What is Autism?
According to Autism Awareness, Autism is a " complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. People with ASD have problems with social and communication skills. Many people with ASD also have unusual ways of learning, paying attention, or reacting to sensations. It is part of a group of disorders known as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). In most cases its causes are unknown."
Today, 1 in 160 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. This equates to a newly diagnosed child every working hour and more that 30,000 families directly touched by autism.It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls.
Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. At one time people subscribed to the myth that all children with ASD were unresponsive and aloof and never showed affection. We now know ASDs are much more complex with a variety of symptoms and characteristics that can occur in different combinations and varying degrees of severity.
Autism impacts on the child (the major cause of learning difficulty), the child’s family (limited vocational and social opportunities, very high rates of parental depression and marital separation, social disadvantage for siblings) and the community (the cost of autism to the Australian community has been estimated at $7 billion per annum).
What can be done?
While there is no cure for autism Early Intervention programs targeting the crucial early learning years can dramatically improve the performance of these children, setting them on the path to mainstream education and eventual independence.To be most effective these programs need to follow the evidence based Best Practice Guidelines published by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing in 2007.
The Commonwealth Government’s Best Practice Guidelines state that “A program needs to be of at least 20 hours per week over an extended period of at least two years”. This equates to 1000 hours per year for 2 years. Despite these guidelines only a handful of families can afford to access this amount of therapy.
Whilst expensive to deliver studies suggest that the life time savings achieved by 2 years of 1000 hours of best Practice Early Intervention exceeds $1 million per child. The value to the child and their family cannot be estimated.
What is currently being done?
Currently the Helping Children with Autism package falls short of providing children with best practice early intervention. Whilst the funding certainly provides universal access to at least some early intervention, for most children the hours provided fall far short of government recommendations, 100 - 150 hours per year. At Home Mum supports the 1000 Hours Campaign asking government to bridge this gap for all Australian children with autism as soon as possible.
What is the 1000 Hours Campaign?
1000 Hours is a campaign to lobby government to fund a minimum of 1000 Hours of Early Intervention per annum for 2 years for every pre-school child
with autism.
Why support the 1000 Hours Campaign?
The future for children with autism can be significantly improved if they can access quality early intervention that meets best practice guidelines. This means both quality and quantity. Now is the time to have your say and support the next generation of children with autism and their families!
What can you do?
Register at the for 1000 hours website. (no cost)
The campaign sends out regular newsletters with details of upcoming events and information updates.
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