Perry Duffin

The death of a young woman in the bathroom of a Sydney group home shouldn't be seen as an isolated event and will be one of a number of cases submitted to a royal commission by a leading autism advocacy group.

Merna Aprem was weeks from her 21st birthday when she slipped below the water of her bath at a group home in Sydney's west last week. She couldn't be revived.

Her devastated mother, Tanya Petrus, is demanding to know how her daughter - who had epilepsy and autism - could have been left alone to die.

Perry Duffin

The invitations for Merna Aprem's 21st have been sent out but, instead of celebrating a milestone birthday, the avid Star Wars fan will next week be laid to rest in her party dress.

The autistic and epileptic 20-year-old had lived at a group home in Sydney's west for a few months when she slipped below the water in the bathtub and drowned last Thursday, her mother Tanya Petrus told AAP.

"She'd written all her birthday invitations," the grieving mother said through tears.

Comedian and TV presenter Tom Gleisner has been making us laugh for years… but behind the scenes, he’s passionate about helping kids with autism reach their potential.

Gold Logie winner Waleed Aly, who rarely speaks publicly about his family, has shared a very personal story about his son.

Waleed Aly has opened up about his son’s autism diagnosis, describing the moment he and his wife found out as a relief.

Discussing a segment about comedian Tom Gleisner’s work with Learning For Life Autism Centre, Aly spoke about how finding out his son Zayd had autism “opened up doors”.

“I know when we got our diagnosis for our son we actually had the opposite reaction to the guy in the package,” Aly said on Monday night.

The mother of a severely disabled teenager who died at an Adelaide care facility after swallowing a latex glove has told a coronial inquest she had warned carers that her daughter was at risk of putting things in her mouth.