Andrew Whitehouse, 18 Nov 2013

The internet was ablaze last week with the news that health authorities in Western Australia (WA) have given approval for IVF clinics to ‘screen’ embryos to reduce the chances of a couple having a child with autism.

Benjamin Preiss 19 November 2013

She tells tribunal her child's behaviour deteriorated after attending special school.

A mother of an autistic child has accused a special school of using restraint and seclusion to control challenging behaviour.

The woman is suing the state government in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for her son's treatment at Cranbourne's Marnebek School, which caters for children with disabilities.

Kerry Faulkner 13 Nov 2013

The paper describes that rather than a single entity, autism is multiple disorders.

INFORMATION from the families of 1200 children with autism will be collected from next month to begin the largest autism data study in Australia which includes a team of WA researchers.

Telethon Institute of Child Health Research’s Andrew Whitehouse says the project involves several prominent research groups across the nation under the umbrella of the Autism Co-operative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders which received $31 million over eight years from the Federal Government earlier this year.

Professor Whitehouse says the centre will further extensive work by Telethon including its recent ‘proof of principle’ research which advocates a new approach to autism investigation and whose findings have been documented in the Frontiers of Human Science Journal.

Nick Toscano November 13, 2013

A confused autistic boy who was engulfed in smoke during a house fire in Melbourne's south east has been rescued by two passers-by.

The pair saw smoke coming from the house on Were Street, Brighton, shortly after 1.30pm on Wednesday, and smashed a window to gain entry.

The teenage boy, who has Asperger's syndrome, had walked into the smoky kitchen but then froze and did not know what to do, according to the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.

Teenagers with autism are being bullied and discriminated against, have difficulty paying attention in class and feel lonely.

The first ever study to ask high functioning teenage autism sufferers about their own experience with their disability has found less than half the students had good friends.

The study found more than half the students needed support for bullying and discrimination and that two thirds felt lonely and needed help managing stress.

PATRICIA KARVELAS AND RICK MORTON The Australian November 11, 2013

THE Abbott government has ordered the National Disability Insurance Agency to overhaul its processes and provide immediate "remedial action" because the flagship disability insurance scheme is running late.

This is despite concern that the most vulnerable - those with intellectual disabilities - are being railroaded into accepting decisions that are not right for them and, in some cases, left to negotiate without independent advocates present.

Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) November 06, 2013

The gastrointestinal problems are linked to problem behaviors in children with autism, developmental delay.

Children with autism experience gastrointestinal (GI) upsets such as constipation, diarrhea and sensitivity to foods six-to-eight times more often than do children who are developing typically, and those symptoms are related to behavioral problems, including social withdrawal, irritability and repetitive behaviors, a new study by researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute has found.

Emily Bourke 8 Nov 2013

PETER LLOYD: American medical researchers have uncovered some surprising findings about children with autism.

It's been thought for some time that autism could be the result of a brain that lacks enough neural connections - but new research has found the opposite. Brains of children with autism actually have more connections than other children.

That's turned some of the conventional medical wisdom about autism on its head and it could lead to changes to the way the condition is diagnosed and treated.

Emily Bourke has our story

Neil Bramwell

THE latest Australian data on autism contradicts research indicating that new cases have levelled off in the UK, according to an expert.

Local rates appear to be in line with recent US data, which found that one in 88 eight-year-olds had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

WA first: Reproductive Technology Council approves application for fertility clinic to screen for autism

Cathy O'Leary Medical Editor, The West Australian

For the first time, WA health authorities have allowed embryos to be screened to reduce the chance of a high-risk family having a child with autism.

The Reproductive Technology Council approved the application for a fertility clinic to do a pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, to screen for autism.

There are no genetic tests for autism, so instead of looking for a gene mutation, the screening identifies the embryo's sex because boys are at least four times more likely to develop autism.

It is a new frontier in embryo screening because, unlike other conditions with a distinct genetic basis, autism is believed to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.