A Spectrum of Obstacles

It is critical to improve access to healthcare for autistic people of all ages. This population have increased health risks and reduced life expectancy, yet face multiple obstacles to accessing the same healthcare that other population groups enjoy. The knock-on effect of poor access to healthcare on physical and mental health, on employment and the economy, on quality of life and mortality, leads us to request positive action now.

Cathy Pryor

I am a parent of three children, the middle of whom was diagnosed with high-functioning autism a year ago.

My son’s diagnosis, in previous diagnostic language, would have been known as Asperger’s. I still often use this term when explaining his differences, simply because most people’s notion of what autism­ is does not properly describe­ my son.

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.

The following is the current editorial in the Newsletter issued monthly by ATAC  [Action for Tasmanian Autistic Children].  ATAC  was established to provide free advocacy for all those who have difficulty with government and other bureaucratic bodies when they want to gain services for members of their families who are on the spectrum.  Another key function of ATAC  is to fight for the  recognition of Autism as a brain disorder based in neurol

Members

Board of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)

Dear Board Member,

Emily Underwood

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) die on average 18 years before the general population, according to a report released today by Autistica, a philanthropic group based in the United Kingdom. People with both ASD and an intellectual disability die even younger, on average 30 years earlier than those without the conditions.

Media Release

Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia, the national grassroot autism advocacy group known as A4, regards the Health Department's omission of autism from its recent report on The Mental Health of Children and Adolescents as negligent.