Autism Association 2025 Annual Report

Annual Report

Who We Are

OUR STORY:

The Autism Association of Western Australia is one of Australia’s leading specialist service providers for Autistic children and adults . Established in 1967, the Autism Association provides a range of services from early childhood through adulthood , supporting individuals and families through every stage of life. Our services are person-centred and based on leading international peer-reviewed research in the field of Autism. Additionally, we maintain well established links both nationally and internationally, ensuring we stay up to date with advances in this ever-evolving field of research and practical experience.

1

OUR PURPOSE:

To advance the inclusion, equality of opportunity and community participation of people with Autism.

OUR VISION:

All children with Autism have the best start in life. All children with Autism receive the education they need. All Autistic adults have opportunity to lead a life of their choosing . A community where the strengths of Autistic people are understood , accepted and celebrated.

OUR VALUES:

Respect

Trust

Collaboration

Passion

Integrity

We honour the uniqueness of each person. We treat everyone with dignity, listening to your experience, making sure your voice is valued and you are heard.

Trusting relationships are at the heart of everything we do. We will be open, honest, truthful and fair always.

Individuals, families and staff work together as one. We collaborate closely with individuals and families to achieve the best outcomes together.

We work with vigour to make the greatest difference. We are unwavering in our passion to make good things happen for the people we serve, being inspired to go above and beyond in everything we do.

A commitment to honesty in everything we do. We are dedicated to honesty in our relationships, committed to doing what is right and showing kindness in everything we do.

2

3

The Autism Association is dedicated to working alongside Autistic individuals and their families to create the supports that are important to them. Our specialist teams understand Autism and work collaboratively with individuals, families, carers, and other key people to provide tailored support to suit each person’s strengths, needs and preferences. Working alongside Autistic individuals and their families Our Services

4

Our Services

Diagnosis

Therapy Services

Family Support

A diagnosis provides Autistic individuals an understanding of their strengths and difficulties, and the support they need in achieving their goals and a good quality of life.

Personalised, evidence-based therapy services for children, teens and adults, tailored to your needs, strengths and goals, wherever you are on your journey.

Supporting and empowering parents, carers and support networks important to each individual’s life is a core part of all our services.

View Diagnosis

View Therapy Services

View Family Support

Community Support

Employment

Regional Services

Support to help individuals pursue their interests, build independence, and achieve their goals within the community.

Our Employment program supports job seekers with Autism to find and maintain work in an area of their choice.

Supports for families, professionals and organisations in regional and remote areas of Western Australia.

View Community Support

View Employment

View Regional Services

Community Living

Specialised Areas

Short Breaks

Our Community Living program provides a range of opportunities for people to live in their own home and lead the life they want.

Our specialised mealtime, AAC and Positive Behaviour Support teams provide support to individuals with Autism to achieve their goals.

Weekend stays where children can enjoy activities they love with peers while building independence.

View Community Living

View Specialised Areas

View Short Breaks

5

6

President’s Report

2024/2025 was another year of significant work in supporting Autistic people and their families.

A significant undertaking this year has been preparation for the Asia Pacific Autism Conference in November. We will bring together individuals from over 28 countries, including academics, families, Autistic people, educators, researchers, community leaders and medical professionals, to join with us in Creating and Inspiring the Future Together . Our work and achievements over the last 12 months would not have been possible without the support of our stakeholders, including the community, service-users, Autistic people, families, the State Government through the Department of Communities, as well as other State and Federal bodies. I would also like to thank the Board for their significant work during the year to advance the mission of the Autism Association of Western Australia. To conclude, I would like to acknowledge and thank all staff, led by our Chief Executive Officer, Joan McKenna Kerr AM, for their instrumental role in supporting individuals with Autism and their families.

The demand for services continued to grow but staff shortages in some programs held us back. However, we are very pleased to report that we expanded services in a range of areas including Individual Support Services, Community Living Services, Diagnostic Services, Inclusive Employment and others. We began a new service for out-of-home care for uniquely vulnerable individuals, and we look forward to progressing this service in the coming year. We worked with many community organisations and healthcare providers throughout the year. The work involved creating opportunities to improve the lives of Autistic children and adults through inclusion and greater sensitivity to their needs. We supported service provision in regional Western Australia and continued our international work with East Java to promote best practice initiatives for Autistic people and their families. We progressed a range of infrastructure work, as part of our five-year plan, to respond to service needs and to expand service provision. In addition, we progressed a range of digital transformation projects to streamline communication and support to individuals and families.

