Opinion 13 April 2021

Proposed changes to NDIS intervention for autistic children

The NDIA’s latest consultation paper on autistic kids is about more than early intervention like the title suggests. It proposes rigid and fixed funding blocks for children’s NDIS plans, well below averages in Nick Avery’s region. Nick wants you to know why this consultation is so alarming – and encourages you to provide feedback.

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Opinion 31 March 2021

NDIS Autism consultations are “futile and frustrating” – this new consultation is a case in point

Late yesterday afternoon on Stuart Robert’s last day as NDIS Minister, the NDIA released a new consultation paper called “Interventions for children on the autism spectrum”. The paper proposes radical new changes to NDIS funding and supports for Autistic children. Katharine Annear explains why this consultation paper has Autistic people outraged.

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Opinion 26 February 2021

“My NDIS ‘Independent Assessment’ was a nightmare”

“As an autistic person this petrifies me. The NDIS assessors don’t want to hear outside the boxes of ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I can only imagine how bad this will be for people who can’t articulate their needs well. We need to fight and make ourselves heard.”

Aaron Carpenter volunteered to take part in the pilot of the new “independent assessments” being introduced to the NDIS later this year. His experience was a “nightmare”. He wants everyone to know what went wrong – and why we can’t let this go ahead.

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News 25 October 2018

New national guidelines for the diagnosis of autism

Last week, the Co-operative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC) published Australia’s first National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism.

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Opinion 21 May 2018

Autism and the NDIS – what is going on?

There has been a great deal of media coverage during the last week about NDIA plans to review the guidelines which govern access to the NDIS. In particular whether or not they plan to change the guidelines relating to people with autism.

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News 3 August 2017

Ivory smashed it! ??

A letter from nine-year-old Ivory Clark made national headlines when she spoke up for thousands of children with autism in the classroom.

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News 4 April 2017

Meet Julia. She’s amazing

In the first cast change in over a decade, Julia, a 4-year-old girl with Autism, will soon permanently join the Muppets cast, tackling a growing playground problem for many Australian kids.

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Opinion 30 November 2016

Let our voices be heard

I really wasn’t sure where to start. Being autistic, I have a lot of thought processes going on but I wanted to share our experience on the NDIS journey.

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News 26 February 2016

EXPLAINER: why everyone’s talking about autism and the NDIS

You might have noticed that talk of children with autism and the NDIS is everywhere today – including some pretty angry commentary. Here’s a look at what’s happened and why people are concerned.

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Opinion 12 January 2016

Is there room at the advocacy table?

It can be hard for parents to take a step back and allow their children to have their own voices. However, when it comes to advocacy, it’s especially important to find the right balance. Here Renee Bugg, parent to Poss who is on the Autistic Spectrum, talks about how they’re meeting the challenge.

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Research and Reports 1 September 2015

Tablet technology to help children with autism

Monash University researchers have developed the world’s first tablet technology designed to assist children with developmental disabilities such as autism and Down Syndrome.

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Opinion 19 August 2015

Caring for the poet

Dylan Owen-Buoy has been challenged by autism since his kindergarten days but it hasn’t touched his soul.

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