Rachel Browne

Cheryl Paradella​ was only just keeping her head above water, managing a demanding full-time teaching job while caring for two children with multiple disabilities.

"It's like walking on eggshells, you just don't want to upset the applecart," she said.

"How do you try to keep the peace and lead a normal life, whatever normal is? I only managed because I had good support from respite services."

The mother of a boy with autism was left heartbroken after she claimed her son was disqualified from a swimming final because he “swam too fast”.

Rory Logan, 9, was competing in the Special Olympics regional finals in Bangor, north Wales, when he won the 50m race in 53.15 seconds.

The time was a personal best for the Irish boy who smashed his previous heat time of one minute and three seconds.

Henrietta Cook

For years, they were told nothing was wrong with their daughter.

Grace – or Poss as she is known – slept for only a few hours a night, refused to eat, struggled to follow instructions and took everything literally.

When a friend jokingly said "what are you going to do, hit me?", Poss responded with exactly that, striking her in the face. And when she was asked to hop to the dinner table, she bounded through the house on one foot. 

AAP

A jump in the number of children with autism has sparked concerns about whether the National Disability Insurance Scheme can keep up with the growing demand for support services.

Federal government data obtained by Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia shows the number of children with autism spectrum disorder rose 9.4 per cent to 78,951 in the year to June 30.

More than 6,000 children were diagnosed during the year, at an average rate of 16.5 each day.

Rick Morton

The number of children with ­autism has jumped almost 10 per cent in the past year alone, adding to a surge of diagnoses which have left families and government scrambling for answers.

Unpublished data from the ­Department of Social Services shows there are almost 80,000 children aged 15 and under with a primary disability of autism who qualify their parents for the Carer Allowance (child), with slightly more than 6000 diagnosed in the year to June.

But there appears to have been a marginal slowdown in the rate of increase, with diagnoses growing at an average 18.3 per cent a year between 2004 and 2011 but 10.9 per cent since 2011.

John Harris

Jon Adams was 52 when he learned he had Asperger syndrome. As adult referrals rise, he and others explain the impact – good and bad – of a late diagnosis

One day during his last year at primary school, Jon Adams drew a picture of a street in Portsmouth, the city where he still lives. The scene he drew had no people in it, but its representation of everything else suggested a talent beyond his years.

The aunt of Damien Ezzy says his family has been touched and moved by the community's efforts to find him after he was discovered safe and well on Saturday.

Australian Federal Police search and rescue patrols found Mr Ezzy, who has autism, near the side of Woodcock Drive, Gordon, about 9.30am after a woman reported seeing him near a pond.

Police said Mr Ezzy was found with another woman, who did not have a phone and decided to walk with him until she could get help because "he seemed vulnerable".

Stephen Jeffery​ 

The ACT government and the federal agency overseeing the National Disability Insurance Scheme rollout have resumed planning meetings to cope with increased demand.

Negotiations between the territory and Commonwealth over which government would provide more funding to participants beyond the initial target of 5075 stalled during caretaker mode prior to the ACT election.

Cathy O'Leary

Like any mother, Christina Holly wants her daughters to do their best at school.

The fact that 12-year-old Jasmine has autism does not change that but it means she needs extra help, and sometimes that is not possible in a regular classroom.

The Year 6 student struggles with literacy and numeracy, and that is when her teachers make the call she is better off in the nearby special education unit.