The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Autism Advisory Group (AAG) met on 1 August 2019 to discuss the implementation of the recently announced Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) remediation plan to resolve delays and backlogs for children with disability in accessing supports.
AFDO is pleased to be participating again this year in the 12th Session of the Conference of States Parties (CoSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). CoSP will be held from 11th to 13th June 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
AFDO and A4 are co-sponsoring a side event, "Leave No Autistic Mother Behind: Autism and Motherhood – Experiences, Challenges and Positive Strategies", on Thursday 13th June from 3pm – 4:15pm (New York time).
The Centre wishes to advise all its subscribers, supporters, volunteers and friends that the Asperger Centre at Virginia Qld will be closed from 17 May 2019.
Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia appreciates the contribution that the Centre made: the dedication, advancement, information and referrals, support for families and individuals on the spectrum, the conferences they organised providing access to world class presenters and the mothers' weekends away. The Centre was a fabulous bunch of people with Stefanie as its cornerstone.
The Hon Paul Fletcher MP
The Hon Sarah Henderson MP
Minister for Families and Social Services
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Cc: Hollie Hughes
Dear the Hon P. Fletcher MP and the Hon S. Henderson MP
Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia, known as A4, is disappointed that your apparent response to our letter (10/2/2019) to you about inadequate NDIS funding for autistic participants was to stop reporting funding levels for disability types.
Both A4 and the Australian Autism Alliance have produced material that improves awareness of ASD-related issues ahead of the coming federal election.
A4 encourages autistic people, their families, carers, ... everyone who wants better outcomes for autistic Australians, to share these documents with candidates in the coming May 18 federal election.
You can make a difference! The easiest thing to do is write to political parties: send them (electronic) copies of the documents below and ask them to tell you what they are doing to address issues that are crucial for autistic Australians.
People on the autism spectrum have elevated mortality across the lifespan – their overall comparative mortality rate is about twice that of the general population, a new study reveals.
The comparative mortality of people with autism spectrum disorder is twice that of the general population, an Australian-first study by a UNSW PhD student and her supervisors has found. The researchers call for a whole of health and disability systems response to this issue to improve outcomes for this group.
The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) commends the Senate for approving the motion last Thursday, from Green’s Senator Jordon Steele-John, to establish a Royal Commission (RC) into violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect of people with disability in institutional and wider community settings across Australia.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten personally pledged his and the ALP’s commitment to a Royal Commission back in 2017, which we also commend. This has been followed up with an election promise of $26 million to get the Commission going; the ALP also supported the recent Senate motion along with others from the crossbench.
Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (A4) wrote to Minister Fletcher and NDIS officials saying A4 is concerned that NDIS support for autistic participants is often inadequate.
Table E.10 in the NDIS Y6Q1 Quarterly Report shows again that close to 29% of NDIS participants are autistic. Figure E-5 from the report and a similar figure from The Australian (see both figures below) indicate to us that for autistic participants:
Professional development is needed to increase teacher knowledge about anxiety-related behaviours in students with autism after a Griffith University study found teachers report that they would respond differently to students with and without autism.
The study, published in the journal, Research in Developmental Disabilities, found that teachers report being more likely to use responses for children with autism that may increase the child’s anxiety levels in the long-term, such as over-protection or avoidance.
