Kathy Lette

A mother does many things for her son: running trays up to his bedroom for nothing more serious than a stubbed toe, detecting lost bits of sports kit, secretly completing overdue homework …

But should soliciting a prostitute be one of them? "So, how much to initiate my son sexually?" are just not the words a law-abiding, middle-aged mum ever expects to say to a working girl in thigh-high boots and leather hot-pants in the dead of night in a seedy backstreet. 

Madeleine Ryan

"Ah, the actress," the psychic said. "Yes, I am an actress," I replied. "Oh, no," she corrected. "You're a writer. But you're an actress in your day-to-day life. Always performing. No one really knows who you are. Not yet, anyway."

Eight years ago, at the time of that reading, I didn't know I was autistic. I had no idea that the way I experienced life was different from the way others did. Nor was I aware that, in order to cope, I had become exceptionally skilled at playing the role of someone else – to the point that I had even fooled myself.

With its collection of small vessels and hoses, plain tiled floor and bags of malt, the workplace of People Like Us in Skippinge, Denmark, is a typical brewing scene.

But for Rune Lindgreen, a 39-year-old with Asperger Syndrome, it is much more than that. Lindgreen was out of work for almost a decade before landing a job as a beer developer in this company run by autistic adults.

People Like Us was founded last year by brothers Lars and Jesper Carlsen, owners of LeVas, a provider of education and training for people with autism.

Women with autism are twice as likely to be undiagnosed as men. Amelia Hill speaks to four mothers who only recognised their own condition after researching their children’s behaviour

Amelia Hill

Being a girl or woman with autism is hard: it’s only in the past two to three years that many professionals have begun to recognise that the condition is not limited to boys and men. But what’s harder is to be a mother with autism – and harder than that, is to be a mother with autism, of children with autism.

A Naracoorte child psychologist says children on the cusp of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be missing out on vital early treatment because parents or educators may not realise a child needs specialist intervention.

"The earlier the detection, the better the outcome," said Lana-Joy Durik, one of only two psychologists who specialise in early childhood intervention operating in South Australia's south-east.

This week, the iconic Parkes Radio Telescope will join a host of significant buildings and landmarks across the world being lit up for 'Light It Up Blue For Autism'.

The Currajong Autism and Special Needs Group (Currajong Disability Services sub-committee), in conjunction with Parkes Shire Council, have worked with CSIRO to light up the local landmark to raise awareness about the condition as part of World Autism Awareness Month.

Simon Wardale

“If you walk into our home or Max’s classroom, you couldn’t pick him out as having autism. But then we’ve funded nearly 10 years of support – from speech and occupational therapy to psychology appointments. I can tell you now, he’d be a very different child if we hadn’t been in the position to do so.”

Adeane Tindall’s 13-year-old son, Max, was diagnosed with autism at the age of four, but it was an uphill struggle.

Miki Perkins

​First, it was the clothes Ella's parents noticed. The little girl would tell her parents nothing fitted quite right; she wanted her shoes and clothes to feel "tighter".

For her birthday, the six-year-old asked for Barbie dolls, and pink, sparkly clothing she'd noticed other girls wearing. But the dolls were left in the drawer, and the clothes went unworn. What was going on?  

Our community's success with self advocacy raises new issues for all

April is Autism Month, which means many things to the ten-plus million people who make up our community in America.  For some, it’s Autism Awareness.  For others, it’s Autism Acceptance.  And there are those who wish for Autism Cure.   We have yet to agree on what we want, or what to stand for, and that holds us back in terms of advocacy.  We also don’t agree when it comes to who’s part of our community.