Grievance Debate

AUTISM SERVICES

Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (15:07): Today I would like to talk about autism and education of students with autism. Autism is a mental condition present from early childhood, characterised by great difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts. People with autism can display inappropriate and occasionally difficult behaviour. Many people with autism also have an intellectual disability.

Autism does not discriminate between rich or poor, race or religion. Boys, however, are four times more likely to be affected than girls. It is estimated that one in every 160 children aged six to 12 years is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. While there is no cure for this, there are a variety of interventions that have shown promise in improving the symptoms. I recently had the pleasure of presenting a cheque for $50,000 to the Flinders University autism early intervention unit on behalf of the GoTo Foundation.

The GoTo Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation founded by three South Australians only 18 months ago. Amongst supporting other worthwhile causes, the foundation aims to raise $100,000 to support the Flinders University early intervention program. The last I looked on their website, they were up to $73,000. The cost of putting a child through the program is around $6,000, and the program receives no direct government support. It is an intensive two-week training program, with 18 weeks of follow-up support. As this program can start when a child is 18 months old, it can dramatically improve the performance of these children, setting them on a path to mainstream education and eventual independence.

Autism SA is South Australia's peak autism body. They are struggling to meet the demands of ever increasing referrals. Client numbers have increased from 580 in 1995 to more than 5,600 at the present time. Their referral rates are rising by 15 to 20 per cent every year. The federal Helping Children with Autism package assists the younger group of children with autism, and it is school-aged children and adults who suffer the most from lack of support, education options and employment services.

Autism SA has around 3,000 clients who are of school age, and yet the total state government funding for this group amounts to less than $200 per child. More than 1,000 students are recognised by the department of education as having a primary diagnosis of autism in our state schools. There are also many other students who have autism as a secondary disability. Services for students with autism in regional and rural areas are simply woeful, with only one funded visit from an autism education specialist per year.

It is with this background that the Army of Autism Awareness Angels was founded by Brooke Clarke. Brooke, a parent of a young boy with autism herself, has started this group with the aims of raising awareness of autism, as well as raising funds to support the placement of autism assistance officers in schools. I am pleased to be hosting a group of children with autism and their families from this group at the Christmas Pageant this Saturday on a balcony of a King William Road building. While my staff will be looking after the families in the morning, I will be dressed as an angel myself walking in the pageant.

Members interjecting:

Ms SANDERSON: That's it, but back to more serious matters. When I read the stories of families with a child with autism in our education system, I am quite dismayed. It saddens me to know that South Australian children with disabilities are not given choices. Some families know that a special class, or a special school, is the best educational option for their child, but there are no guarantees of placement, and those who might be offered a place in a junior primary special class are often required to shift schools for secondary primary, with no consideration given to siblings or continuity of friendships, etc.

It intrigues me that some primary schools have a junior primary special class with no senior primary special class and vice versa. What wisdom is this? Why, when this government added a series of special classes, was it not taken into consideration? Children without disabilities are not forced by DECS to change schools halfway through primary school. This is extremely unfair for children with autism and their families, who already have enough to deal with, let alone adding more bureaucratic thoughtlessness. There should be no need for organisations like the Go To Foundation and Autism Angels to fundraise for basic educational needs of children with autism, but I commend them for the important work they do.