Renay knew exactly what autism was by the time she had her first child, Anthony, because she'd been living with it most of her life.

"My brother was diagnosed with autism when he was two and I was 11," she told 9Honey. "It was always my worst fear that one of my children would be born with autism because I saw what happened to my brother."

The 36-year-old became very involved in his care, but still failed to recognise the disorder in her own son Anthony, now two-and-a-half.

Hello The Hon. Mr S. MacDonald MLC

Greg White

A SOCIAL gaming group is being formed on the Coffs Coast for people on the autism spectrum.

Local retailer Good Games Coffs Harbour has formed a partnerships with the Mid Coast Communities' Ability Links to offer the program.

The first gathering will be held from 10am on Saturday, January 13, at the Good Games store on Harbour Drive.

Greg Ellis

A Wollongong mother of two children on the Autism spectrum who has Asperger’s herself is calling for more opportunities for people like her to have input in community initiatives.

After being invited to be part of the new committee to make Corrimal the first "Autism Friendly Community" local resident Cassandra Kavanagh wants more people like her to have involvement in more public spaces becoming autism friendly.

Agron Latifi

Warrawong mother Louise Jane Maffullo is at her wits end.

Her year long efforts to secure a Disability Support Pension (DSP) for her 17-year-old autistic son Bryce Maffullo have proved fruitless.

And this has frustrated Mrs Maffullo, who can’t fathom how Bryce is eligible for special needs assistance at Warrawong High School but the Department of Social Services won’t offer similar help.

A 27-year-old woman and an eight-year-old boy she was a carer for have died after being hit by a truck on the Pacific Motorway near Newcastle in New South Wales.

Police said the woman's car had stopped in a breakdown bay on the M1 at Cameron Park, near George Booth Drive, on Sunday evening.

"The driver got out of the vehicle and opened the side door," Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said.

"At that stage we believe an eight-year-old child has entered the roadway, followed by a 27-year-old carer.

Krystal Sellars

Ten years ago this month, a support group for families of people with autism spectrum disorders held its first meeting in Cessnock.

Since then, Strive for Autism has helped to provide support for such families, and raise much-needed awareness of the lifelong developmental condition that can affect communication, sensory perception, social interactions and behaviour.

Strive for Autism president Maxine Baird said the group’s meetings provide information and support, and a forum for families with questions and stories to share.

A year on from the murder-suicide of the Lutz-Manrique family in Sydney's north, the children's special needs school is still grappling with the tragic deaths and has formed special support groups for parents.

It was October last year that police made the gruesome discovery of the Lutz-Manrique family, in an elaborate murder suicide in the leafy Sydney suburb of Davidson.