LAUREN NOVAK, POLITICAL REPORTER February 01, 2010 12:32PM

THE Liberal Opposition has pledged to set up a school specifically for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder if elected next month.

Leader Isobel Redmond announced this morning the party would establish a school staffed and designed to "meet the needs" of those children while also putting resources towards special needs children who remain in mainstream schools.

She said there was great demand from parents, who had been lobbying the government for such a solution.

By WALECIA KONRAD
Published: January 22, 2010

WHEN Jeff Sell’s twin sons were found to have autism 13 years ago, he, like so many other parents in the same situation, found himself with a million questions: Will my children be able to function? What are the best treatments and where do I find them? How will this affect the rest of my family?

And besides those monumental worries, Mr. Sell kept asking himself another fundamental question as he began the long string of doctor and therapist visits with his sons: “How in the world am I going to pay for all this?”

By Bruce McDougall Education Reporte, The Daily Telegraph, January 08, 2010 12:00AM

GROWING numbers of students suspended for violence, aggressive behaviour or repeated disobedience have a serious mental disability such as autism.

Families with severely disabled children said they had become the victims of an under-funded school system incapable of adequately providing for special needs.

The recent Federal Court decision in the matter Commissioner of Taxation v Aid/Watch Incorporated 2009 says
that an advocacy and lobbying organisation, such as A4, cannot be seen as a charitable for tax purposes.

Such a decision has major implications about how advocacy groups operate.

Here are some links to commentary on the issue ...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 7, 2009) — In one of the first studies of its kind, an international team of researchers has uncovered a single-letter change in the genetic code that is associated with autism. The finding, published in the journal Nature, implicates a neuronal gene not previously tied to the disorder and more broadly, underscores a role for common DNA variation. In addition, the new research highlights two other regions of the genome, which are likely to contain rare genetic differences that may also influence autism risk.

What to make of the surprising new data.

By Mary Carmichael | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Oct 6, 2009

from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6870232.ece

It may reduce the stigma but it trivialises the learning difficulties and isolation sufferers endure

Michael Fitzpatrick

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http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/lessons-from-the-death-of-a-little-girl-20091006-gl90.html

The Sydney Morning Herald

7 October 2009

Lessons from the death of a little girl

By Kathryn Wicks

Dozens of people have rallied on the steps of Parliament House in Adelaide to demand more support for children with autism.

Some parents cried as they described the emotional and financial toll of finding treatment for their children.

They are lobbying for more State Government money for medical support, to reduce waiting lists and for more special education classes in schools.

Rally organiser Daryl Barkhazen says the children deserve a better deal.