The Hon Christian Porter MP
Minister for Social Services
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

cc: The Hon Jane Prentice MP, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services; Mr Alastair McEwin, Disability Discrimination Commissioner; Mr David Bowen, NDIA CEO; Dr Helen Nugent AO, Chair of the NDIA Board.

Dear The Hon. C. Porter MP

Newly created words are among entries in a Māori glossary for use in relation to mental health, addiction and disability issues.

Te Reo Hāpai - The Language of Enrichment - contains more than 200 Māori words, terms and whakatauki (proverbs).

Keri Opai, strategic lead for Te Pou o te Whakaaro Nui - the national centre of mental health research, information and workforce development - headed the development of the glossary.

He says it was evident there was no Māori equivalent for many words, such as autism.

Amy English said it was a bitter-sweet moment when son, Alexander, who has Autism, no longer needed National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) support because he had achieved all his milestones and was now ready for school.

The mum of three, said while her and husband, Luke were ecstatic with their six-year-old’s progress they did shed some happy and sad tears.

“It was bitter sweet,” Amy confessed. “We were so happy Alex had reached all his milestones and we were self-sufficient, and it was a good feeling to think Alex no longer needed the $10,000 he had left in his budget and it would go towards helping somebody else. But at the same time, we felt a bit sad because it was like losing a family member. Alex’s occupational therapist (OT), Helen had been working with him for 18 months and she became so important to us.

Jill Slater

Waleed Aly has spoken openly about what it’s like raising a child with autism and why he thinks Pauline Hanson’s controversial suggestion that children with autism should be removed from mainstream classrooms won’t work.

Waleed Aly gave a compassionate plea to remove the social stigma from autism, especially for children living with the disability.

The Projecthost gave an interview with Hit Network's Carrie & Tommy on Thursday, where he shared how he and wife Susan Carland are raising their nine-year-old son Zayd, who is autistic. Zayd was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum in 2011. 

Linda J. Graham and Kate de Bruin

Yesterday, One Nation leader and senator Pauline Hanson suggested it would be better for teachers if students with autism and disability were put in special classrooms.