Tim Williams

A DISTRESSED mother says she only discovered an out-of-school-hours care worker repeatedly kicked her autistic, intellectually disabled son in a fast-food restaurant because the woman confessed to her – one term later.

Jordy Bonser, of Woodcroft, is furious that the southern suburbs school failed to tell her the worker, who was employed by the governing council, allegedly attacked her son on a vacation-care excursion to the McDonald’s restaurant on South Rd, Darlington, in January.

The case was later dropped due to fears that the accused's disability was too serious to enable him to comprehend the charges against him.

An investigation by the Victorian Ombudsman, released in September, found that despite ongoing threats to Matthew, the alleged perpetrator continued to live at the Autism Plus facility.

John Harris

Brigid Glanville

Disability groups fear there could be more unreported abuse of children in schools as the New South Wales Government plans to cut funding to advocacy groups.

The plans to cut disability advocacy funding from June 2018 come after ABC's 7.30 program revealed that in the last two years there were 246 reported incidents of abuse or neglect to disabled students in NSW schools.

Andrew Taylor

A leading advocate for children with disabilities has accused the NSW government of failing to properly investigate allegations of child abuse.

David Roy, a lecturer in education at the University of Newcastle, said teachers feared losing their jobs if they report mistreatment, while abusers were protected.

Bianca Gurra

Running from one side of Australia to the other is a feat most of us would never even dream of attempting, but Dane Waites has done just that.

Mr Waites is an elite athlete who was born with autism spectrum disorder, and developed a passion for running as young child.

As is the case with many people living with autism, Mr Waites has also battled with depression throughout his life.

Tim Clarke

A YOUNG man with autism was targeted for murder by two woman who lured him to their home, stabbed and garotted him and then buried his body under a concrete slab and floor tiles in the back garden, a court has been told.

Jemma Victoria Lilley, 26, and Trudi Claire Lenon, 43, today went on trial for the murder of 18 year old Aaron Pajich who went missing from Rockingham in June last year.

WE all know them — the shy schoolboy who sits alone studying maths while the other kids frolic in the playground, the teen girl who simply will not stop talking despite the obvious signs of boredom from her friends, or the majestically gifted musician who fails to pass a single subject at school.

Chances are that if any of these people sought specialist help because they felt they were struggling to “be like everyone else”, they could be diagnosed with a degree of autism or Asperger’s syndrome.