Priorities released

In June, the Australian Autism Research Council (AARC) asked the community to comment on draft priorities for autism research through an online survey and submission process. Having considered the consultation outcomes, taking into account the mix of stakeholder views, the AARC has formed a list of 10 priority areas which will guide autism research into the future. The final report and snapshot are now available.

2018-19 Annual Report

Autism CRC hosted its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 4 November at Griffith University, Southbank. Copies of the 2018-19 Annual Report were distributed at the event and are now available online. Following the AGM, a special event was held to celebrate our milestones and achievements and to announce the winners of the 2019 Autism CRC Awards for Achievement in Autism Spectrum Research.

2019 Autism CRC Awards

Autism CRC is proud to announce the winners of the 2019 Autism CRC Awards for Achievement in Autism Spectrum Research. Three projects have received for their outstanding commitment to inclusive research practices and translation of autism research:

• Co-designing digital technologies with minimally-verbal children on the Autism Spectrum
• Community attitudes towards Autism in Australia
• Co-production approach to the development of an Australian first online autism training module for police.

Participants needed!

Autism CRC’s Middle Years Behaviour Support Project is looking for participants for an online survey. We’re looking for information from educators, parents, specialists and students about middle years learners (students aged 9-16 years) on the autism spectrum. We want to understand:

• Why families chose alternate education settings, including distance education and home education
• What works well in alternate education settings
• What additional help and support would benefit alternate educations settings
• How this information can be used to inform work in more traditional mainstream settings.

Help us learn about adult autism diagnosis

Autism CRC researchers at the University of New South Wales would like to learn more about experiences of autism spectrum diagnosis (including Asperger’s syndrome) in adulthood. We are looking for adults, including those with intellectual disability, who received their autism diagnosis at different ages from early childhood to late adulthood to complete a survey.

SAS - Register now for Canberra and Gold Coast

Only a few weeks left to register for our last three Secret Agent Society Small Group Program (SAS-SG) training events for 2019! Secret Agent Society is empowering children to crack the code of emotions and friendship to reach their full potential. Completing training this year will ensure your readiness to deliver SAS to students and clients in 2020.

Congratulations to Josie Barbaro and her team

Autism CRC’s Dr Josephine Barbaro accepted a BHERT award for Outstanding Collaboration for National Benefit in Public Health. The award recognises her leadership in early autism detection with the app ASDetect and the deep collaboration between La Trobe University, Autism CRC, Salesforce, Google and Municipal Association of Victoria. Josie is a project leader on several Autism CRC projects and we congratulate her and her team on this wonderful achievement.

2019 Future Leaders underway

We welcomed 15 Future Leaders from around Australia for a residential workshop in Sydney last month. Participants have now completed a series of online modules and the workshop was an opportunity to refine their leadership goals and plans by meeting face-to-face with established autistic leaders and mentors. Participants will now have the opportunity to put into practice their learnings from the online modules and workshop through a mentored practical experience in a real-world setting.