.Luke Shambrook's mother Rachel kisses her son. Photo: Joe ArmaoPolice told reporters at the scene that Luke did not appear to be injured, although he was suffering hypothermia.The boy was found on the south side of the peak of Auciferous Spur, 2

Disability groups have backed calls for a broad inquiry into the education of children with a disability, following revelations an autistic Canberra school student was confined in a cage-like structure.Graeme Innes, who served as the nation's disability discrimination commissioner from 2005 until last year,has called for such an inquiry, warning the ACT case was not an isolated incident and schools across the country lacked adequate resources to support students with disability.Opposition Leader Bill Shorten immediately backed Mr Innes' call, declaring: "We cannot assume this is a one-off c

Early in 2015, without consulting or even informing stakeholders and before submissions for the NDIS ILC consultation were due, the Government removed documents and links to them from its websites. These documents contain information that is crucial for families who need to act quickly after their child is diagnosed with autism. Without access to these documents families can miss crucial advice about choosing appropriate early intervention. 

Since these documents are helpful for people affected by autism spectrum disorder, A4 makes them available for download from its website (see the links below).

The Government announced that it will continue the Helping Children with Autism (HCWA) package until the NDIS starts. John Howard created HCWA in 2007 and Bill Shorten implemented it.

More than 10,000 participants have registered for a new, free online six-week course beginning in April, which has been designed by Swinburne University to provide practical help to families with a child on the autism spectrum. Autism spectrum disorder is a lifelong condition affecting about 1 per cent of children who typically have preoccupations, aversions, obsessions and difficulties with social interaction.

6 February 2015

Note: the editorial content below.

A new Alliance representing the interests and views of all people with disability will provide advice to the Australian Government on improving social and economic participation, and breaking down barriers.

Julia May, 7/2/2015The Federal Government's cuts to the disability sector are a "catastrophic" blow and breach the United Nations convention on the rights of disabled people, advocacy groups and one of the architects of the convention says.The Department of Social Services announced yesterday it would fund an alliance of six groups representing disabled people by demographic rather than specific need.

The new arrangement threatens eight peak bodies, with 200,000 members.The former chairman of the United Nations committee representing people with disabilities has added his voice to the chorus of anger over the government's shake-up of the sector, challenging its claim it is in acting in accordance with the UN convention.Ron McCallum, who is blind, is a former dean of law at Sydney University and, until December, was chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Disabled Persons in Geneva.