Show news for a region of your choice (mostly Austraian news).

School exclusion ‘linked to long-term mental health problems’ – study

By bobb |

Jamie Doward

Research shows that exclusions can amplify pupils’ psychological distress and encourage behaviour it intends to punish.

Excluding children from school may lead to long-term psychiatric problems and psychological distress, a major new study has shown.

The research by the University of Exeter also finds that poor mental health can lead to school exclusion.

Disabled victims of abuse in school ‘failed’ by education department

By bobb |

NSW schools are failing to report horrific cases of abuse against disabled and special needs students, as a parliamentary inquiry yesterday heard the state had “failed these kids”.

One advocacy group has called for a royal commission following the revelation of several shocking alleged incidents­ in which children were tied to chairs by their ankles, locked in cupboards or beaten with sticks by their teachers.

NSW schools using restraints and isolation against guidelines, Ombudsman finds

By bobb |

Pallavi Singhal

A primary school student with autism was restrained by teachers and locked in a time-out room for more than an hour, during which time the student wrapped an electrical cord around their neck, a NSW Ombudsman's report reveals.

A teacher standing outside the room ignored the student during the isolation, despite instructions that the student was not to be restrained and was to be checked on after three minutes if placed in time-out.

Australia's first Men's Shed for dads with children with autism opens in Brisbane

By bobb |

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.

Canberra teens who threatened, attempted to rob autistic boy get good behaviour orders

By bobb |

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.

I sent my autistic son to Africa to boost his independence and it worked

By bobb |

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.

Friends rally to help family living with autistic children

By bobb |

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.

Internships to help autistic students to explore talents

By bobb |

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.