DOMANII CAMERON

A TOWNSVILLE doctor has denied asking a Condon mother to leave his practice with her young autistic son after the boy suffered a “meltdown”.

Samantha Akee visited My Family Doctors at Kirwan for an appointment yesterday with her six-year-old son Darius and her one-year-old daughter.

Ms Akee claimed she was asked to leave the practice after her son suffered the “meltdown”, due to his mental condition, because they were in an unfamiliar section of the surgery.

ONE of Allora's most inventive young students has been awarded with a trip to NASA and the title of National Winner in Origin's littleBIGidea competition.

 Jasmine Eldridge, 12, from Allora State School was named the national winner in the Year 7 - 8 category from more than 1000 entries received.

Jasmine's littleBIGidea entry, Dog of Technology (D.O.T), is designed as an aid to assist children like herself with autism.

Henrietta Cook

Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar has reached a confidential settlement with a 10-year-old autistic girl after allegedly refusing to enrol her because she didn't "suit" the school.

Up to 70% of autistic people experience mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, according to some research. Unfortunately, we still don’t know why autistic people are at a higher risk for mental health problems than non-autistic people. But one important factor is whether an individual’s autism is recognised and accepted by those around them.

A 27-year-old woman and an eight-year-old boy she was a carer for have died after being hit by a truck on the Pacific Motorway near Newcastle in New South Wales.

Police said the woman's car had stopped in a breakdown bay on the M1 at Cameron Park, near George Booth Drive, on Sunday evening.

"The driver got out of the vehicle and opened the side door," Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said.

"At that stage we believe an eight-year-old child has entered the roadway, followed by a 27-year-old carer.

Jemma Lilley’s fascination with serial killers goes back at least a decade to the crude online novel she wrote about murder when she was a 16-year-old living in her ­native Stamford, England.

Indeed, she had hoped to ­become a serial killer.

Lilley once boasted that she knew how to commit murder and get away with it.

She wanted to kill and the feeling was getting stronger. And when she finally lived out her fantasy with her obsequious housemate Trudi Lenon in June last year, Lilley gloated that police were too dumb to catch her.

Krystal Sellars

Ten years ago this month, a support group for families of people with autism spectrum disorders held its first meeting in Cessnock.

Since then, Strive for Autism has helped to provide support for such families, and raise much-needed awareness of the lifelong developmental condition that can affect communication, sensory perception, social interactions and behaviour.

Strive for Autism president Maxine Baird said the group’s meetings provide information and support, and a forum for families with questions and stories to share.

Laura Armitage

A MUM’S dream to get a better education for her son, who has autism, could see a new independent school set up in Lilydale.

Melissa Handbury has been working to open Lyrebird College for two years, and the idea grew after planning for the future of nine-year-old son Logan.

Ms Handbury said the process highlighted to her the need for more tailored teaching and therapy-based learning for children with autism, particularly at secondary-school level.

Mark Macluskie packed his belongings and left home for the first time to attend college this fall.

The winner of one of 20 coveted Flinn Scholarships, Mark has a full ride to study mechanical engineering with two minors in electrical engineering and mathematics at Arizona State University.

Mark is the consummate scholar: intelligent, charismatic, a whiz at math.