Dr Rob Storer President and Chair of the Board

7

8

The Board

Dr Rob Storer CHAIRMAN

Mr Geoff Kidd VICE CHAIRMAN

Mrs Vicki Rank

Dr Duncan Monro

Dr Storer is a Consultant Anaesthetist and long-term member of the Autism Association. He has been actively involved in leading the Board at a time of major strategic development, maintaining a keen interest in the field of disability as well as Autism. Dr Storer is also a Committee Member of the Western Australian Branch of the Australian Society of Anaesthetists and of the Anaesthetic Departments of both St John of God Subiaco and Murdoch.

Mr Kidd is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand and has over 40 years’ experience in professional practice as an accountant and Business Advisor to a wide range of clients. Until his retirement in 2015, he was the Managing Partner and Chief Executive of the Perth office and a member of the national executive of large multinational firm Crowe Horwath. Mr Kidd has been a former State Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and has been a member of a number of not for-profit boards, including 10 years as a board member of Lifeline WA.

Mrs Rank is a Senior International Training Specialist in industrial software. She has been a family member of the Autism Association for over 21 years and is married with two children. Mrs Rank has been an active member of the Autism Association for more than two decades and has supported the Association in public education, fundraising and other projects throughout the years.

Dr Monro has over 30 years’ experience as a Chartered Accountant and Business Advisor in Australia and internationally. He previously worked as Principal in the Finance division of RSM Australia Pty Ltd for the large accounting firms KPMG and Crowe Australasia. Dr Monro currently serves on the Boards of other not-for-profit organisations including Central Desert Native Title Services Limited, Yued Aboriginal Corporation, Yilka – Trustee Advisory Committee, Denmark Arts Council Inc., and South Coast Natural Resource Management Inc. Dr Monro has worked in a diverse selection of industries. His experience covers a wide range of areas including business valuations, due diligence, business planning, financial mentoring and advisory services for Indigenous entities, and general financial consulting.

9

Professor Stephanie Fryer-Smith

Clinical Professor Harvey Coates AO

Mrs Bobby Brownhill

Mr Mark Altus

Mrs Brownhill has been actively involved in the field of disability over many years, both in Australia and overseas. Prior to returning to Western Australia from Melbourne, where she and her family had been living, Mrs Brownhill represented Mansfield Autistic Services on the Victorian State Council for Autism. As the mother of a son with Autism, she is involved with parent support groups and accommodation projects. She is also involved in advocacy for people living with a disability, and their parents.

Mr Altus has held a number of senior positions in his career. He is a former chair of the Curtin Business School Advisory Board for the School of Economics and Finance. He was a Director of LLL Australia Ltd, an APRA-regulated Authorised Deposit Taking Institution. As a former Public Servant, he has held a number of positions in the WA Department of Treasury, including Director of Revenue and Intergovernmental Relations. He also undertook a secondment to the University of Western Australia as its Chief Financial Officer. He was also a member of the University’s Senate Strategic Resources Committee. Mr Altus is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and currently chairs Lutheran Homes Foundation (WA) Inc.

Clinical Professor Coates AO is a former Paediatric Otolaryngologist and Clinical Professor at the University of Western Australia, specialising in the medical treatment and research in ear disease in remote Aboriginal children. After training at the Mayo Clinic, he worked for 38 years as a Consultant at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. He co founded the first Paediatric Otolaryngology Society in Australia and was a Board member of the Telethon Kids Institute. He worked with the Commonwealth to develop the ear health roadmap; and worked with the World Health Organisation. Professor Coates was honoured with appointment to the Officer in the Order of Australia in 2005.

