Australian dad begs to have his son returned after child agencies put him in a home when they mistook his autism for signs of abuse

By bobb |

Tita Smith

An Australian dad is pleading for help after his son was taken by child protection services because his autism was mistaken as a sign of psychological abuse.  

Conrad and Katya den Hertog lost their son Martin, now seven, to Dutch authorities during a night-time raid of their home in Amsterdam in February 2018.  

Increase Disability Support Pension now to deal with COVID-19

By bobb |
a jumble of logos from national disability peak bodies

Media Release

People with disability who receive the Disability Support Pension (DSP) urgently need access to the increased Coronavirus Supplement of $550 per fortnight, consistent with the Jobseeker Payment and other payments recently announced.

People with disability who are in receipt of DSP are experiencing and facing additional, unforeseen costs in this time of crisis, which is causing significant levels of distress and anxiety, and only serving to further entrench DSP recipients into poverty.

Report: We look after our own mob

By bobb |

World first research report on Australia's First Peoples experiences of autism

Positive Partnerships is proud to have collaborated with Macquarie University on a new research report titled 'We Look After Our Own Mob: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Experiences of Autism'. On Tuesday 18th February this report was launched at the State Library of New South Wales by the Honourable Linda Burney MP, NSW Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians.

Submission to Disability Royal Commission on Education of autistic students

By convenor |

On 3/2/2020, A4 sent its belated submission responding to the Disability Royal Commission's (DRC) Issues Paper on Education of students with disability. The submission was due in December, but A4 has limited resources to do this type of work. Hopefully, the DRC will consider A4's submission.

The submission makes the following suggestions to the Royal Commission.

NDIA FoI response: "the NDIS does not fund ABA"

By convenor |

The NDIS responded to A4's FoI request (20/12/2019). The two document can be downloaded from the links below.

A4 had some follow up correspondence with the NDIA about the NDIA's response to A4's email to the Ministers. That correspondence is available at http://a4.org.au/node/1588 and http://a4.org.au/node/1654. The NDIA omits this correspondence from its FoI documents below.

Netflix show Atypical and Rain Man don't tell the real story of living with autism

By bobb |

Australian society seems to be afraid of telling stories about people with disabilities that show the truth of what it really is: difficult, challenging, exhausting and sometimes painful.

Authentic representation matters and when creators, writers and the TV networks get these stories wrong, it distorts how society views people with a disability.

Autism and Bushfire Emergencies

By bobb |

Bushfire season is a stressful time for all of us, including children on the autism spectrum. Children on the autism spectrum can sense that adults around them are anxious, fearful and overwhelmed. Additionally, their anxiety increases as their routines, schedules and living situations are disrupted during the fires.

We would like to offer some suggestions for you to help your child adjust to the changes and the stresses related to the fires.

Children with autism in WA 'languishing' in mental health wards, youth advocates say

By bobb |

Rhiannon Shine

Children with autism are languishing in mental health wards for "months", leaving others stuck on emergency departments for days waiting for an admission, according to Western Australia's chief mental health advocate.

Key points:

  • Ms Colvin has written to the State Government calling for urgent action
  • She says one child had to wait up to five days to access urgent mental health care
  • The Government says hospital discharge delays are due to the transition to the NDIS

Australians with autism are getting support to start their own businesses

By bobb |

Sandra Fulloon

Many people with autism have never held a paid job, but at an innovative program is helping some young entrepreneurs break the cycle.

Of the 250,000 Australians diagnosed with autism, fewer than half have ever held paid work, despite having the skills and qualifications.

That was the finding of a new study commissioned by autism body AMAZE.

Of those who do gain work, more than 20 per cent say they have lost a job due to their symptoms.

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