Autism groups have expressed shock and disappointment at reports the agency administering the National Disability Insurance Scheme is looking to cut the number of autistic people who are virtually guaranteed of qualifying for support.

Advocates said they believed the National Disability Insurance Agency was working on plans to rein in costs by changing the qualification criteria so that many people would have to be individually assessed to determine their need for support.

Emily Bourke

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There's growing uncertainty and disillusion within the autism community over the prospect of cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme which would limit support to those with autism.

Bureaucrats are reportedly working on a strategy to curb costs by tightening up the eligibility requirements after a blowout in the number families seeking NDIS support packages for people with autism.

Guidelines were incorrectly altered to remove direct eligibility for all but most severe autism

Christopher Knaus

The Turnbull government has accidentally published details of changes that would deny a huge number of autistic children direct access to the national disability insurance scheme, causing “outrage” among autism groups.

Dan Conifer

Sonya Ludlow is a strong woman. When you're bringing up seven children, resilience and thick skin are almost compulsory.

But the Adelaide mother was left feeling "absolutely awful" after a review of her seven-year-old son Samuel's funding National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan.

"[The NDIS representative] more or less said, 'by my sixth child I should know how to be a parent and how to look after my children'," Mrs Ludlow said.

Rick Morton

The $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme will face a ­series of test court cases relating to its imprecise eligibility criteria, with challenges expected to target conditions including autism, chronic fatigue and mental illness, legal ­experts say.

THE majority of Australians have heard of autism but less than a third actually feel confident interacting with and supporting autistic people and their families.

Ally Foster

“IF YOU’VE met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.”

This well-known quote by Dr Stephen Shore, internationally renowned for his research surrounding autism, shows that living with the condition can mean different things to different people.