Brighton resident Dennis Crowley is the chief executive of BioAutism, and is researching autism. Picture: Valeriu Campan Source: News Limited
A RETIRED Brighton scientist is leading the charge to unlock the mystery of autism — and is calling for volunteers to help him in his quest.
The equivalent of 7 per cent of Australia's workforce claims a disability pension — more than double the population of the capital Canberra — and the government needs more recipients to work to rein in a A$138 billion social-security bill it says is unsustainable.
By Angus Whitley
Allen Rankin says living on Australian welfare payments designed to help him survive his mental disability instead left him contemplating suicide.
A recent media release (see http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0327-autism-spectrum-disorder.h… ) says
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 68 children (or 14.7 per 1,000 eight-year-olds) in multiple communities in the United States has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This new estimate is roughly 30 percent higher than previous estimates reported in 2012 of 1 in 88 children (11.3 per 1,000 eight year olds) being identified with an autism spectrum disorder. The number of children identified with ASD ranged from 1 in 175 children in Alabama to 1 in 45 children in New Jersey.
Note that recent (2012) Australian data on the prevalence of ASD shows 1 in 62 children in this country have a diagnosis ... see http://a4.org.au/a4/node/695 and http://a4.org.au/a4/node/622 There is nothing to celebrate in rising autism rates because people who are properly diagnosed with autism have significant disability that "requires support".
By Rebecca Quilliam
The recent case of a 14-year-old with Asperger's syndrome excluded from his school has highlighted that teachers are not being taught how to deal with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
An Auckland mother says her daughter, who has autism, will stay in her special needs school until teachers receive that training.
Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes has slammed suggestions the disability support pension is being rorted. Photo: Wolter Peeters
Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes has hit back at the idea that there are too many people on the disability support pension, slamming claims that the system is being rorted as "completely unhelpful".
The NZ High Court "found that Green Bay High School in Auckland was not justified in excluding a student with Asperger's syndrome, following a row he had with a teacher." [see article]. This may not be over yet.
I am not a lawyer and I do not know NZ law. I know that under international law, paragraph 3 in Article 23 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRoC) says every child has a right to "education, training, health care services, rehabilitation services [and] preparation for employment" ... and that "the state" is ultimately responsible for ensuring this happens. Specifically, in relation to children with a disability, the CRoC says ...
... assistance ... shall be provided free of charge ... and shall be designed to ensure that the disabled child has effective access to and receives education, training, health care services, rehabilitation services, preparation for employment and recreation opportunities in a manner conducive to the child's achieving the fullest possible social integration and individual development ...
