The following list shows A4's recent advocacy. This list contains both publications (including briefs and submissions) and communications (letters & emails).

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Australia lags USA health sector on autism/ASD

By bobb |

For children with autism/ASD, Australia lags far behind the USA. Australians like to think their health system is superior to the US health system ... but not so for the growing number of children diagnosed with ASD in Australia.

The US Government made it clear that US "states must cover all medically necessary services for children, including services to address ASD" (see http://www.medicaid.gov/Federal-Policy-Guidance/Downloads/FAQ-09-24-2014.pdf). 

Government reply to letter about 2014 Budget and the DSP

By bobb |

A Government official (signature indecipherable), not the Assistant Minister, replied to A4's letter (see http://a4.org.au/a4/node/819) about Disability Support Pension and measures in the 2014-15 Federal Budget.

The Government's response is disappointing. It ignores the issues that A4 raised.

In its response the Government says that:

Submission to Review of Australia's Welfare

By bobb |

front coverA4 submitted the report below to the Australian Government's Review of Australia’s Welfare System.

A4's report highlights that ... 

  • people with autism want to work and are capable of working. The problem is that employers, including governments in Australia, simply do not employ people with autism,
  • describing people with disability as "leaners", or as "rorters, bludgers, slackers, etc." does not improve employment outcomes,
  • growth in Disability Support Pensions is not even as big as growth in autism diagnoses ... so there is no real welfare crisis, but growth in the number of people diagnosed with autism deserves much more attention, and
  • Australia's welfare compared to GDP is below average for the OECD so Australia's welfare system is sustainable at present and is not heading towards being unsustainable, as the current Government claims.

Petition, Victoria: stop restraint/abuse of disabled children in schools

By bobb |

Please be aware of the petition at http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/he-was-tied-up-to-a-chair-and-left-there-end-this-abuse-of-disabled-children-in-schools

"This haunts me every day of my life… the things that happened to me - like being locked in small rooms, being pulled to the ground by my neck and having someone hold me down when I can't breathe, being tied up, this is not ok."

NDIS ignores science on early intervention for children with autism

By bobb |

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is ignoring expert advice and existing government policy on early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Instead, the NDIA adopted a generic and often inappropriate approach that does not address the distinct needs of children with ASD.

The Department of Health advised families* in 2006 that children with ASD need “best practice” intensive ASD-specific early intervention. Later, the Department of Social Security (formerly FaHCSIA) effectively asked ASD experts “are you sure … and what about just 'good' practice?”. The experts responded pretty much “Yep, we are sure … and 'good practice' isn't much different from 'best practice'” (links* to the report are here MS Word & PDF and the Guidelines for Good practice 2012 MS Word & PDF ... webpage here).

letter: mad bureaucracy in the NDIA

By bobb |

Dear Minister Andrews MP

I am writing to you about the mad bureaucracy in the NDIA, particularly in relation to the funding of transport associated with disability services.

In many instances, a disability service is either provided in a person's home or requires transport in order that a person can access the service. If the cost of transport is not included, then the service is simply not financially viable.

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