Autism Revolution Misses the Mark

As a Dad with a child on the Autism Spectrum, you would expect me to find the Victorian Liberal Parties announcement on Autism Services as a welcome promise. But once again we see policy where the major parties miss the needs for the actual community.

As a policy, it is a positive that those on the spectrum are getting attention. However, the policy itself misses out on tackling some critical issues that need to be sorted first.

From my family’s experience, kids don’t get funding based on having Autism, in fact that item alone shows the policy does not actually understand the spectrum. I’m no expert either and my son is on that spectrum. Kids on the spectrum get funding based on the severity of their learning disorders. The Department of Education itself says that it recognises that it is unlikely a single approach would meet the needs of all children and young people on the autism spectrum, and that flexible approaches are needed.

In this flexible approach, the provision of Teachers aides are severely lacking. We are one of the lucky ones, our child qualified, but we know of many other kids that have missed out. Ask any teacher and they will probably tell you of how the assessment process is too high. The could probably talk of kids missing out on funding by a mark or two, leaving the teacher in disbelief.

So many of these kids are falling through the cracks. Teachers try to assist where possible, along with the school community, but there is only so much they can do. The kids in the class that can strive for more are at risk of missing out on their time, as resources that should be in the class just are not funded. In short we have too high expectations on our school system and not enough support in the class room to deliver on those expectations.

Then there is the costly process of gaining a timely autism assessment. From our experience its early educators that will raise the need to get an assessment, after 3 years of age when the student is displaying learning difficulties. To get that early diagnosis, it can cost around $2,000. Not every family can fund that. Not every parent is able to cope with a delay waiting for their turn on the current public system waiting list. A wait that puts early intervention at risk.

Could you imagine if that $2.4 million hotline was actually put to Teachers aides in schools, where individual learning plans and early interventions could lead to better life outcomes for the child and their family. Could you imagine the broader teaching outcomes with a properly supported class environment.

Ideally both the hotline and aides would be provided for, but I am sure every teacher in the state, and especially in my community, would agree that aides and the personalised plan they could assist with would have life long results and be more valuable to the child and the community.

This policy is not only underwhelming, it shows that once again major parties need to carefully consider what is the goal they are trying to achieve, and missing the mark completely.