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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-10-31 Daily Xml
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Autism

Mr ODENWALDER (Elizabeth) (15:32): I rise to talk today about an important matter for many people in my electorate and in the north more broadly, and that is the proper recognition of the needs of the autistic and autism community in our society. In the north, we have the highest NDIS participation rates in the state—over 17,000 participants. For the NDIS more broadly, South Australia sits above the national average of 35 per cent with 41 per cent of our NDIS participants being autistic. With these stats in mind, it is very clear that there is a large autistic and autism community within the local area in the north. Speaking with providers such as Autism SA, they have shared how they have nearly 2,000 members registered with their organisation in the northern suburbs alone, though it should be noted this number is only registered members.

With numbers like these and communities as large as the autistic and autism community, it is clear that things need to change. After years and years of advocacy by the autistic and autism communities, I am very proud to be part of a Malinauskas Labor government who are the first in the nation's history to establish a world-first Assistant Minister for Autism in my friend, Emily Bourke MLC, as well as a nation-leading dedicated Office for Autism, which is led by an autistic director.

Beyond this, of course, we are also the first government in the country to develop an autism strategy, which will be co-designed by the autistic and autism communities, and provide our state with a roadmap towards better inclusion.

I was proud to join the Assistant Minister for Autism earlier in the year during the consultation process for the state's first Autism Strategy, holding community catch-ups in my local area of Elizabeth, as well as accompanying her to several schools in my electorate to talk with the new specialist autism inclusion teachers who are doing such a great job now.

During that consultation the feedback was loud, clear and consistent. Every person who is autistic is an individual with their own strengths, qualities and desires. There is a saying that when you have met one autistic person you have met one autistic person, meaning that there is not a singular way in which autistic people experience the world. Every experience of autism is different.

Historically, though, there exists unwarranted stigma and stereotypes when people hear the words 'autism' or 'autistic'. People often make assumptions, and because of these stereotypes the autistic community often express how they have felt misunderstood and unheard in the past. They have also shared how important it is to hear from autistic people and their families themselves, how important it is for autistic people to have a say on the policies and changes that will impact them. That is why I will be holding another opportunity for people to have their say in my electorate—a forum—along with the Assistant Minister for Autism.

This forum will be an opportunity for the autism community to engage with us, to educate us and to further inform us. The experiences and knowledge that we are gaining from these forums is critical to the Malinauskas government's push for better outcomes. During my time as the member for Elizabeth, I have spoken with many fierce advocates who have been fighting for years and years and years—fighting to just have someone stop, listen but most importantly to act. I am so proud to be part of the Malinauskas Labor government, a government that has listened and worked side by side with the autistic and autism communities to start delivering on making South Australia the autism inclusive state. We know this is just the beginning.

The forum on 8 November will provide further opportunities for members of the autistic and autism communities to learn more about the nation-leading Malinauskas Labor government's autism initiatives, as well as sharing their stories about how we can make our state more inclusive. There are many people who have dedicated their lives to supporting and improving the lives of autistic people—teachers, carers, allied health professionals and many who are also autistic themselves, and we want to hear from them. We want to hear from anyone who is involved and supports the autistic and autism community.

It is my hope that this forum will be a step forward as we continue to develop and implement our state's first Autism Strategy. I hope that it will help us all as we move forward towards the future, and I encourage all those who can do to attend. This is an opportunity to be heard. We will continue to listen. We will continue to learn and we will continue to act and deliver on making South Australia not only the nation's but world leaders in autism inclusion.

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