Carla Hildebrandt

An angry Mandurah mother has lashed out at the state government after being told a specialised education program at Halls Head College has been axed.

Late last year, Wannanup resident Sally Finlay said she was told her autistic son who had attended the Halls Head College Targeted Learning program, would have to find alternative education because the program would not be offered in 2018.

Ann Hickman

As a parent with two out of three children on the autistic spectrum, I nodded with many points by Jem Lester (Seen Rain Man? That doesn’t mean you know my son, Family, 30 December). However, despite the common feelings around having our verbal and non-verbal autistic kids, I feel that actually 2017 provided plenty of great autism-inspired TV.

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.

“Mummy, my teacher told me to go to Tanjung Rambutan (the nation’s oldest mental institution and now known as Hospital Bahagia, located in Perak). But I’m not crazy, mummy.” The words uttered to her by her son, Dennis Liew, more than 20 years ago when he was still in primary school continue to haunt Patricia Lim.

BENDIGO autism advocates have urged the state government to listen to their real experiences as it embarks on the first update of Victoria’s Autism Plan since 2009.

They have also called for organisations which use restrictive practices such as restrain and seclusion to be either change their policies, or have no future in the delivery of services for autistic people.

DECLAN MARTIN

State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed believes a new school for autistic children should be considered for the Victorian Government’s Shepparton Education Plan.

Ms Sheed met with Education Minister James Merlino last week following a speech in Parliament during which she asked him to consider providing appropriate services for students with autism spectrum disorder as part of the government’s plan to overhaul education in the region.

A loving Melbourne mother who was "at the end of her tether" when she tried to kill herself and her disabled adult son has been spared jail.

Yvette Nichol, 63, had been the primary carer for her autistic and epileptic son Brett, 34, for all his life until she tried to kill him and herself at their Eltham North home on May 27.

The court heard Yvette Nichol (left) was a loving mother who reached the end of her tether as sole carer of her disabled son.

Photo: Mal Fairclough

Daniel Andrusiak

I am a 29-year-old man with Asperger's syndrome. I am independent, live in Caulfield North with a housemate and commute every day to a full-time job in the western suburbs of Melbourne. I am also a keen scriptwriter, football fan, have a girlfriend and speak German and a little bit of French, among other things. This is just to give some background as to who I am.

ONE of Allora's most inventive young students has been awarded with a trip to NASA and the title of National Winner in Origin's littleBIGidea competition.

 Jasmine Eldridge, 12, from Allora State School was named the national winner in the Year 7 - 8 category from more than 1000 entries received.

Jasmine's littleBIGidea entry, Dog of Technology (D.O.T), is designed as an aid to assist children like herself with autism.