The Malinauskas Labor Government is delivering another first on autism with the release of a $330,000 tender that will enable up to 100 eligible school students to access autism assessments at no cost to their families.

The innovative new service will have the flexibility to be delivered on school grounds to help address common barriers to assessment including unfamiliar clinical environments, cost and wait times.

Students in Northern Adelaide at risk of being disengaged from education, students from low socio-economic backgrounds and those currently awaiting assessment through the public system will be prioritised under the new service.

Eligible organisations are encouraged to apply for the new tender, which has been designed by the Autistic* led Office for Autism with the Department for Education.

The program will be funded over a minimum 25-month period with children and young people to be referred for assessment from June 2024.

This initiative builds on the nation leading Autism Inclusion Teacher program, which has seen the State Government invest $28.8 million to provide access to an Autism Inclusion Teacher in every public primary school, including Reception to Year 12 schools.

The tender has resulted from direct feedback from Autism Inclusion Teachers in schools as well as the broader Autistic and autism communities.

The announcement of this historic tender also comes as the Malinauskas Labor Government officially launches the roll out of the State’s First Autism Inclusion Charter.

The Autism Inclusion Charter contains 4 guiding principles that will underpin a whole-of-government approach to improving life outcomes for Autistic people while also enabling a more knowledgeable and inclusive state where Autistic and autism communities can thrive with opportunity, support, connection and belonging.

Quotes

Attributable to Peter Malinauskas

We know that when we welcome diversity, and especially neurodiversity and different ways of thinking, we maximise our opportunities for innovation and progress – that is exactly what we are doing here in SA in becoming the Autism Inclusive State.

Whether it’s providing access for autism diagnosticians to come into our schools, or rolling out a whole of government Autism Inclusion Charter, our Government is committed to improving life outcomes for the Autistic and Autism Communities.

This World Autism Awareness day we have much to celebrate - from appointing the world’s first Assistant Minister for Autism, to the introduction of Autism Inclusion Teachers in our public primary schools, to the creation of the nation’s first Autistic led, Office for Autism, to the updating of our teacher’s degrees – I’m proud that SA has been bold in its agenda of working to make our state not only a national, but world leader in autism inclusion.

Attributable to Emily Bourke

In a first, we’re launching a whole-of-government approach through an Autism Inclusion Charter and we’re also bringing autism diagnosticians into our schools so some of our state’s most vulnerable children can be assessed in an environment that is familiar to them.

Getting to a clinic for an autism assessment can be really tricky for families. This new nation-leading pilot will help streamline the process by removing barriers like cost, travel and waitlists.

While a diagnosis is not the only trigger for classroom support, a diagnosis can support a child or young person to know who they are and how they are best supported.

We have learnt from our new nation leading Autism Inclusion Teachers that knowledge and understanding of autism means they can better support autistic students in the classroom. This new initiative will give teachers and families a narrative about how to best support some of our most vulnerable children and young people.

Background

Autism is a neurological difference in the way that individuals experience and respond to the world around them. There is not one singular way that Autistic people experience the world. That’s why the term ‘spectrum’ is often used – to reflect the fact that every individual’s lived experience of autism is different.

Autism is diagnosed through observations based on criteria set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (fifth edition, text revision) by either one qualified clinician or a team of qualified clinicians, using information from a range of people. The National Guidelines for Autism Assessment and Diagnosis provides advice and recommendations for clinicians when undertaking assessment and diagnosis.

*This document uses identity-first language throughout. We recognise there are people in the autistic community who prefer person-first language, people who prefer identity-first language and people who use the terms interchangeably.