A new nation-leading State Government advisory group will focus on mitigating barriers to autism assessment and diagnosis in South Australia.
Headed by Assistant Minister for Autism Emily Bourke, the South Australian Autism Assessment and Diagnosis Advisory Group (the Advisory Group) has been created in response to the state Autism Strategy and Charter.
This Advisory Group will bring together State Government Departments and key representatives from national medical colleges including:
- Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
- Royal Australasian College of Physicians
- Speech Pathology Australia
- Occupational Therapy Board of Australia
- Australian Medical Association
- Australian Psychological Society
The Advisory Group will provide advice regarding factors contributing to barriers to autism assessment and diagnosis in South Australia.
The group will also identify opportunities for reform to improve autism assessment and diagnosis, including consideration of a government framework, the National Guidelines for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism and post-assessment and diagnosis support for South Australians.
The inaugural Advisory Group meeting is scheduled to be held in January 2025.
The State Government is also seeking a diagnostician with lived experience of autism to join the board, with applications to be part of the Advisory Group now open on I Work For SA and close at 11pm next Thursday, 28 November.
As put by Emily Bourke
The first focus area of the state's first Autism Strategy is to improve the accessibility of diagnosis and awareness of diagnosis services for Autistic people.
We know knowledge is key in understanding what autism is, just as it is key to gaining access to an autism assessment.
We have heard from health professionals and members of our community that knowing how and where to access or provide an autism assessment can vary significantly.
No longer are we going to push this question down the road, we are going to act by bringing the right people – from GPs to speech pathologists to psychologists to occupational therapists – to the one table, to finally work through these questions to address wait lists and access to autism assessments.
Background
Autism is a neurological developmental difference that impacts the way an Autistic person sees, experiences, understands and responds to the world.
Every person's lived experience of autism is different.
More than 200,000 Australians are Autistic. 1 in 4 Australians has an autistic family member. Autism is the largest primary disability group in the NDIS, and South Australia consistently sits above the national average, with around 41% of South Australian NDIS participants being Autistic.
