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”.

The Hon. Stuart Robert MP

The NDIS Quality and Safety Commission has published its Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework for NDIS providers and behaviour support practitioners June 2019.

This document defines Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) as:

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'.

Some stereotypical behaviours of individuals with autism suggest they don’t use a certain type of memory in the same way others might. Annie Spratt/Unsplash

John Munro, Australian Catholic University

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.

Gabriella Rogers A new gut-based approach is being trialled in Australia in the hope of overcoming some of the challenges of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

ASD is a group of neurodevelopmental conditions which is often characterised by difficulties in social interaction, communication and repetitive behaviours.

Males are four times more likely than females to have the condition.