by Andrew Whitehouse

From the moment a child is diagnosed with autism, their family enters the unknown. Conference halls are lined with salespeople, letterboxes are stuffed with pamphlets, and life is transformed into a whirlwind tour of a fantastical array of therapies and potions that are positioned as the “cure all” for their child’s difficulties.

Children with disabilities are frequently discriminated against in Australian schools. It’s an issue that has been ongoing for years, with reports showing that little has improved since 2002.

As children go back to school this week, an advocacy group is calling on education providers to be mindful of the lasting effects of bullying, particularly for children with autism.

In Australia, children with disabilities only receive additional government funding if they fall into a recognised disability category. As a result, schools and parents often come under pressure to obtain the “right” diagnosis for their child. Such misdiagnosis carries a hidden cost.

Donald Grey Triplett was the first person to be diagnosed with autism. The fulfilling life he has led offers an important lesson for today, John Donvan and Caren Zucker write.

After Rain Man, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, the next great autism portrayal the stage or screen might want to consider taking on is the life of one Donald Grey Triplett, an 82-year-old man living today in a small town in the southern United States, who was there at the very beginning, when the story of autism began.

The autistic brain is a beautiful mess. There are more synapses in this lump of grey matter than in an ordinary brain. It’s these connections between the brain’s neurons — which regulate signals — that orchestrate the overwhelming sensitivity to outside stimuli.

Noises are louder, smells are stronger, touch is more invasive, light is brighter. For the autistic person, there is a pervasive intensity to the experience of the world around them that makes living in it that much more difficult.

Brisbane oncologist James Morton — an authority on early intervention — told The Weekend Australian there is a “very real risk” the agency responsible for the NDIS will leave itself open to litigation if it can’t settle the parameters of early intervention.

“The academics and the funding providers need to sit down and do a workshop and fix this,” he said.

Imagine a childhood without birthday parties invitations; no costumes, giddy sugar highs, warp-speed present unwrapping or hysterical camaraderie.

Sadly, for children with autism, invitations can be few and far between.

They have so much to offer; they are loyal, inspiring and positive. It's just harder to get to know them. 

Katie Koullas

It was during her daughter's first year at school that Katie Koullas​ came to the heartbreaking realisation her daughter Mia, now six  was not being invited to parties.

PAEDIATRICIANS don’t necessarily follow guidelines for diagnosing autism, a lapse which may underpin Australia’s galloping increase in the disorder, an Australian study suggests. 

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most common diagnoses made by paediatricians after ADHD and specific learning disorders, researchers say.

But their study confirms not all of the physicians adhere to diagnostic recommendations for autism more than 50% of the time.