On 17/1/2022, A4 and a couple of our friends from the autism sector met (via video-link) with several officials from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. A4 provided a briefing document for the meeting (see below). Following is a summary report on the meeting.

Positives for A4 and the autism sector in Australia from the meeting were that

Chloe Yap, The University of Queensland; Andrew Whitehouse, The University of Western Australia, and Jake Gratten, The University of Queensland

There has been much speculation that the community of bacteria living in the gut – known as the microbiome – may be different among people on the autism spectrum than the wider population. This has led some researchers and clinicians to speculate that gut bacteria could cause autism.

Craig Allen

Gordon Douglas spent most of his 20s on welfare, struggling to find an employer who would look past his "differences" and give him a break.

The 34-year-old battled his way through job application after job application but, despite being highly qualified and intelligent, he often fell out of contention when it came to face-to-face interviews.

Subject:RE: Escalating risks for people with disability from Omicron and access to RAT and PCR tests [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]
Date:Wed, 5 Jan 2022 21:52:49 +0000
From:Lowe, Jamie <Jamie.Lowe@ndis.gov.au>
To: ...
CC:...

Dear Bob

Thank you for drawing this to my attention. We endeavour to align all our messaging to Health messaging to avoid confusion and will immediately review our website and social media content to ensure that the information we provide is up-to-date and aligned to Health messaging.

Antonia O'Flaherty

When applying for jobs, Emma did not reveal she is neurodiverse because she was concerned prospective employers might judge her.  

"I can relate to the insecurity, to insecurities about revealing your neurodiversity, and about whether or not you would be judged on that," Ms Sellars said. 

"Or if you feel your job would be secure if you made a mistake.

Dan Jervis-Bardy

A Canberra couple are worried for their disabled child's future after her National Disability Insurance Scheme funding was slashed against the advice of her therapists.

Sam Farmer

Rather than interpret the results of this study as implying that autism is a growing epidemic and a condition which therefore is to be feared, view it instead as being reflective of the natural neurological diversity inherent in humanity, carrying unique challenges as well as strengths.