Tucked away on Brisbane's southside, a group of small sheds is giving men with children on the autism spectrum a place to meet, socialise and support each other.

South Brisbane Men's Shed is the first in Australia to have a special interest group for dads, brothers, uncles and grandfathers of children with autism.

In partnership with the Department of Education and Training Autism Hub, the shed allows men to get together once a week to gain information, but also to relax around people experiencing similar circumstances at home.

Elizabeth Byrne

Two Canberra teenagers are free on good behaviour orders after using a toy gun to try to rob a boy who has autism earlier this year.

During the attack in May the 17-year-olds pushed the boy up against a wall outside a Canberra supermarket using the gun to demand he hand over his wallet.

The pair fled empty-handed when the boy refused to cooperate.

Benison O'Reilly

When my autistic son Sam was 14 I decided to send him to Africa. The objective of the journey was to take Sam out of his comfort zone and expose him to new experiences in the hope this would provide a boost to his communication and life skills and give him a shot in the arm of independence. His dad went with him.

David Trembath

Last night’s ABC Australian Story episode featuring Sam and James Best’s journey through Africa illustrates the lengths parents will go to in supporting their children on the autism spectrum to reach their full potential.

Kristy is the mother of two boys on the autism spectrum.  Kristy came to RIAC in October 2016 for assistance with her son Jackson’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan and the lack of funded supports provided to him. The NDIS had denied essential funding for Jackson (2years old) to attend Applied Behaviour Analysis therapy (ABA). This therapy was costing the family $75,000; the family had raised this money through spending a lot of their time fundraising.

People on the autism spectrum may be an undervalued resource who get overlooked in the competitive jobs market but they also could be the key to filling unmet demand in vital sectors, including information technology and science-related positions.

Researchers in the US have found that people with autism may have above average systemising skills and naturally gravitate towards jobs in science and technology.

Fabienne Cazalis, École des Hautes Études en sciences sociales (EHESS)

A single mother has called for a re-think of the National Disability Insurance Scheme after she was left without enough support to properly care for her severely disabled son.

Tammie Lansley, a volunteer firefighter from Sydney's west, has struggled every day for the past decade to care for her son Nathan Brincat.

Nathan, 13, has the mind and body of a toddler because of a debilitating genetic condition called mitochondrial disease.

Tammie fears she may have to see Nathan institutionalised.

Ryan Tennison, Shannon Deery

UPDATE: AN autistic teen missing for almost a week has been located safe and well.

Harrison Street, 16, hadn’t been seen since July 10 until he was located by police about 2.30pm today.

His brother Bryce, who was last seen on July 13 and who also has autism, remains missing.

But it is believed the 15-year-old, who has been missing since Thursday, was with his brother today and is safe.

Police launched a public appeal for assistance to help locate the two Sunbury teens.

MICK GRIMLEY

The prevalence of autism is rising and, increasingly, mental health conditions are affecting school-age children. Add to these statistics social disadvantage and specific learning differences to see today’s classroom is diverse, complex and challenging.