Professor Fryer-Smith holds both Bachelor and Master degrees in Law from the University of Western Australia. She was admitted to the Supreme Court of Western Australia as a barrister and solicitor and accredited by LEADR as a mediator. She has worked in private legal practice as a Registrar and Native Title Coordinator at the Federal Court of Australia in Perth, and for six years was Registrar and Chief Executive of the National Native Title Tribunal. Professor Fryer-Smith has extensive experience in the higher education sector and international education. She has lectured in native title law and has published articles on a range of indigenous land rights issues. In 2021, Professor Fryer-Smith joined Federation University Australia as Director, Governance and Strategy, most recently holding the position of Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow.

10

Chief Executive Officer’s Report

2024/2025 was a year of strategic development in a demanding operating environment. Regardless, we remained focused on our mission to advance the participation of Autistic children and adults in all facets of social, educational and economic life in our community.

supervision. The program supports both Autism Association psychology registrars and external registrars with a pathway to registration. In addition, and very importantly, it provides an excellent grounding in disability and Autism as part of the core curriculum. We supported 88 Community Living homes this year, of which 68 are shared homes and the remainder individual homes. This is a very important service for individuals and families to support young people to live a more independent life in adulthood. In the year ahead, Community Living will further expand to deliver an Out of Home Care Program funded by the Department of Communities to support uniquely vulnerable young people. We look forward to working in partnership with the Department of Communities to deliver this very important service.

Services grew, including Diagnostic Services, Individual Community Support Services, Community Living, and Employment Support Services. We were very pleased to maintain our strong connections and work with schools through our School Age Therapy Services. We expanded our social skills programs for school age children and specialist therapy programs including Augmentative and Alternative Communication, in addition to a range of community inclusion projects. Services were provided to 7,764 service users, inclusive of Early Intervention, School Age Services, Community Participation, Employment Support, Community Living, Short Breaks and Diagnostic Services. We undertook over 2,800 consultancies across Western Australia and provided support to 15 regional areas, meeting with families, local service providers, health specialists and schools. We also

provided a range of training in regional areas to support local solutions in supporting individuals and families. This is in addition to intensive support services for families during school holidays. Our Early Intervention Services continued to be delivered in the community or from one of our five service hubs. This is a critically important service to families of young children at a time following diagnosis when support is greatly needed. In addition, therapy services for all ages remained in high demand, only impeded by workforce shortages of therapists. We were also very pleased this year to expand our Provisional Psychology Academy to support the professional development of psychology registrars toward AHPRA registration. This includes providing them with training, mentoring and Board-approved

11

We commenced a number of infrastructure projects this year to support service expansion and development, including a new service hub in Joondalup for individuals and families. We also undertook redevelopment of our Hay Street facilities to support staff training, service expansion and service outreach. Building work also took place to support the expansion of Community Living support services. Our international connections continued in 2024/2025, marking the 13 th anniversary of our work as part of the sister-state relationship between Western Australia and East Java. In November 2024 we were pleased to visit East Java, delivering a four-day intensive masterclass to over 1,000 alumni, teachers, and health professionals. It goes without saying that we were very pleased with the excellent result of our NDIS Accreditation Audit. The outcome was a true reflection on our dedication to providing high quality services that reflect the needs of the individuals and families we support. The past year continued to be one of change in many areas across the disability sector. However, what has stayed the same is our enduring dedication to ensuring every Autistic person has the opportunities they need to lead a good life, whether as a child or an adult. We worked to accomplish this through our advocacy, our collaboration with others and the support services we provide.

Throughout the last 12 months, we worked with Autistic people, their families, community organisations, schools, healthcare providers and employers to make inclusion an ever-increasing reality for all; and we look forward to doing so again in the coming year. We now look forward to November 2025 when we will host the Asia Pacific Autism Conference (APAC 2025). We expect that this will be a wonderful event – the first of its kind since before COVID-19. We will bring together leaders, including Autistic individuals and families, academics, teachers and a wide range of professionals from over 28 countries to reflect on Creating and Inspiring the Future Together . I would like to thank all of our stakeholders for their ongoing support. I would also like to again acknowledge the dedicated work and support of our Board, led by Dr Rob Storer, and the staff at the Autism Association for their commitment and dedicated work during the year. Thank you to members of the community, our donors, community based organisations and public sector organisations with whom we work. Lastly, thank you to Autistic individuals and their families for leading our direction and continuing to teach and inspire us every day.

