‘You don’t look autistic!’ What not to say if someone discloses they are autistic

‘You don’t look autistic!’ What not to say if someone discloses they are autistic

Research shows autistic people often don’t tell others,even though that can mean they’ll fail to get the support they need and be put at increased risk of mental health concerns.

  • byJewel Topsfield

Latest

The little Geelong theatre company smashing it on the international stage

The little Geelong theatre company smashing it on the international stage

Next week,Back to Back picks up theatre’s International Ibsen Award. Why? For making audiences question their assumptions - and sometimes feel uncomfortable.

  • bySusan Horsburgh
‘After years of failed relationships,I stopped making the same mistake’

‘After years of failed relationships,I stopped making the same mistake’

For Sandra Thom-Jones and many other autistic women,a romantic endeavour can be the ultimate masking experience.

  • bySandra Thom-Jones
The autism advantage - why businesses are hiring autistic people

The autism advantage - why businesses are hiring autistic people

Organisations including software giant SAP,IBM and Westpac are hiring neurodiverse talent to give them an edge.

  • byJewel Topsfield
True story or unreliable source? Film about autism skips controversy
★★★
Review

True story or unreliable source? Film about autism skips controversy

The Reason I Jump offers a profound insight into what it is like to be autistic,or more correctly,what it might be like.

  • byPaul Byrnes
Safety fears at autism school after student flees through shared gate

Safety fears at autism school after student flees through shared gate

The council of the Northern School for Autism has pushed for the government to fix a ‘dangerous’ shared space it has with two community groups.

  • byAdam Carey
Advertisement
Missing autistic teen found safe after five days

Missing autistic teen found safe after five days

Lyla,13,has been found safe and well after being missing for five days,police said.

  • byMarta Pascual Juanola
NDIS uses secret tool to calculate children’s therapy funding

NDIS uses secret tool to calculate children’s therapy funding

NDIA staff have been directed to use an internal practice guide for determining how many hours of therapy children need,often ignoring expert assessments.

  • byKatina Curtis
Children like my daughter need special schools to blossom
Opinion
Schools

Children like my daughter need special schools to blossom

One size does not fit all. A choice of educational style,be it a special school or an integrated-mainstream one,is vital for children who differ in a plethora of intellectual and/or physical ways.

  • byDiana Lawrenson
Demand for specialist preschools after surge in autism diagnoses

Demand for specialist preschools after surge in autism diagnoses

The surge in children being diagnosed with autism at age three or four is fuelling demand for specialist programs in preschools.

  • byCaitlin Fitzsimmons
Please,can we stop the focus on good ‘manners’
Opinion
Friendship

Please,can we stop the focus on good ‘manners’

Heaps of my friends are autistic. They’re used to following a script to fit in,and yet the reason I get along with them so well is that I don’t have to worry about what they’re really thinking – because they tell me.

  • byNaomi Higgins