Sheshtyn Paola

WA researchers have shown the so-called “autism epidemic” is due to an increase in diagnosis – not vaccines

Professor Andrew Whitehouse, Head of Autism Research at the Telethon Kids Institute and lead author of the landmark Australian study, says that while the prevalence of autism has increased 20-fold over the past 30 years, the reason behind this has remained a mystery.

MENTAL health experts are calling for an end to the use of seclusion rooms at WA hospitals as it emerged one child was locked up for 12 hours.

A report by WA’s chief psychiatrist Nathan Gibson shows children with mental health problems were routinely locked up and restrained last year.

In a five-month period, there were 40 seclusion episodes for 20 children, with 75 per cent involving girls. Ten kids were held for less than an hour, 11 for up to two hours and fewer than five patients were held for an average seven hours.

Cathy O'Leary

Like any mother, Christina Holly wants her daughters to do their best at school.

The fact that 12-year-old Jasmine has autism does not change that but it means she needs extra help, and sometimes that is not possible in a regular classroom.

The Year 6 student struggles with literacy and numeracy, and that is when her teachers make the call she is better off in the nearby special education unit.

AN AUTISM diagnosis is not a joyful thing.

I might even go so far as to call it a sad occasion.

If you listen to any autism parent talking about the day they learned what their little one had, crying is definitely mentioned.

It is as if a bird found out that one of its chicks is in fact a fish. Even if, for the sake of argument, we allow this fish the superpower of being able to breathe out of the water, the bird is still justified in being scared.

REGINA TITELIUS, Health Reporter, PerthNow

DAIRY farmers Belinda and Wayne Owston have had a long-standing romance with the Perth Royal Show.

They met at the Show in 2005, and when they married four years later, the maid of honour was a prize-winning Jersey cow, alongside a handsome Red Poll bull as the best man.

And now, with two young children, Jake, almost 3, and Bridgette, 5, the Owstons are making their annual trip to the Show to hopefully collect a few more ribbons for their stud beef and dairy cattle property at Whitby, near Mundijong.

Curtin University researchers are testing a system to enable employers to identify ways to best accommodate workers living with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Using the tool employers should be able to better recognise the strengths of employees with ASD, identifying potential difficulties in the workplace and providing strategies to modify the work environment.

Disabled students at a country high school are being forced to use a cramped, run-down transportable classroom next to a rubbish disposal area — even though the facilities were deemed “inadequate” by the Education Department more than a year ago.

Parents say Narrogin Senior High School’s education support unit for students with disabilities and special learning needs is in such poor condition they are reluctant to send their children there.

A Supreme Court judge in Perth has overturned a decision to revoke the bail of a man with a mental disability, who a magistrate claimed was "playing games" by failing to "engage" during a court appearance.

After an urgent hearing, Justice Stephen Hall ruled Nima Afrasiabi, who has Asperger's syndrome and symptoms consistent with bipolar disorder, should not have been remanded in custody by the magistrate when he answered his bail and appeared in the Intellectual Disability Diversion Court on three damage charges.

Leaving school can be scary! And this time can be particularly difficult for teens with ASD. We are conducting a study that will help to improve the transition planning process for adolescents with high functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome. Please contact Megan Hatfield for more information: megan.hatfield@curtin.edu.au

Or visit the Autism CRC website: www.autismcrc.com.au/transition

PEOPLE with cognitive impairments will be better protected from sexual abuse after new offences were added to the state’s Disability Justice Plan.

The new laws start today and will better protect people with an intellectual disability or cognitive impairment.

A cognitive impairment is defined as an intellectual disability, developmental disorder (including autistic spectrum disorders), neurological disorder, dementia, mental impairment and brain injury.