Watch Australian Autism TV Story Here.

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This was on television this morning regarding Autism.

http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/cover_stories/article_2447.asp

Helen

P.S. I edited the title of this thread because I didn't realise there was a link.

I've just watched the show. Here's a summary of what was said (I can't vouch for 100% accurate recall - my sons were playing games noisily in the background so I missed bits):

In Australia, more children will be diagnosed with Autism this year than cancer, AIDS and diabetes combined.

There are currently massive short falls in the Australian health system for providing early diagnosis and early intervention.

Parents and carers are dedicated and spend a great deal of time and commitment caring for their children.

Every parent wants the best for their child and this applies to parents of autistic children. Parents want access to services for their children.

Autistic Spectrum is a spectrum .... individuals range from mild to extreme. Each individual is different.

There has been an explosion in the rate of diagnosis. This is thought to be due to increased awareness and earlier diagnosis. In Australia autism effects 1 in 160 children.

Other than genetic factors, the causes are unknown. There is no cure. Early intervention and support provides the best outcomes.

Currently there is not enough help for families. The waiting lists for services is ethically and morally wrong.

Applied Behavioural Analysis was mentioned.

Early intervention is effective but does not come cheaply. Ongoing time and commitment is required.

For families, there is a high financial and emotional cost. Currently there is an 86% divorce rate of parents of autistic children.

The story was one of hope and success stories were highlighted. Profiles of LFA and HFA were shown.

The story of a 17 year old non-verbal autistic male was highlighted. He has been attending a school for autistics for 13 years. His parents reported he has improved a lot. He used to only allow his mother or father to care for him. Also, high anxiety levels and frequent self-harming behaviours were a great concern. With support, his anxiety levels/meltdowns/self-harming behaviours have reduced. He is learning life skills at the school. He has learned to read, but cannot speak. (they didn't say whether he had learned to type).

The parents of the 17 year old were positive. They spoke about the emotional cost, but overall their message was one of hope. They were pleased with the progress their son had made.

The story of a 5 year old (??? I missed how old he was because of noisy sons) high-functioning autistic was shown. He was non-verbal at aged 2. He's had lots of intervention. He is now speaking well. His Mum stated that recently he told her she was looking tired and needed a rest. The Mum said she was so proud of her son.

The plight of rural Australians was shown. A mum stated it took her 15 months to have her son diagnosed because of the waiting lists. This was frustrating because she was advised the earlier the intervention, the better the outcomes. Then after getting him diagnosed she was put on another long waiting list for services.

To be continued in next post ....

The story mentioned that profoundly affected autistics need life long support.

Although early intervention being effective was stressed, the story stated there is still hope for older children and adolescents.

A school called 'Giant Steps' that is for autistics was highlighted. It is free but has long waiting lists.

Trained dogs were featured. It costs $29 000 to train these dogs. Dogs are used to help alleviate the anxiety of people with autistm. They were also trained to find the child if they wandered off. A mother reported her child wanders off and having the dog will help relieve the parents' anxiety.

The Australian Government has $190 million in funding which will be available from 1st July, 2008. The funding will be spent on:
- Early intervention
- Improved medicare support
- Increased training of teachers.

There will also be additional funding to build 6 autism child-care centres in Australia.

The last few sentences of the story talked about hope. The last couple of sentences of the story showed a Mum talking proudly about her Autistic son - how far he's come, how much she loves him and how proud she is of him.

After watching this story, I am proud of the Australian approach:

Early diagnosis
Early intervention
Better training of teachers
More support for parents/carer's.
Hope

NO talk of cure
NO ridiculous talk of vaccinations
NO talk of ridiculous, dangerous therapies
NO talk of tragedy/darkness in the family etc

Overall tone of the story ..... hope ... but more support needed.

I wish Autism Speaks would watch this program and change their approach to the Australian model!

Helen

Thanks for sharing smelena!

Ugh, Autism Speaks, don't even mention them...

I like how they're utilizing dogs as a form of treatment. It'll help people with Autism just as much as the blind. People with all ASDs have a far easier time relating to animals compared to humans--except perhaps family members, but then, there's individuals with "profound" Autism who can only bond with animals, usually dogs or cats.

The only problem I have with the show is the desire to stop repetitive behaviours (but I can see why they wish to as such can incite bullying from peers), and other minute things like eye contact. Working on verbal communication and self-helps skills are what I'd emphasize above all.