Early in 2015, without consulting or even informing stakeholders and before submissions for the NDIS ILC consultation were due, the Government removed documents and links to them from its websites. These documents contain information that is crucial for families who need to act quickly after their child is diagnosed with autism. Without access to these documents families can miss crucial advice about choosing appropriate early intervention. 

Since these documents are helpful for people affected by autism spectrum disorder, A4 makes them available for download from its website (see the links below).

The Government announced that it will continue the Helping Children with Autism (HCWA) package until the NDIS starts. John Howard created HCWA in 2007 and Bill Shorten implemented it. HCWA funds about 5% of the early intervention that the Government advised a child with autism needs.

Funding extensions for disability and carer programmes

13 March 2015

More than 10,000 participants have registered for a new, free online six-week course beginning in April, which has been designed by Swinburne University to provide practical help to families with a child on the autism spectrum. 

6 February 2015

Note: the editorial content below.

A new Alliance representing the interests and views of all people with disability will provide advice to the Australian Government on improving social and economic participation, and breaking down barriers.

Julia May, 7/2/2015

The Federal Government's cuts to the disability sector are a "catastrophic" blow and breach the United Nations convention on the rights of disabled people, advocacy groups and one of the architects of the convention says.

The new arrangement threatens eight peak bodies, with 200,000 members.

The former chairman of the United Nations committee representing people with disabilities has added his voice to the chorus of anger over the government's shake-up of the sector, challenging its claim it is in acting in accordance with the UN convention.

Data shoe that 49% of children with #autism wander/elope from safe settings. 

Families can download NAA's Big Red Safety Toolkit: http://nationalautismassociation.org/docs/BigRedSafetyToolkit.pdf

The webpage is: http://nationalautismassociation.org/re…

Media Release

Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (known as A4), the national peak body for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), wrote an open letter to Scott Morrison MP, the new Minister for Social Security. The letter gives essential information about ASD and the impact of Government policy for people living with ASD, and asks for a meeting to discuss ways to improve outcomes.

People with autism have difficulty getting a job. The letter below describes the experience of one person and his carer on reaching a point just 2 years after leaving school. 

This experience shows that the Commonwealth Government's Disability Employment Scheme (DES) is largely intractable. The Australian Bureau of Statistics describes its abysmal outcomes for people with autism/ASD (link here): 

In 2012, the labour force participation rate for people with autism was 42%. This compares with 53% labour force participation rate for people with disabilities and 83% for people without disabilities.

The 41.2% of people with autism in the labour market in 2012 experienced 23% unemployment (there is improvement since 2009 when labour force participation was just 34% and unemployment was 41%).

My friend is the mother of a child who is deaf and also has autism. She has been forced on to Newstart. My friend already works five days a week but with limited hours. Luckily she works at her son’s school but must be on call to deal with any adverse behaviors that might happen. Last week, as an example, her son head-butted a glass pane door of his classroom because he could not get in. It smashed and he cut his face all over. Said my friend, “ He was damn lucky not to have cut his eyes or a major blood vessel. Bled like a stuck pig. Added 20 years and too many grey hairs to count.”

...

At home she also has to deal with meltdowns. ...

My friend does not get carers payment from the Government because – “ I don’t provide constant care in the home because he goes to school” ...

AND to top this off, because she has been shafted to Newstart, she is expected to apply for ten jobs per week. This single mother who can be called from work at any time to care for her child, who has the sole care of a child who is both deaf and autistic, a child that has challenging behaviour at home and school that requires her constant vigilance, who also has the sole care of another child … This mother is expected to look for ten jobs per week! Why? Because the Government thinks she is a LEANER and somehow has the capacity to not only look for ten jobs a week but also work full time. As she so eloquently put it – “How f#*ked is that?”