Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia

Although autism is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, attempts to identify specific susceptibility genes have thus far met with limited success¹. Genome-wide association studies using half a million or more markers, particularly those with very large sample sizes achieved through meta-analysis, have shown great success in mapping genes for other complex genetic traits.

7:30 Report - Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Broadcast: 19/08/2009, Reporter: Sharon O'Neill

It is estimated that half a million Australian families are affected by autism and many of them struggle not just with the needs of an autistic child or adult but with the huge costs associated with the array of therapies required to treat the disorder. For one family, Australia did not have the resources they needed for their autistic son, forcing them to relocate to the United Kingdom.

Justine Ferrari, Education writer | August 26, 2009

Article from:  The Australian

SCHOOLS are turning children with disabilities into part-time students by restricting their attendance hours in breach of anti-discrimination laws.

Some school principals are limiting the time disabled students are in class to match the hours a teacher's aide or other assistance is available, Macquarie and Sydney university researchers have found.

see http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/20/2661233.htm?site=local

A New South Wales family have made the gut-wrenching decision to leave the home and friends they love and move to the UK because they say Australia cannot provide the support and services they need for their autistic son.

It is estimated that 500,000 Australian families are affected by autism.

Australian Associated Press

"We need to know the extent of autism in Australia so we can properly support people with ASD." Bill Shorten

A national register will be created to track the rising incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in Australia, the federal government has announced.

Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services Bill Shorten told a regional autism conference in Sydney that a register would help improve government support services.

Hon Bill Shorten MP

Member for Maribyrnong
Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services

Bill Shorten spoke on the 01/04/2009 at the National Press Club. The publicity (see http://www.npc.org.au/speakerArchive/bshort.html) said:

The Rudd Government has put the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups – including people with disability – at the core of its vision for Australia.

The media release (see http://www.alp.org.au/media/0209/msdcsfcs240.php) says ...

Parents and carers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) will benefit from a new information website created as part of the $190 million Helping Children with Autism package.

 

The website was launched today at Parliament House by the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services Bill Shorten.

 

There is growing support for a National Disability Insurance Scheme (see http://www.natdis.com.au/). A paper on the full proposal can be downloaded from http://www.natdis.com.au/NDIS.pdf.A4 members are encouraged to consider the proposal as tell us what they think about how such a scheme would affect people with ASD and their families. We have a forum at http://a4.org.au/a4/forum/NDIS

The website says ...

The Australian Federal Government is creating another National Disability Strategy (see http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/disabilities/nds.htm).

The consultation was spectacularly short … about 6 weeks. The government launched its discussion paper on 17th October 2008. The closing date for comments was 1st December.