The Victorian government says it has been forced to step in and fund targeted hubs after failing to get a response from the Commonwealth on low vaccination rates among people with a disability.

Key points:

• More than 71 per cent of Victorian NDIS participants aged 16 and over have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine
• Victoria is launching 10 dedicated pop-up vaccination sites for people with disability
• From October 8, all of Victoria's state-run vaccination centres will allow people with disabilities to get vaccinated any time without a booking

The Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, Luke Donnellan, on Thursday announced $5 million to boost vaccination rates among people living with a disability.

Nick McAllister

When COVID-19 came uninvited to Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other state leaders stood behind their lecterns and delivered their messages to all Australians.

Content warning: This story includes descriptions of a struggle with mental health.

But it felt to me they weren't speaking to us all. 

Georgie Hewson

Daniel Stanley is a carer for his wife and two daughters but has spent most of his days for the past five years learning to navigate the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Catherine Fielke describes trying to get funding for her five-year-old son through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as "a constant battle".

Key points:

• Mitchell Fielke's new NDIS plan has a third of the funding of the previous plan
• NT disability service providers have flagged concerns over plans being cut "significantly" without consultation
• The NDIA says it is committed to delivering a "consistent and quality" experience for all participants

"It's honestly like a full-time job," she said.

I'm not Sheldon Cooper.

I am, however, autistic, which means I'm constantly compared to him.

This is ironic because according to the producers of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon Cooper isn't actually autistic.

And yet my autism is constantly compared – and seemingly failing to live up – to this fictional character.

Zack Budryk

Anthony Hopkins, Wentworth Miller and others are showing us that autism is more varied than it once seemed to be.

In late July, actor Wentworth Miller of “Prison Break” and “Legends of Tomorrow” posted an image of a white square to Instagram, accompanied by the revelation that he had been formally diagnosed as autistic a year before.

By Eden Gillespie

A mother of five autistic children from regional NSW told The Feed she’s struggled immensely with getting them vaccinated. With the children still unvaccinated, and a severe asthmatic herself, she’s fearful about the state’s plans to open up in October.

NSW’s reopening has been described as the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ but as severe asthmatics and the parents of five children with autism, Casey* and her husband are terrified of where the eased restrictions could leave them.