Benison O'Reilly

When my autistic son Sam was 14 I decided to send him to Africa. The objective of the journey was to take Sam out of his comfort zone and expose him to new experiences in the hope this would provide a boost to his communication and life skills and give him a shot in the arm of independence. His dad went with him.

Below is a link to a response on behalf of The Hon Christian Porter MP, Minister for Social Security, to A4's concerns about the lack of autistic representation on the NDIA's Independent Advisory Council (IAC).

The Government's response is very disappointing.

David Trembath

Last night’s ABC Australian Story episode featuring Sam and James Best’s journey through Africa illustrates the lengths parents will go to in supporting their children on the autism spectrum to reach their full potential.

Kristy is the mother of two boys on the autism spectrum.  Kristy came to RIAC in October 2016 for assistance with her son Jackson’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan and the lack of funded supports provided to him. The NDIS had denied essential funding for Jackson (2years old) to attend Applied Behaviour Analysis therapy (ABA). This therapy was costing the family $75,000; the family had raised this money through spending a lot of their time fundraising.

People on the autism spectrum may be an undervalued resource who get overlooked in the competitive jobs market but they also could be the key to filling unmet demand in vital sectors, including information technology and science-related positions.

Researchers in the US have found that people with autism may have above average systemising skills and naturally gravitate towards jobs in science and technology.

A single mother has called for a re-think of the National Disability Insurance Scheme after she was left without enough support to properly care for her severely disabled son.

Tammie Lansley, a volunteer firefighter from Sydney's west, has struggled every day for the past decade to care for her son Nathan Brincat.

Nathan, 13, has the mind and body of a toddler because of a debilitating genetic condition called mitochondrial disease.

Tammie fears she may have to see Nathan institutionalised.

MICK GRIMLEY

The prevalence of autism is rising and, increasingly, mental health conditions are affecting school-age children. Add to these statistics social disadvantage and specific learning differences to see today’s classroom is diverse, complex and challenging.

The Joint Committee on the NDIS has started a new inquiry into the Provision of services under the NDIS Early Childhood Early Intervention Approach.

The Terms of Reference and more information about the inquiry are available at http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Bus…;

Submissions to this inquiry are due by the 10^th August 2017.

The Committee is due to report by 6^th December 2017.