Phew! Indian Catholic priest who claims parents' sins cause autism in children cancels Australia tour

By bobb |

An Indian Catholic priest who claims to have "cured" autism through prayer and compared autistic children to "animals", has cancelled a planned series of religious retreats in Australia.

Key points:

  • Father Dominic Valanmanal was due to hold a sold-out retreat on Phillip Island and another in Canberra
  • The Indian Catholic community in Australia hails largely from the Indian state of Kerala, where Father Valanmanal is based
  • A campaign to stop his visit was backed by Autism support groups

Father Dominic Valanmanal was recently forced to cancel similar events in Ireland and Canada, after a video clip appeared online showing him preaching that autism in children was caused by the vice of their parents.

Report highlights deep-rooted inequality in NDIS

By bobb |

This article relates to people with disability generally; it is not specific to ASD.

Shannon Jenkins

Males and people with higher incomes are more likely to benefit from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) than other demographic groups are, according to a new report.

The article by BMC Public Health, a journal which looks at the community impact of health policy and practice, studied how social determinants of health at the individual level can contribute to deep-seated health inequalities when combined with complex policy-delivery systems.

It found the ability to exercise choice is distributed unequally through personalisation schemes like the NDIS.

Autism, a neurotype not an insult

By bobb |

Sandra Jones

A decade ago I was participating in a research seminar at an Australian university and one of the academics responded to a presentation about autism with the comment “all academics are a little bit autistic”.

Recently, I was speaking to a colleague about a someone from another university that she found hard to deal with. My colleague told me of the trouble she was having and finished up with “you know how he is … a bit on the spectrum”.

Why We All Need to Stop Referring to People With Autism as 'High Functioning'

By bobb |

Mike McRae

My son explained to me this morning why the ground gets frosty in winter. He did a good job, too. Once, he might have been described as being on the 'high functioning' end of the autism spectrum.

Our language has changed since his diagnosis at age three, and I have no doubt it will continue to do so into the future. Now, a new study shows why it's important we all stop using the term 'high functioning autism'.

The 'problematic' rise in students excluded from mainstream classes

By bobb |

Henrietta Cook

An increasing number of students with autism are being excluded from mainstream classes according to new research which raises concerns about the segregation of children with disabilities.

The Monash University research found that between 2009 and 2015, the inclusion of autistic students in mainstream classes dropped from 18.8 per cent to just 3.3 per cent.

During this period, the proportion of students with autism in special schools increased from 37 to 52 per cent.

Eating disorders can mask autism in girls

By bobb |

Girls and women on the autism spectrum are at higher risk of anorexia nervosa than males, research suggests.

But girls are also more likely than boys to have undiagnosed autism and their symptoms could be mistaken for an eating disorder.

An article in Current Psychiatry Reports by researchers from Kings College London reports between 4 and 52.5 per cent of anorexia patients meet a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, depending on the study. In the general population just 1 per cent have autism.

Subscribe to Australia