Deborah Brauser

January 25, 2012 — Concerns that proposed changes to autism criteria in the upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) will exclude many individuals from diagnosis and treatment are unfounded, says the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

NOT so long ago Ricky Stuart was in McDonald's with his daughter, who is 14, waiting for her to finish her thickshake. It was time to go and even though she still had a little of the shake left, he told her it was time and got up to leave, and this is where life takes a left-hand turn.

Emma Stuart was nowhere near ready to go so, in protest, she picked up her shake and threw it all over her dad. Imagine the looks the people gave. Milk everywhere, the daughter of a high-profile footballer who is now a high-profile coach.

By Ursula Skjonnemand

An autism advocate has defended a mum who advertised her a child's disability on a T-shirt.

A newspaper photograph showing a boy in a T-shirt reading 'Don't judge, I have autism' has prompted letters to the editor criticising the mother for labelling her child.

ABC 612's Stacey Milner asked the founder of the AEIOU austism centres, Dr James Morton, is it a good idea to let people know your child has a condition that might affect their behaviour?

Dr Morton says he fully supports the mother's actions.

It seems the first report on the National Disability Strategy is out. It's the report that purports to 'lay the groundwork' for the Strategy, which covers every area of the lives of people with disability, from education to employment, justice and economic security.

The peaks - ONLY the peaks - have been charged with consulting with PwD and their families over the Christmas break - until Jan 30 - but the first report is 'highly confidential' because it is a 'living document' blah blah.

MEETING Santa Claus for the first time was meant to be a jolly experience for Cameron Sleeth, 6.

But the excitement of meeting St Nicholas turned into a nightmare his mother wishes she could forget.

Tammy Sleeth said her two sons, Cameron, who has Asperger's syndrome, and Liam, 7, who has autism, were thrilled to have the chance to hear Santa say "ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas" and tell him what presents they hoped for this year.

BY EMMA MACDONALD, 07 Dec, 2011 04:00 AM

Opposition disabilities spokesman Mitch Fifield yesterday abandoned his "bipartisan" support of the Government's National Disability Insurance Scheme to warn that Labor rhetoric is far outweighing its financial commitment to the policy.

Disabilities Minister Jenny Macklin yesterday visited the Pegasus Farm - a horse riding school in Holt for children with disabilities - after Labor adopted the National Disability Insurance Scheme into its party platform at its national conference last weekend.

BY STEPHANIE ANDERSON
05 Dec, 2011 04:00 AM

A severely disabled Canberra woman has been left without any means of communicating after thieves stole specialised equipment worth thousands of dollars last month.

Twenty-one-year-old Perrin Tucker was at a medical appointment with her mother Katrina when thieves broke into their Flynn home, causing thousands of dollars' worth of damage and taking everything electronic in sight.

"The laptop is gone, all our computing equipment is gone," Mrs Tucker said. "They even opened Christmas cards looking for money."

Scientists are testing the theory that intelligent parents are fuelling the rise in the number of autistic children.

A team of researchers at Cambridge University is exploring the link between high-achieving parents, such as engineers, scientists and computer programmers, and the development of their children.

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at the university, said there were signs that adults who work in science and maths-based jobs were more likely to have autistic children.

PricewaterhouseCoopers released Disability expectations; Investing in a better life, a stronger Australia; a report on disability (see http://www.pwc.com.au/industry/government/publications/disability-in-au…) and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It says Australia does especially poorly on disability issues when compared with other OECD countries ...