Text: eNewsletter - October 2021. Image: Four photographs of children being supporting in reading, play and study

Update on new national practice guideline for supporting children

Work is underway to develop a national practice guideline for supporting the development and participation of children on the autism spectrum and their families, as previously announced in June 2021.

The guideline will support families to make informed choices when accessing services, and provide professionals with a set of recommendations to guide ethical and effective service delivery. The recommendations will be based on the best available research and a comprehensive community consultation process.

The guideline is being developed according to the National Health and Medical Research Council’s recommended process.

An important first step is to establish a Guideline Development Group (GDG) to lead the research and community consultation process. This group has now been created and includes people with diverse knowledge, skills, experience, and perspectives. Among the 15 member group are autistic adults; parents and other family members of children on the autism spectrum, including children and young adults with complex needs; people with expertise in capacity building in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, ethics, and research integrity; clinicians with experience in government and non-government sectors; and researchers with expertise in the guideline development process, including community consultation.

Therapy with babies significantly boosts social communication development

A parent-led therapy that supports babies displaying early signs of autism has significantly reduced their social and communication difficulties, according to world-first research.

In a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, an international research team presented the first evidence worldwide that pre-emptive therapy during infancy could lead to such a significant improvement in children’s social communication development that they then fell below the threshold for a 'deficit-focused' DSM-5 diagnosis of autism.

Grid of Autism@Work speakers on video conference

Autism@Work Virtual Summit a great success

More than 500 delegates attended Australia’s first Autism@Work Virtual Summit, hearing about the benefits of a neurodiverse workplace and exploring how to achieve Sustainable Programs, Sustainable Employment for employers and employees.

Both employers and employees were strongly represented amongst the Summit’s presenters. We are also very proud of the fact that approximately half of the speakers were neurodivergent and that the speakers list included neurodivergent employers, executives and business owners.

New early years teaching practices on inclusionED

Three new teaching practices for early years educators have been released on inclusionED recently, focused on: giving clear directions; teaching social problem solving; and, interacting positively with every student.

These teaching practices join more than 40 others on inclusionED. All practices are freely available and designed to help educators support diverse learners in inclusive classrooms.

Visit inclusionED

Katharine Annear joins the Board

We were delighted to welcome Katharine Annear to our Board of Directors in July 2021. Katharine is a registered Developmental Educator, a Casual Academic at Flinders University, and has served on local and national not-for-profit boards for over 20 years. Katharine is a founding member of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network of Australia and New Zealand and has spent more than 15 years in the autism advocacy space. Katharine brings lived experience as an autistic person who also has numerous autistic family members.

Find out more

Australasian Autism Research Council: Defining National Autism Research Priorities

AARC update

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for the Australian Autism Research Council membership in 2022 are now closed. We received more than 50 EOIs for the AARC, including more than 30 from autistic people. The AARC members are now reviewing the EOIs and will contact successful applicants via email by 5pm on 12 November 2021.

From January 2022, the AARC will be changing its name to the Australasian Autism Research Council as it expands to include members from both Australia and New Zealand.

Find out more

Understanding the oral health of children on the spectrum

Understanding the oral health status of children on the autism spectrum, including specific challenges and needs, will help inform tailored and effective oral health supports. This is important for clinicians, families, and future research and practice.

In a recent collaborative research project using the resources of the Australian Autism Biobank, 33% of caregivers in the study reported that their child’s oral health was much worse than other children their age.

View research snapshot

The latest published outputs from Autism CRC

Publications

Effect of preemptive intervention on developmental outcomes among infants showing early signs of autism

Clinical outcomes and associated predictors of early intervention

Content validation of common measures of functioning for young children against the ICF Core Sets

Caregiver psychological distress predicts temperament and social-emotional outcomes in infants

The impact of anxiety on the participation of children on the autism spectrum

Inter-relationships between trait resilience, coping strategies, and mental health outcomes in autistic adults

The experience of learning to drive for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Investigating the impact of anxious symptomatology in autistic children

Exploring the relationship between community mobility and quality of life, employment and completing further education

Predictors of the mental well-being of informal carers of adults on the autism spectrum

Resources

Thank you and Summary of the Longitudinal Study of Australian students (LASA)

Autism in Education Showcase

The Autism in Education Showcase highlighted a range of Autism CRC education resources and featured two panel discussions. The first panel of autistic adults shared their lived experiences and discussed how autistic students can be better supported at school. This was followed by a panel discussion with a range of education researchers about their research into supporting students on the spectrum in inclusive school settings.

The showcase was also the official launch of two Routledge books on supporting students on the autism spectrum in inclusive schools, which are now available to purchase.

Watch the recording

Purchase the books

Longitudinal study of Australian students

The longitudinal study of Australian students has now collected six years of data and is one of the world’s largest and longest studies following children on the spectrum over time. This unique study is exploring academic achievement and participation in children on the autism spectrum, with data collected from home, school and from some of the children/teenagers themselves.

We thank all our families, teachers and schools for their time and insights throughout this study. A short thank you video summarising the research is now available.

Watch the video

Find out more

Graphic - neurodivergent adult icon with microphone

The 'hidden histories' of autistic adults

Over the past two decades, our cultural understanding of autism and what it means to be autistic has grown – though we have a long way to go. But there are entire generations of people who grew up when the popular conception of autism was a far cry from how it’s now understood.

Hear from the researchers and participants of the Autism CRC project, Uncovering the hidden histories of late-diagnosed autistic adults, on ABC’s All In The Mind program.

Listen on abc.net.au

INSAR 2022 call for abstracts

The International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Scientific Program Committee invites proposals for Panels, Posters, Oral Presentations, and Technology Demonstrations at the INSAR 2022 Annual Meeting. This meeting will be a hybrid event, held both virtually and in-person in Austin, Texas, USA, on May 11-14, 2022.

Abstract submission deadline is Wednesday, October 20, 2021 (11:59 PM Pacific Time).

Find out more

Autism CRC is the world’s first national, cooperative research effort focused on autism. We take a whole-of-life approach to enhance the lives of people on the autism spectrum, from diagnosis and the early years to the school years and into adult life.