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Secret NDIA business - no ABA for school students

By convenor |

A month ago, a NDIS planner in the ACT told a mother that the NDIA had "two publically available reports that the NDIS is using to avoid funding ABA therapies in kids aged 5 and above i.e. school-aged kids".  The NDIS planner told the mother:

  1. once kids reach school, the schools are meant to fund appropriate behavioural management plans (also occupational and speech therapy),
  2. as kids after school are too tired to have therapy, then these unnamed studies state that ABA therapy is no longer effective, and
  3. the NDIS would not fund ABA for kids at school. 

Autism: Beware of Potentially Dangerous Therapies and Products

By bobb |

One thing that is important to know about autism up front: There is no cure for autism. So, products or treatments claiming to “cure” autism do not work as claimed. The same is true of many products claiming to “treat” autism or autism-related symptoms. Some may carry significant health risks.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays an important role in warning these companies against making improper claims about their products’ intended use as a treatment or cure for autism or autism-related symptoms.

The Danish beermakers brewing up work for autistic people

By bobb |

With its collection of small vessels and hoses, plain tiled floor and bags of malt, the workplace of People Like Us in Skippinge, Denmark, is a typical brewing scene.

But for Rune Lindgreen, a 39-year-old with Asperger Syndrome, it is much more than that. Lindgreen was out of work for almost a decade before landing a job as a beer developer in this company run by autistic adults.

People Like Us was founded last year by brothers Lars and Jesper Carlsen, owners of LeVas, a provider of education and training for people with autism.

Mothers with autism: ‘I mothered my children in a very different way’

By bobb |

Women with autism are twice as likely to be undiagnosed as men. Amelia Hill speaks to four mothers who only recognised their own condition after researching their children’s behaviour

Amelia Hill

Being a girl or woman with autism is hard: it’s only in the past two to three years that many professionals have begun to recognise that the condition is not limited to boys and men. But what’s harder is to be a mother with autism – and harder than that, is to be a mother with autism, of children with autism.

Children on autism spectrum disorder 'cusp' missing out on early intervention, says child psychologist

By bobb |

A Naracoorte child psychologist says children on the cusp of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be missing out on vital early treatment because parents or educators may not realise a child needs specialist intervention.

"The earlier the detection, the better the outcome," said Lana-Joy Durik, one of only two psychologists who specialise in early childhood intervention operating in South Australia's south-east.

ASD advocates in the ACT call to register behavioural clinicians

By bobb |

Speaking Out for Autism Spectrum Disorder (SOfASD), a local ASD advocacy group in the ACT, wrote to the ACT Minister for Education raising concerns about the lack if discernible progress with getting registered/certified behavioural service and support for autistic students in ACT schools. SOfASD asked for a meeting but the Minister's response ignored their request.

The Dish Shines Blue for Autism

By bobb |

This week, the iconic Parkes Radio Telescope will join a host of significant buildings and landmarks across the world being lit up for 'Light It Up Blue For Autism'.

The Currajong Autism and Special Needs Group (Currajong Disability Services sub-committee), in conjunction with Parkes Shire Council, have worked with CSIRO to light up the local landmark to raise awareness about the condition as part of World Autism Awareness Month.

People with autism have the right to support under the NDIS

By bobb |

Simon Wardale

“If you walk into our home or Max’s classroom, you couldn’t pick him out as having autism. But then we’ve funded nearly 10 years of support – from speech and occupational therapy to psychology appointments. I can tell you now, he’d be a very different child if we hadn’t been in the position to do so.”

Adeane Tindall’s 13-year-old son, Max, was diagnosed with autism at the age of four, but it was an uphill struggle.

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