Autism Association 2022 Annual Report

Therapy and Clinical Services This year, our First Steps for Autism Early Intervention program supported 923 children up to 7 years of age, providing multidisciplinary supports to maximise child development and inclusion in mainstream settings. In addition, our School Age service, provided support to 1,571 children and young people 8 and 17 years of age with a focus on maximising educational and social inclusion. We were also able to offer teletherapy this year for those families who wished to access this service and for whom it is appropriate. Our after-school and school holiday groups provided a range of fun learning options for over 530 individuals. This included the Social Adventurers curriculum with Discovery Club, Explorers Club, and Discovery Kitchen to name just a few.

Despite the many challenges of COVID-19, we adapted our services and supported 3,848 children and adults this year.

Following the success of the KONTAKT Teens research project with Curtin Autism Research Group, we continued to offer this social skills program as a part of our regular group program. The Adolescent PEERS Group ran alongside the Young Adults PEERS Group and online sessions were added to support the demand for this program. Over the year, 1,071 adults were supported through a range of therapy-based options, including home, community, employment and community living settings. We also expanded our Positive Behaviour Support program to meet increasing demand. In doing so, we established an internal endorsement program for Positive Behaviour Support Practitioners. The Autism Specific Team of Everything to do with Eating (TASTEE) supports individuals with highly specialised mealtime requirements. TASTEE focuses on improving quality of life and safety for people with Autism through the provision of comprehensive assessment and mealtime management plans. This program is in alignment with the NDIS practice standards, current research, and NDIS HIDPA guidelines.

Autism Association of Western Australia - Annual Report 2022 20