By Richard Hooper Face the Facts, BBC Radio 4

Children with autism are "falling prey to untested approaches" to the disorder, a leading charity has said.

The National Autistic Society said therapies with no supporting evidence were being sold to parents.

The warning comes after a BBC investigation found the use of dietary supplements and biomedical therapies being widely touted as a treatment.

There is no cure for autism and current best practice involves the use of behavioural and educational therapies.

BBC Radio 4's Face the Facts programme found that treatments, for which medicines regulator NICE says there is no clinical evidence, are readily available in the UK including:

Autism doesn't go away when you turn 18, and with scant services available, these adults often struggle most when it comes to finding a foothold in the workplace.

Relying heavily upon the expert testimony of a noted behavior analyst in the context of a hearing held in the federal district court under the Hague Convention, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has held that, despite a father’s wishes in an international custody dispute, a young boy with “severe” autism may remain in the United States with his mother and his brother so that he might continue to receive ABA therapy and thus avoid the “grave risk of harm” that he would face if he were to return to Italy, a country where such services are not readily available.

By Charlotte King

A study has been released suggesting the pressures being faced by regional and rural families caring for a child with autism are greater than those in metropolitan areas. 

Carers and their families are fundamental to the quality of life for people living with autism, yet the far-reaching impact of this job can be overlooked.

Amid a flurry of activity, AMAZE managed to get some media cover of the arrival of its new CEO, Ms Fiona Sharkie.

Total cost of treatment, care and support is more then heart disease, cancer and strokes combined

• London School of Economics and Political Science revealed high costs
• An estimated 600,000 children and adults in the UK are said to be affected
• Quarter of sufferers unable to talk, and 85 per cent do not work full time

By JENNY HOPE

When a family friend’s son was diagnosed with autism Professor Andrew Whitehouse offered them respite but it left him a changed man. 

“It changed my life,” he says. “I saw the family’s realisation that their child was developing differently to other kids, the difficulty they had in obtaining a diagnosis, their endless fight to receive the proper services, and the enduring love they had for their child.”

YASMINE PHILLIPS Education Reporter PerthNow July 06, 2014

Silvana Gaglia with her son Julian, 17, at Autism WA. She is pushing for an autism-specific school in WA.

Silvana Gaglia with her son Julian, 17, at Autism WA. She is pushing for an autism-specific school in WA.

TEACHERS are struggling to care for the skyrocketing number of students with autism while also looking after “30 other eager minds” in their classrooms.

The number of students attending public schools that are being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder has doubled in the past five years to more than 3200 — up from 1600 in 2009.

Yet, WA is the only major state without an autism-specific school.

The Education Department insists mainstream schools are the “best way for students with autism to reach their potential”.

But teachers on the frontline told The Sunday Times this week that schools are not adequately equipped to deal with autistic students, of whom “no two are alike”.

Telethon Kids Institute head of autism research Andrew Whitehouse said WA was the only major state in Australia not to have an autism-specific school.