Page 3954 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 30 October 2013
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as rocking or chanting. It is little wonder parents and carers need support and guidance.
ASD is generally identified in children as young as two and, therefore, the years between two and five are incredibly important as such a great deal of development occurs in those years. A clear pathway for assessment and then support and therapeutic input is something that is highly valued by parents of children with ASD. While the finer details of intervention are not the same for every child, there is a broad suite of strategies that I consider to be a good place to start when commencing intervention. It is those things that mean that specific autism facilities can be established specifically geared to meet the communication needs of children with ASD.
I have said in this place before that the notion of an autism-specific school is not without merit. Indeed, there is clearly an argument to be put for it. Some of the benefits could include a single curriculum that was developed and tweaked to suit children with ASD over time. A school focused on a single disability that is characterised by very specific communications and social difficulties would have the opportunity to tailor the learning environment to suit the learning style of the children they are working with. In the case of children on the autism spectrum, this could be about creating a very structured and routine-based environment with a high level of visual supports in place, the kind of things that reduce anxiety for children on the spectrum and improve their aptitude for learning language and other skills, an environment where routines are important and when changes to routine are planned and escalated and do not just happen on a whim.
An autism-specific school could also become a hub of excellence in regard to the development of teacher and therapist skills which could then better inform others within the ACT community. However, I stress that much of this expertise already exists within the ACT. The Therapy ACT autism assessment team are a group of professionals focused on this particular group of clients who must have surely already become a go-to place for support and clinical advice in regard to these children. The assessment team undertake their assessments across home and school environments and follow up with specific programs and support for children who are diagnosed.
Turning to the specifics of today’s motion, having made those general observations about the issue we are discussing, the first clause speaks to the University of Canberra’s role. My understanding is that preliminary discussions have taken place with UC but that there are no firm commitments about progressing the project. I am glad Mr Doszpot seems to have moved away from his initial claim in his press release last time that the University of Canberra is in the final planning stages of establishing such a centre for children with autism.
The way this has been framed now is probably more realistic at least, but the amendment put forward by Ms Burch, I think, provides even further clarity about the state of play, which is that no formal proposal has yet been received by the university. Ms Burch spoke about that in her remarks with the detailed information she put forward from University of Canberra.
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