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Cuts to NDIS cuts will harm Australian economy: National Disability Services report

By bobb |

Dan Jervis-Bardy

Cutting funding to the NDIS would have serious implications for the wider Australian economy, with women the hardest hit, according to new research which casts fresh doubt over claims the scheme is unsustainable.

Peak body National Disability Services has published the analysis as it launches a new campaign urging candidates to reject cuts to the scheme ahead of the next federal election.

NDIS providers used unauthorised restraints on clients over a million times in 12 months

By bobb |

Luke Henriques-Gomes

Exclusive: Carers use of methods such as sedating or strapping a person down more than doubles in a year

National disability insurance scheme providers used unauthorised restraints on clients – such as sedating or strapping down a person, or depriving them of their personal belongings – more than one million times in 2020-21.

For adults and children on the autism spectrum, getting a COVID-19 vaccine is easier said than done

By bobb |

Neryssa Azlan

Peta Rostirola received her COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccine site and thought the whole process was smooth and easy.

But when her 13-year-old son, Pablo, became eligible for the vaccine, she knew it would be a different story altogether.

Pablo is on the autism spectrum, and while experiences may vary, people on the spectrum may deal with sensory issues if they visit a new or crowded place.

Submission to DSS on Draft NDIS legislation - 2021/10/22

By convenor |

A4's brief and somewhat rushed submission on proposed changes to the NDIS legislation is available below.

The government gave the disability sector insufficient time to respond to its proposed changes. Parts of the disability sector have received legal advice that the limited time allowed is disability discrimination. It certainly shows that the government's aim to build trust (following the Independent Assessments debacle) and to work with the sector is insubstantial.

More than 50 per cent of kids with mental health issues aren't getting any help. Here's how the government plans to fix that

By bobb |

Stephanie Dalzell

Half of Australian kids with mental illness aren't getting timely professional help and less than a third of parents used services to help their struggling child, according to official government figures.

The figures are startling, especially given half of all adults with mental illness begin experiencing symptoms at a young age.

A new government strategy aims to address that, to fix a system bogged down by lengthy wait lists, and high out-of-pocket costs.

Victorian mother struggling to get son with severe autism vaccinated against COVID-19 ahead of state reopening

By bobb |

Neelima Choahan

When Victoria opens up later this month, Janine Terry is scared her only son will be locked up at home forever. 

For the past five months, the 62-year-old has been desperate trying to get him vaccinated. 

Tim, 39, has severe autism, osteoporosis and epilepsy. He is also terrified of needles. 

"In May … I asked our family doctor about Tim being vaccinated," Ms Terry said.

ABC: debate over controversial treatment for autism

By convenor |

The report at https://www.abc.net.au/radio/adelaide/programs/worldtoday/debate-over-controversial-treatment-for-autism/13532176 is one-sided. It fails to speak to qualified or registered clinicians in Applied Behaviour Analysis. It is well known that any early intervention approach for autism does not suit all autistic children, but getting views from clinicians on one side of the debate is biased. 

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