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Autism

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Minister for disability and Children Lizzie Blandthorn.

All three and four-year-olds to be screened for autism under Victoria’s NDIS alternative

The state government has unveiled its Thriving Kids model, for children with autism and developmental delays who are no longer supported by the NDIS.

  • Daniella White

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Colin Armstrong with his daughter, Milly, who lives with autism.

‘Am I disabled enough?’ The question autistic participants are asking after NDIS overhaul

The NDIS has 760,000 participants, more than 300,000 of whom have autism. Those people and their families are the most anxious after Labor announced an overhaul of the scheme.

  • Natassia Chrysanthos and Broede Carmody
Health Minister Mark Butler at the Press Club on Wednesday.

If you use the NDIS, here’s what you need to know about its major shake-up

Health Minister Mark Butler has announced sweeping cuts and a new eligibility test for the scheme ahead of the budget next month.

  • Brittany Busch
Professor Eva Kimonis coaching Erin and her son at a Parent-Child Interaction Therapy clinic.

Hope for delivering cut NDIS supports in schools instead

Those with concerns about the ability to deliver support to autistic children in a school setting should take heart in a groundbreaking western Sydney program.

  • The Herald's View
Professor Eva Kimonis coaching Erin and her son at a Parent-Child Interaction Therapy clinic.

In these Sydney primary schools, therapists observe children behind a one-way mirror

For years, Micah responded to his parents’ every mundane daily request with tantrums, screaming and yelling. One program changed that.

  • Kate Aubusson
Parents say they have been given little guidance about next steps for their kids, following the centres’ shock closures.

‘We’re lost’: Families, staff devastated as specialist childcare centres close

An early education provider for children with autism has entered administration, with centres across Brisbane and Queensland to shut indefinitely.

  • Courtney Kruk
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Since leaving mainstream school, Brisbane mother Sandy Whiteman (pictured with her husband and children) has launched a group called Purely Home Learning supporting other families leaving the system.

Why these parents left mainstream schools, and what it says about the system

“I reached a point where continuing school felt more harmful than stepping away.”

  • Courtney Kruk
Jarrod Clune, 50, Maiwenna Goasdoue, 49, and their sons Leon, 16, and Otis, 14, were found at the Mott Close property on Friday morning.

The hidden struggle behind closed doors at a quiet Mosman Park home

To the outside world, they were a loving family whose children had attended a top-tier school. But behind closed doors, a “groaning” support system was weighing on two parents.

  • Rebecca Peppiatt
Autism manifests in a range of ways – across genders, abilities and life experiences – defying any single definition.

Children won’t need an autism diagnosis to use Thriving Kids scheme

Health Minister Mark Butler unveiled the model for Thriving Kids – which will help children with lower support needs outside the NDIS – to be mainly run through states and territories.

  • Natassia Chrysanthos
Parents could face thousands of dollars of medical fees to maintain the same care, if new Medicare items reflect existing ones.

After autism changes, Labor will still need to find billions more in NDIS savings

Figures supplied to this masthead show that the Thriving Kids program will help the budget – but not enough to completely get NDIS spending under control.

  • Natassia Chrysanthos