The autism/ASD advocacy group, Speaking Out for Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Australian Capital Territory (SOfASD ACT) wrote to ACT political candidates asking about their policies and plans for people affected by autism. There is an election in the ACT in October and the group feels the ASD community in the ACT need to know what prospective governments plan to do to improve outcomes for people with ASD and their associates.

SOfASD asked specific questions about policy and plans for:

• diagnosis
• early intervention
• school age: education and other needs

Sandy Guy
July 2, 2012

Opinion

LAST Tuesday I received a phone call from a former Yooralla regional manager. She said police were going to the home of my 31-year-old son, who is severely disabled, to interview him and the other five residents of the house, which is run by Yooralla.

Stunned, I asked her what was going on. She replied that a Yooralla casual carer was in police custody charged with alleged abuse. I asked her when the police were going to my son's house. She said they were already there.

June 11, 2012 in Autism spectrum disorders

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) require an array of specialized health care services. With these services come higher costs for parents and insurance providers. University of Missouri researchers compared costs and types of services for children with ASD to costs and services for children with other conditions like asthma or diabetes. The researchers found children with ASD paid more for health care than children with other conditions. In addition, children with ASD used more services yet had less access to specialized care.

Farah Farouque
June 25, 2012

The UN report noted that indigenous children were significantly overrepresented in the criminal justice and child protection systems.

The UN report noted that indigenous children were significantly overrepresented in the criminal justice and child protection systems. Photo: Angela Wylie

A UNITED Nations committee has pulled up Australia on the status of its children, citing concerns from ''serious and widespread'' racial discrimination faced by indigenous youth to inadequate numbers of newborns being breastfed by their mothers.

Justine Ferrari, National education correspondent
From: The Australian
June 18, 2012

SUSPENDING students from school for bad behaviour is counterproductive, with students who have been suspended twice as likely to be excluded again in the next 12 months.

Research by Australian Catholic University professor Sheryl Hemphill found about 6 per cent of students in Years 6-8 have been suspended, rising to 12 per cent of Year 10 students.

Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (A4) provided a submission on the Draft National Standards for Disability Services. It says ...

The current National Standards for Disability Services (NSDS) came into effect in 1993. These Standards govern existing disability services nationally. Experience from the existing NSDS teaches crucial lessons.

The annual reports of government departments responsible for existing services and of government-funded service providers proclaim proudly their success, efficiency and compliance with these Standards.

A court case is running in Victoria (see http://a4.org.au/a4/node/481) about education for a child with a disability. So far the department has said that the reason for the young man’s failure to learn is that, he ate too many donuts.

An expert witness for the Education Department told the court said standardised assessments are not as good as unwritten teacher observations because, teachers have a special gift.

The department lawyers and their expert witness said that people with an intellectual disability don’t learn, so no matter what you do with them they don’t improve.

TrackingCentral Pty. Ltd, a Brisbane based company supplies a miniature GPS Personal Location device called CareTracker which is used by carers or family members to locate a loved one in the event they wander off or become lost.

The CareTracker is the size of a match box and can be carried in a pocket or backpack or else securely attached to the wrist / ankle or clothing. The CareTracker has a battery life of up to 20 days.

Beau Abela. Photo: Craig Abraham

Maris Beck, May 1, 2012

A TEENAGER is suing the Education Department in Victoria because he cannot read, write or count properly, saying he was silenced with medication and teachers blamed his inability to learn on eating doughnuts.

Beau Abela, now 18, claims he was victimised and discriminated against because of his complex learning disability.

Barrister David Hancock told the Federal Court in Melbourne that his client, Beau, did not have the literacy or numeracy skills to get a job. “Instead he sits at home wondering what to do with his life.”

Mr Hancock said that the department had blamed Beau, his family, “even his diet” and had not provided enough help. Mr Hancock contrasted reports from prep and early school years describing Beau as happy, responsible and friendly with later reports of aggression and disengagement. “The longer Beau has been at school, the more his intellectual functioning has actually declined.”

He told the court, presided over by Justice Richard Tracey, that Beau had passed through the system even though he had failed to meet the required academic levels, and despite his father’s repeated concerns.