Text: eNewsletter - December 2021, Happy Holidays. Image: An arrangement of native flowers in Christmas colours.

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season

As you read through this year’s Annual Report, you will see the substantial body of work that our unique stakeholder collaboration has undertaken and the outcomes delivered, both in the past twelve months and over the eight years since we were established in 2013. These outputs and impacts have been delivered with, and for, the benefit of our end-user community – autistic people and their families, and those who support them.

Autism CRC is approaching the end of its Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Program Funding agreement at 30 June 2022, and so we have been busily implementing arrangements for transition to our legacy operation from that time – including seeking company members for Autism CRC and participants in our collaborative venture from 1 July 2022.

From all of us at Autism CRC, we wish you the best for a safe and happy holiday season. We sincerely hope that you will be able to share it with your loved ones.

We are looking forward to continuing our work delivering positive outcomes together in 2022.

Flipping the gut microbiome-autism link on its head

An Autism CRC study, led by Mater Research and The University of Queensland, has challenged the belief that the gut microbiome drives autism. The study’s findings may put the brakes on the experimental use of microbiome-based interventions that some believe may treat or minimise autistic behaviours.

These internationally significant findings have been published in the journal Cell. A research snapshot and frequently asked questions have also been developed for the autistic and autism communities.

Grid of Autism@Work speakers on video conference

2020-21 Annual Report now available

Autism CRC’s 2020-21 Annual Report summarises the work undertaken by our national and international collaboration, and its impact across the lifespan for our end-user community – autistic individuals and their families, as well as those professionals and organisations that work to support them.

Find out more

Read the report

Three photos of children being supported in learning activities.

Work on a national practice guideline for supporting the development and participation of children on the autism spectrum and their families has begun. As part of the guideline development process, we want to hear from as many people as possible about what’s important to them and what they think the guideline should include.

You can now register your interest to be involved in our upcoming community consultation activities.

Find out more

Text: Australasian Autism Research Council - Defining National Autism Research Priorities

AARC releases report, announces 2022 members

The Australasian Autism Research Council recently released its latest report and has announced its membership for next year. Following the release of their last report in April, the AARC members took the remainder of 2021 as an opportunity to reflect on where they’ve come from and where they would like to focus in the future. The AARC is particularly pleased to announce its first members from New Zealand.

Find out more

Webinars for early career teachers

Free professional learning webinars at the beginning of Term 1, 2022, will introduce early career teachers to inclusionED. The webinars will explore how inclusionED supports the development of teacher professional practice. Tailored for early career teachers, the webinars will explore fundamental teaching practices that can help to support all learners, including those with diverse needs, in Early Years or Middle Years classrooms.

Find out more

Awards announced

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2021 Autism CRC Awards for Achievement in Autism Spectrum Research. Three projects received recognition for their outstanding commitment to inclusive research practices and translation of autism research:

Raising Awareness of the Needs of Autistic Australians
Priorities of Autistic people in Australia and their families for autism services and supports
Investigating Autistic Burnout (#AutBurnout).

Award recipients presented a summary of their projects and answered questions from an engaged online audience.

Watch the project presentations

National Awards for Disability Leadership

A big congratulations to Wenn Lawson and Ruby Susan Mountford, each receiving a 2021 National Award for Disability Leadership on International Day of People with Disability.

Wenn received the Lesley Hall Award for Lifetime Achievement. Wenn was one of Australia's first Autistic advocates, is a long-time friend of Autism CRC, and has educated and helped countless people to see autism differently.

Sylvia Rodger Academy alumni, Ruby (Future Leaders 2018) received their award for Inclusion (Working intersectionally).

Find out more

The latest published outputs from Autism CRC

Community platform launched

We were excited to launch the Sylvia Rodger Academy alumni online community platform in November. Co-designed and developed with alumni, the platform has been created as a way for alumni to network professionally with their peers across Programs. The platform is a place where alumni can:

engage, network and collaborate with their peers
view and share upcoming events and professional opportunities
share and access professional resources.

Find out more

Scholar highlight – Chloe Yap

We recently asked some of our scholars about their research, where they are now and what being part of Autism CRC means to them. Chloe was first-author of the recent Cell publication on understanding autism-gut microbiome relationships. She was awarded the 'Queensland Women in STEM Prize 2021: Judge's Award' in July this year and is currently undertaking research at the University of California, Los Angeles, as part of a Fulbright Future Scholarship.

Mental wellbeing and suicide prevention in autism

On 9 December, the Australasian Society for Autism Research will present an Australian-first conference connecting mental health practitioners, autism researchers and autistic people. The conference will address mental wellbeing and suicide prevention in autism. Registrations have now closed.

Launching Operation: Anniversary Celebration!

The Social Skills Training Institute (SST) are celebrating the first anniversary of the new digital edition of the Secret Agent Society (SAS) Small Group Program. Apply now to become an SAS Provider on a six-month trial and take advantage of the Anniversary Celebration Subsidy. Offer ends 31 December 2021!

Find out more

Creating new mental health resources

Continuing its mission to support neurodiverse workforces, the DXC Dandelion Program collaborated with the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC) at La Trobe University, and ANZ Bank, to develop a world-first toolkit to assist workplaces to support the mental health of autistic employees.

Find out more

Autism@Work Virtual Summit recordings

Autism@Work Virtual Summit recordings are now available on our website. Presenters from this online event, held in August, include both employers and employees. Approximately half of the speakers were neurodivergent; the speakers list included neurodivergent employers, executives and business owners.

View recordings

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.