Nick Boisvert

Ontario-wide study also found that people with autism are more likely to interact with police

People with Autism Spectrum Disorder are more likely to have adverse, agitating interactions with police, according to a new study released by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

In an 18-month study involving 284 young people and adults with autism in Ontario, 16 per cent reported having an interaction with police — a number far higher than the general population, according to researchers.

The operator of a private school for children with autism is being sued by a Newcastle family that alleges their autistic son was locked by teachers in a structure akin to a cage.

The family alleges the boy was put in a lockable fenced structure he called a cage at an Aspect-run school in Sydney in 2012.

The family has since relocated to the Hunter Valley and is seeking damages from Aspect in the Newcastle District Court.

The family has alleged negligence, assault and wrongful imprisonment.

Hayden Johnson

It will be some time before the National Disability Insurance Scheme fully services the needs of Tasmanians living with a disability, the chief executive of Autism Tasmania has declared.

The comments of Terry Burke, head of the state’s peak not-for-profit group for people living with autism, come one day after it was revealed a Giant Steps’ program would close.

Annah Fromberg

Laura Ferris was just six when she moved from interstate to attend Tasmania's Giant Steps school which had a growing reputation for its work with autism disorder.

The not-for-profit independent school was founded in 1995 by a group of dedicated parents and local community supporters who were committed to ensuring specialised education for children on the autism spectrum.

SARAH DEWEERDT

Having autism as a parent might seem impossibly challenging. But a generation of parents with the condition is showing that it can be an advantage — even when their child does not share the diagnosis.

For most of his schooling, Jack* has been locked away from his classmates.

The 15-year-old is confined to his own portable classroom, which opens onto a fenced-off playground.

Meltdowns are only a concern if they persist beyond two-and-a-half years in a child. Photo: Mark Piovesan

The fence has been covered in sheets of plastic, which means Jack – who is autistic, non-verbal and has an intellectual disability – can't see out. It also means no one can look in.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) stopped processing thousands of applications from service providers, critical staff were untrained and properties were not ready when the scheme's nationwide rollout began, documents have revealed.

A much-publicised IT meltdown saw people with disabilities wait weeks for their care packages to be approved while payments to providers froze.

The mother of an autistic teenager who is being held in an adult mental health ward at the Launceston Hospital since March says he has been held with adults at times and that health staff has suggested he could be moved into youth detention.



The parents sought help for the child who was self-harming and the state government is now modifying a group home so that the teenager can he held in care. 

from http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2016/s…

A mother from the Ballarat suburb of Delacombe says National Disability Insurance Scheme planners refused to assess her daughter’s needs in person, citing lack of funds.

Gayle Bird, whose 23-year-old daughter Tori has the mental age of a three to five year-old-child, said planners insisted only her daughter could answer questions about her disability.

Her claims run counter to National Insurance Agency policy which entitles all clients to face-to-face meetings.