Michael A. Ellis DO

Those with autism spectrum disorder have a shorter life expectancy. Here’s why.

Two recent studies will undoubtedly shock individuals and families affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These studies show a much earlier age of death in those with ASD as compared with the general population.  

Here is another report, this time from Queensland, describing some serious inadequacies of the NDIS with particular impact on autistic people ... though the report fails completely to mention autistic people. The report talks about people with impaired decision-making capacity; it mentions intellectual disability and brain injury, but does not mention autism spectrum disorder (ASD, which is the biggest distinct disability type in the NDIS).

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The Public Trustee

We recommend that the Public Trustee of Queensland:

ASD is is still widely misunderstood, which means a lot of parents dread getting a diagnosis.

But, actually, parents say receiving a diagnosis can be a huge relief as the interventions now available can make a world of difference.

What are the signs of ASD and, once you get a diagnosis, what's next?

Dr Josephine Barbaro is a Senior Fellow at Latrobe University's Autism Research Centre and Richard Peake features in a new documentary Dad: A film about Autism and Fatherhood.

Karen R Fisher, UNSW; Erin Louise Whittle, UNSW, and Julian Norman Trollor, UNSW

Jen Monnier

In 1987, psychologist Ole Ivar Lovaas reported that he had created a therapy that would make the behavior of some autistic children indistinguishable from that of typical children by 7 years of age¹. His approach, applied behavioral analysis (ABA), involves hours of drills each day, in which children are rewarded for certain behaviors and discouraged from others.

William Clarke, 22, may live with autism and have a limited vocabulary but he is inspiring communities and around the world with his achievements.

It comes as people around Australia help him creatively paint crickets bats and paddles for sale at a growing number of exhibitions.

Captain Quirk

Prepare yourselves. This article’s a big one.

Three years ago, back when Autistic Not Weird’s Facebook page “only” had 7,000 followers [all links open in new windows, by the way], I ran an autism survey. It was a laborious but rewarding task, and I was surprised it got as many as 477 responses.

The difficulties for people with complex and challenging support needs to obtain adequate supports under the NDIS

The purpose of this report is to tell the stories of some of OPA’s clients who have complex and challenging support needs, and who are not seeing the benefits that the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is intended to deliver.

The human impact and harm experienced by clients when they receive inadequate supports under the NDIS is significant and the costs to them for this failure, and to all of us, have been enormous.