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Advocates blame NDIS failures as families give up severely disabled children to child protection

By bobb |

Richard Willingham

Children with high-needs disabilities are living in child protection because their parents can no look longer after them, with advocates blaming a lack of support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for forcing parents to give up their children.

Loving Lucy

By bobb |

Parenting can be tough—even when your child is considered so-called ‘normal’. Nine-year-old Lucy looks like a curly haired angel, but she's often strangely manipulative and physically violent. Her mum and dad are still searching for a diagnosis which could make sense of her extreme behaviour. But their patience and love for Lucy is extraordinary.

Ballarat musician Jack Stacey is breaking the perceived limits of autism

By bobb |

Rochelle Kirkham

Young Ballarat musician Jack Stacey is changing perceptions of autism and setting an example to others to live beyond their 'limits'.

At four-years-old Jack was diagnosed with autism, a lifelong developmental condition that affects how an individual relates to their environment and interacts with other people.

At the time of diagnosis doctors estimated he would only be able to write his own name and read basic text.

Families need guidance before buying a communication app for autism

By bobb |

Cathy Binger

Many children with autism have little to no functional speech, and their families are often desperate to help them communicate.

In today’s connected society, these families are likely to hear about a variety of communication apps — some specifically targeted at children with autism — available for mobile devices, including iPads. Often the advertisement includes a video of a child who starts communicating using the app’s voice output, effortlessly asking for a cup of juice or saying, for the first time, “I love you.”

New autism prevalence stats spotlight challenge of early diagnosis

By bobb |

Alla Katsnelson

The prevalence of autism in 4-year-old children in the United States has increased — from about 1 in 75 children in 2010 to 1 in 59 in 2014 — to match a previously reported rise in 8-year-old children, according to data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)1.

'I can't change what happened to Matty': family of disabled man sues state over rape

By bobb |

Jewel Topsfield

When Maria Thomas was told her autistic son had been raped in the bathroom of his group home the missing piece of a ghastly puzzle fell into place.

Ms Thomas had been haunted by a change in her son Matthew’s behaviour but because he is non-verbal she couldn’t work out what had happened.

“Matty didn’t want me to leave him in the shower, he kept holding my hand,” Ms Thomas says. “His behaviour deteriorated, he didn’t want us to go, he kept saying: ‘Stay, stay’.”

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