Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia

The following is from the Senate Autism Inquiry report 2022 webpage - the full report can be down loaded from the link below.

Executive Summary

The Australian Autism Alliance is holding a webinar on Tuesday 29 March (from 12.15pm-1.00pm) at which Chair of the Select Committee, Senator The Hon. Hollie Hughes, and Deputy Chair, Senator The Hon. Carol Brown will outline the report’s key findings and recommendations.

A4's Monique Blakemore will be chairing.

Click here to Register.

Amaze: Media Release

The Australian Autism Alliance today welcomes the release of the Senate Select Committee Inquiry’s history-making report on Autism. This is the first time there has been such a broad-ranging national inquiry into the issues facing Autistic Australians with recommendations for positive change.

Rick Morton

Tender documents show the government is tweaking the National Disability Insurance Scheme to exclude thousands of children with disabilities such as autism.

Sorry folk, the rest of the article is behind the paywall ...

Peter Hess

Two changes to the criteria for diagnosing autism are slated for release tomorrow in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), published by the American Psychiatric Association. The small changes add clarity and nuance to how the reference text defines autism, but they are unlikely to change diagnostic practice, experts say.

A screening tool developed by Australian researchers has been found to be the world's most effective tool for diagnosing children who are on the autism spectrum.

The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability has released a Commissioner’s report on Public Hearing 10: Education and training of health professionals in relation to people with cognitive disability.

The report makes 9 findings and 12 recommendations in relation to the education and training of health professionals across Australia including nurses, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists and speech pathologists.

Luke Henriques-Gomes

Woman tells inquiry how her experiences at ‘coffee school’ in $1bn-a-year federal program damaged her health and left her heartbroken

On her first day in an exciting new job, Mzia walked in to find a small “Breville-style” coffee machine placed on a computer desk in the reception.

Next to the machine was a container of long-life milk.

Mzia looked at the small Breville machine and told a senior manager: “This is not a commercial machine.”

Melbourne mum Leah Dean knows better than most that attending a COVID-19 vaccination appointment is anything but simple for children with autism.

Loud noises, crowds and bright lights anywhere, let alone at a busy immunisation hub – coupled with the uncertainty of a brand-new experience – can make her teenaged son very anxious.

But with the help of a set of special step-by-step instructions called a social script, 13-year-old Alexander was recently able to successfully have both his shots.

When Karen McKenzie received an unexpected letter from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in August, she had to read it three times before it sank in.

Her son Jarrod, who has autism and severe intellectual disabilities, needs help to eat, get dressed and use the bathroom, but the NDIS funding that paid for his carers had been cut by more than half.