Autism Spectrum Disorder is a condition that is currently diagnosed in one in 100 Australians.

But it wasn’t always called autism, it used to be called “childhood schizophrenia”.

And while it’s true that language has changed, what about perceptions?

Listeners share their experiences of having a child in their family with autism.

How have things changed through the generations?

see http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/re-defining-au…

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State Medicaid programs now have to cover a range of treatments for autism.

When Yuri Maldonado's 6-year-old son was diagnosed with autism four years ago, she learned that getting him the therapy he needed from California's Medicaid plan for low-income children was going to be tough.

Medi-Cal, as California's plan is called, does provide coverage of autism services for some children who are severely disabled by the disorder, in contrast to many states that offer no autism coverage. But Maldonado's son was approved for 30 hours a week of applied behavioral analysis, a type of behavior modification therapy that has been shown to be effective with autistic children, and she was worried that wasn't enough.

So she and her husband, neither of whose jobs offered health insurance, bought an individual private policy for their son, with a $900 monthly price tag, to get him more of the comprehensive therapy.

"I don't know any family that can really afford that," says Maldonado. "We made some sacrifices."

That should be changing soon. In July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said comprehensive autism services must be coveredfor children under all state Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program plans, another federal-state partnership that provides health coverage to lower-income children.

The new coverage guidelines apply to children with autism spectrum disorder, a group of developmental conditions including autistic disorder and Asperger's syndrome. Roughly 1 in 68 children has an autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Association of Maternal Child Health Programs estimates that just over a third of them get coverage through Medicaid or CHIP.

Although coverage of applied behavioral analysis, which uses positive reinforcement and other techniques to encourage behavior change, isn't explicitly required, advocates expect it will be covered.

"Since ABA is the most accepted, effective treatment that isn't experimental and investigational, you can't just exclude it entirely," says Daniel Unumb, executive director of Autism Speaks' legal resource center.

"It's going to help a ton," says Maldonado. "We'll be able to pay our rent on time, and we'll be able to pay some bills that we have."

ABC Radio National reported on a disappointing journal article that claims there is no evidence that the number of people with autism has increased since 1990. The stories are:

• Autism rates steady for the past 20 years
• UQ study: autism rates unchanged in 20 years

Contrary to reports that the rates of autism spectrum disorder are on the rise, researchers at the University of Queensland found no evidence of an increase of the condition in the past 20 years.

Transcript

Norman Swan: Autism Spectrum Disorder describes children and adults who have a range of difficulties with communicating, socialising and can also have quite obsessional interests and repetitive behaviours.

Dale Mulligan of Newcastle, denied $1100 a year to pay for lawnmowing, is taking the NDIS to the Federal Court. Picture: Jon Reid Source: Supplied

AUSTRALIANS with disabilities have begun suing the government to break into the National Disability Insurance Scheme, forcing courts and tribunals to navigate the scheme’s early flaws.

Administrative Appeals Tribunal hearings have so far revealed confusion about the NDIS legislation and heard participants were given incorrect information about their entitlements.

One man with emphysema and diabetes was incorrectly told the NDIS would provide an oxygen concentrator and insulin pump, while another was given the wrong information about his avenues for appeal.

MARK COLVIN: Many aspects of what's now called autism spectrum disorder remain mysterious, but a new study from the University of Queensland says the number of people with the disorder is neither rising nor falling.

The university team crunched the numbers on a wide range of research data from 1990 to 2010. They say that around the world one person in 132 has some level of autism spectrum disorder. They say their analysis of the figures shows that that hasn't changed since 1990.

Autism experts are calling for changes in diagnostic testing, saying the current approach is failing to identify the true number of females with the disorder.

They say a massive imbalance in the number of autism diagnoses between the sexes could be attributed to more subtle symptoms in females that are either dismissed by clinicians, or undetected by current testing, which focuses on signs associated with male behaviour.

LAUREN NOVAK POLITICAL REPORTER THE ADVERTISER

MORE than 1800 children will not be able to join the national disability insurance scheme this financial year as promised, because the administrative body is struggling to process applications fast enough.

In a letter obtained by The Advertiser, the head of the National Disability Insurance Agency warns it is “unlikely” children over the age of nine will be able to join the scheme before mid-next year because of delays in processing applications.

Larissa Nicholson, Reporter

Tim Chan has severe autism and cannot speak or write. He uses an electronic voice-output device to communicate and write poetry. Photo: Getty/Paul Jeffers

“TALK to families” is the plea to experts reviewing how Autism is treated under the National Disability Insurance Scheme from the Bonnyrigg Heights mother of two autistic children.

Grace Fava, who is also the Autism Advisory and Support Services president, is concerned the real picture of life for people on the autism spectrum and their families is being lost and the only way to overcome this is true consultation.

“Don’t just talk to families who have high functioning kids, talk to those who have to relinquish their kids,” she said.