Autism news
Australia lags USA health sector on autism/ASD
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).
ACT Parent warns private providers not ready for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
A Canberra carer says private providers are not prepared enough to take over the ACT government's early intervention programs for children with disabilities in January.
In April, the ACT government announced it would be withdrawing from early intervention programs in Canberra at the end of 2014 as part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, leaving some parents concerned that children with disabilities could be left in limbo.
Canberra mother Tracey Trewhella, whose three-year-old daughter, Hailey, suffered from global development delay, said she didn't believe there would be enough private providers to cover the ACT government's withdrawal from the sector.
At the Early Intervention and Therapy Services Expo on September 13, Ms Trewhella said out of the 50 staff holders who attended, only five intended to run an early intervention program in the ACT, two of whom didn't currently have a presence in the territory.
WA study finds Autism sets back families $35,000 per year
By Families of children with autism are facing tens of thousands of dollars in costs and lost income, a Western Australian researcher has found.
The study — thought to be the first of its kind in WA — set out to measure whether a delayed diagnosis increased long-term costs for families.
But the paper, published in this month's edition of journal PLOS ONE, also established the median cost of a child being diagnosed with autism as $34,900 per annum.
Curtin professor and joint author Torbjorn Falkmer said the findings, drawn from the responses of 317 Western Australian families, had huge implications for parents.
"The majority of that cost, 90 per cent of it ... is because of the lack of the chance to have employment because parents have to stay home and take care of the children with autism, because they don't get the support they need," Dr Falkmer said.
"I think the system we have right now is showing us that parents are being forced to stay home, because they can't take a job because someone's got to take care of the kids.
Submission to Review of Australia's Welfare
A4 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.
Incredible report: Autism rates steady for the past 20 years?
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: