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Autistic-majority IT services company celebrates Autistic Pride Day

By bobb |

Sara Barker

Auticon, a social IT enterprise that employs more than 200 people on the autism spectrum, is today celebrating Autistic Pride Day, highlighting the value and success that its consultants have achieved in the IT field.

Auticon offers services across business analytics, artificial intelligence, software development, cybersecurity, as well as quality assurance and testing. 

Autism review concerns NDIS users

By bobb |
Professor Andrew Whitehouse.

As the National Disability Insurance Agency awaits the findings of research it has commissioned into autism support and treatment, members of the autism community are concerned the report may never be made public. By Rick Morton.

The National Disability Insurance Agency has been working for months on a secret report that will lock in the evidence base for different autism interventions and support packages, but advocates fear it could be used to cut costs if it is not made public.

Training to support people with autism into work

By bobb |

12 June 2020

Minister The Hon. Anne Ruston MP, joint with Senator Hollie Hughes

The Morrison Government is delivering on its election promise to support people with autism into employment.  

Minister for Families and Social Services Anne Ruston today announced two new training projects as part of the Government’s suite of disability employment initiatives. 

Hannah Gadsby on her new show Douglas, autism and life after Nanette

By bobb |

Hannah Gadsby isn't here to teach you about autism, but there are things to learn if you are willing.

"But people don't always want to learn, so screw them," she said this week.

The Australian comedian is back after her barnstorming show Nanette delved into past trauma and rocketed her to international fame.

Her new show, Douglas, is a deliberately lighter touch that draws on her experience living with autism and weaves in anecdotes from her life.

‘It’s been a real rollercoaster’: navigating autism in the Covid-19 chaos

By bobb |

@Gay_Alcorn

A sense of routine is essential for Morgan Tilly, who has non-verbal autism. So when coronavirus restrictions hit, her family had to create familiarity amid the uncertainty.

Morgan Tilly, 24, loves to swim. She seems to have a physical, sensory need to be in the water.

Test case highlights the need for better school support for children with autism

By bobb |

PIAC has commenced a discrimination test case on behalf of an eight-year old girl who has an autism spectrum disorder, after she was expelled from her primary school in Year 2.

PIAC’s client, Hannah Blundy, says that her daughter, Catherine, was expelled after her school failed to provide a range of supports and adjustments recommended by health professionals in time to keep her educational and social development on track.

Environmental factors unlikely to account for rise in autism prevalence

By bobb |

The relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to autism and traits of the condition have held steady over multiple decades, according to a large twin study 1.

Among tens of thousands of Swedish twins born over the span of 26 years, genetic factors have consistently had a larger impact on the occurrence of autism and autism traits than environmental factors have. The study suggests that genetics account for about 93 percent of the chance that a person has autism, and 61 to 73 percent of the odds she shows autism traits.

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