A key support service for more than 2000 people affected by autism and Asperger's syndrome has been saved by a last-minute merger after funding changes sparked by the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme cast doubt over its future.

Autism Asperger ACT services are to be folded into a specialised autism unit run by Canberra-based organisation Marymead under a move hoped to bolster support for children and families. 

Children with disabilities could face new risks under the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), a national inquiry has been told.

Gail Furness, SC, counsel assisting the royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse, said greater choice and control under the NDIS, which is being rolled out across the nation, means "the ways in which children with disability are protected in institutions will need to deal with the risks".

PEOPLE with lived experience of autism are driving a new advocacy organisation that has launched in Bendigo.

The Bendigo Autistic Advocacy and Support Service has set up shop in Wills Street, along with disability support provider Distinctive Options.

“This is amazing. We have an amazing network of families and autistic people in this town, and finally we’ve got a place to call home,” founder Beck Kelly said.

Alison M Marchbank, Charles Darwin University

Incoming Queensland Senator Pauline Hanson says parents should think twice before vaccinating their children.

The One Nation leader says public vaccination programs may be to blame for the rising rates of autism and cancer and says the government has failed to screen immigrants posing a threat to public health.

Proponents of the anti-vaccination theories who share unscientific misinformation about the safety of vaccinations online and have long spruiked the discredited link between vaccination and autism.

They say a mother's love knows no bounds and soon Queensland's first school for autistic children will open its doors and it’s all thanks to a Brisbane mum's battle for her son.

Cindy Corrie realised that her beloved son Sam reacted differently, even at a tender age, so when he was eventually diagnosed with autism she wasn’t surprised.

"We had a kid who, you know, was really, really special, he looked at the world differently, he has amazing skills," the proud mother told 7 News.