Jan McLucas, Jenny Macklin posted Wednesday, 27 October 2010

Today marks the two year anniversary of the Australian Government’s $190 million Helping Children with Autism package, an initiative aimed at providing early intervention services to children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

In the two years since its introduction, more than 10,000 Australian children aged up to six years old have accessed more than 220,000 early intervention services through the Government’s autism package.

BY LORETTA JOHNSTON, 27 Oct, 2010

AN autistic teenager who went missing from Clifton Beach in March 2008 grew up near a beach and loved the water, the Hobart Coroners Court has heard.

Jackson Kelty, 15, and his state carer Brendan Dermody went missing from the popular surf beach near Hobart on March 15, 2008, where it is presumed they drowned.

Jackson's mother, Peta Kelty, said that her son loved to paddle in shallow water although he could not swim.

"The minute he hit the sand he'd kick his shoes off and run into the water," she said.

A test that’s correct nine times out of ten is 90 per cent accurate, right? Sometimes not, says Professor Ian Stewart.

By Ian Stewart, Published: 14 Oct 2010

BY PHILLIP THOMSON 15 Oct, 2010

An inquest into the death of a profoundly autistic Canberra teenager at Canberra Hospital in 2008 has heard that a person may have committed an indictable offence that led to the tragedy.

NSW Deputy State Coroner Hugh Dillon yesterday suspended the inquest, which began at Queanbeyan Local Court on Monday, to allow the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate the person in question.

Jack Sullivan, 18, died on February 18, 2008, at Canberra Hospital.

Debra Jopson October 4, 2010

A researcher who has found strong evidence that autism is caused by mercury poisoning has been refused access to data that could point to emissions from coal-fired power stations.

The director of the Swinburne Autism Bio-Research Initiative, David Austin, said the data on autism incidence by postcode could quickly answer the question of whether mercury emissions from power stations are implicated in babies and infants developing the disorder.

Louise Hall, September 30, 2010

A MOTHER who raised serious concerns about the care of her intellectually disabled daughter at a group home was taken to the Guardianship Tribunal where the state government tried to strip her parental rights.

Documents obtained under freedom of information show disability bureaucrats tried to portray the mother as mentally ill and unfit to make decisions about her daughter, then 19.

BY MONIQUE EBRINGTON — 28 Sep, 2010 12:00 AM
WESTERN suburbs parents have welcomed state government funding for a feasibility study for an autistic school catering for prep to year 12 students.

At present, Western Autistic School has campuses in Deer Park and Niddrie, but children can attend for only four years before going into mainstream or special schools.

Altona North resident Mark Websdale said a recent meeting with Education Minister Bronwyn Pike was a step towards a new school.

Mr Websdale is a member of Autism Schools Action, a group of parents in the western suburbs who have been lobbying MPs on the issue for several years.

"We have been quite frustrated over a long period of time to get no apparent result," Mr Websdale said.

September 29, 2010 Carol Nader

AFTER five years of struggling with the relentless demands of a little boy with severe autism, Anna finally snapped. She drove him to a hospital and asked child protection workers to meet her there and take him.

They came and collected her boy. She returned home to a strange quiet in the house. She thought it would be for the best, that he'd be somewhere safe.

Jewel Topsfield; September 15, 2010

VICTORIAN principals are fed up with monster workloads and the state government's failure to properly support students with disabilities.

Less than three months from a state election, a survey shows that principals' assessments of both the state government and the Education Department are the most negative since 2005.

Unsustainable workloads dominate their concerns about their personal situations - principals work an average of 59 hours a week - while the lack of resources for disadvantaged students is their chief gripe about their schools.