Liam’s story—In search of the ordinary

Although Liam told he was not comfortable with public speaking, toward the end of last year he went on to present a paper at a major international conference in Sydney. This article tells of Liam’s experiences speaking at the conference along with his day-to-day life working at the RAC in Joondalup. He shows how the […]

Design Academy with an Award-Winning Play

The people we meet every day continue to amaze us—how far they have come. Where will they go next? Read about Kaisher, who was selected to be part of a four-day workshop in Design Academy, within the prestigious Art Centre Melbourne. Kaisher Moi’s Melbourne Experience: Design Academy with an Award-Winning Play February 06, 2018 I started […]

A book to look out for

Temple Grandin: the stories I tell my friends By Anita Lesko Publication: 2 April 2018 by Future Horizons Described as the most famous person with Autism in the world, Dr Temple Grandin is certainly well known in our world of Autism.  You may have read her books and seen TV documentaries about her work in […]

Calling for Expressions of Interest for Professional Development

The Autism Association of WA is currently calling for Expressions of Interest for Professional Development Seminars. Seminars can be provided to a variety of audiences with enough interest. Current topics include: Best Practice Strategies for Students with autism across the primary years Best Practice Strategies for Students with autism – High School years Working with […]

Help me have a Happy New School Year!

The New Year, with all it entails for life at school, is likely to be a time of mixed emotions for families with a child with Autism. Some parents will already have gained information from our recent publication Stepping Up: Parent Transition Handbook which provides lots of handy tips about the move from pre-kindy to early […]

Research Update

February 2018 January marked the start of another exciting year of research at the Autism Association. In 2018, several projects initiated last year will come to a close. This includes the Debunking Autism Myths project and the Stakeholder Perspectives project. The Debunking Autism Myths project looked at combating harmful myths surrounding the perception of Autism […]

Cong is smiling

At our First Steps for Autism therapy program, one small boy named Cong comes in through the door and greets a group of therapists with a happy “Hi”. Mum, Amanda, is dismissed and Cong is ready for action and learning. But it wasn’t always that way. Toward the end of last year Cong was fraught […]

Jumping with joy! Charlie’s First Argument

Nine year old Charlie was introduced to our School Aged Therapy Service late last year. Charlie’s goal was to develop his confidence to speak in social situations. As with many children and adults who have Autism, Charlie had difficulty reading other’s body language and recognising the emotions of friends and family. Charlie worked with his […]

Happy holiday—at home or away!

For many of us, what we love about the summer holiday season is being able to throw our working week schedule away. Our time doesn’t have to be structured and planned the way it is for much of the year. However, for many people with Autism it is that familiar structured routine that helps them […]

Autism and Sport—what every coach needs to know

Following an online survey inviting sport coaches to tell us of their experiences with people with Autism we realised that help—by way of information about Autism—was urgently needed. The value of sporting activity for people with Autism should not be underestimated. Apart from the well documented benefits of physical activity for all of us, for […]

The Conversation—Autism, Girls and Diagnosis

Professionals in the field have for many years given thought as to why there are so many more boys than girls diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The generally accepted ratio of four boys to every girl rises to around 10:1 in ‘high functioning’ Autism or Asperger Syndrome (AS). Incidence ratios as high as 15:1 […]

‘Inspire Me, Inspire You’—Jed is empowered and inspires at BHP Billiton

Above photo: Jed at work Following the many success stories we have reported from the Association’s AIM Employment Services, a highlight of the year has been Jed’s recent training placement with the much sought after employer, BHP Billiton—the world’s largest mining company. The position has been a long time in the making, with ongoing negotiation […]