Joan McKenna Kerr AM Chief Executive Officer

12

2025 Highlights

280 Individuals assisted to find and maintain employment

320 Diagnostic assessments undertaken

7,764 Service users supported 2,852 Individual support packages delivered 2,005 Children, adolescents and adults accessed therapy services

Over

2,800 Consultancies undertaken

259 Individuals assisted in community participation

5 Community projects

15 Regional communities supported 88 Community homes supported

200 Over Families and their children accessed playgroups

162 Individuals supported to live in their own home

13

As unique as you

The Coordinators are very knowledgeable. They helped to ensure the support is the best fit for our child and us as parents. “ ”

I cannot fault the Autism Association staff, they are wonderful. The support is provided smoothly. “ ”

“

The Association’s program was very well-structured compared with what we have experienced with other service providers.

”

“

The key workers advocated fiercely for my child in funding issues, his rights and other matters. My child is the centre of the multi-disciplinary team and their contribution was indispensable. “ ”

“

The staff members were unbelievable in the way they support my child.

They listen to me about goals.

”

”

“

I like the Association because I felt I am not being judged when openly sharing my thoughts and feelings with the staff. They are very supportive.

We came to the Association from recommendations by other users. They are professional and caring. We are very happy with the quality of support our son received. They consulted us a lot and kept us well informed.

“

”

”

14

Achievements

Successful establishment of a new Out of Home Care Program to provide safe, stable and supportive full-time care to uniquely vulnerable young people.

Launched our Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) Academy for PBS practitioners to specialise in Autism.

Launched Stepping Out for Teens and Young Adults program to support 15 to 18-year-olds with the transition from full-time schooling to adult life.

Commenced a range of infrastructure projects, including building 4 new Community Living homes.

Commenced construction on the new Joondalup Service Hub .

15

Launched new systems and our new website as part of our Digital Transformation to better support individuals and families.

Developed our social group curriculum, launching Fantastical Feasts and Curious Conjurers as part of our Social Magic program .

Expanded our specialist mealtime (TASTEE) and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) therapy teams.

Launched the Provisional Psychology Academy to provide 48 psychology internships over 3 years.

Supported 15 regional areas including visiting Geraldton and Albany to provide specialised and individualised support to families and delivered training to health, education and community professionals. In January and July, we welcomed 34 families to our Regional Intensive Therapy program.

Excellent results in our NDIS Accreditation Audit .

Travelled to East Java as part of the West Australian Sister-State initiative.

Excited to be hosting the Asia Pacific Autism Conference in November 2025 at Crown Perth.

16

17

Purpose-Driven Projects

Throughout the year, we delivered a range of initiatives designed to provide greater opportunities and drive change for Autistic individuals and their families. These initiatives spanned key areas including community engagement, digital transformation, infrastructure development, service innovation and advocacy – all centred around meeting the needs of the Autistic community, better supporting the people we serve. The projects aim to develop strong partnerships with organisations and the West Australian community as a whole to foster a deeper understanding of Autism, create more opportunities, and lead the way to an inclusive community for all.

18

Collaboration with Healthcare

In the last 12 months we have made substantial progress with our systemic advocacy project, aiming to improve access to and quality of health services for people with Autism. The project includes collaboration with Autistic individuals and primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare providers to drive holistic change in the health sector. Funding from the Department of Communities has made this project possible. We have now delivered training to staff at Fiona Stanley Hospital and advised on the development of sensory rooms for the facility’s adult and paediatric emergency departments. We also provided consultancy to St John of God Hospital Midland around potential familiarisation appointments within their Emergency Department. Additional workshops and training were delivered to various other WA health service providers including Royal Perth Bentley Group, WA Country Health Service, Child and Adolescent Community Health, and North Metro Health Services.

As part of this project, we have worked with a co-design team to produce four advocacy videos to raise awareness of Autism within the health sector, provide service as a training resource for health professionals, and promote systemic change. Our ongoing partnership with the Curtin University School of Oral Health is now in its fifth year, and we were again invited to deliver Autism workshops for students to facilitate understanding and inclusivity in clinical settings. Following these workshops, we continued to bring theory into practice by supporting with student-led dental familiarisation clinics – offering adapted appointments where children and adults with Autism can familiarise themselves with a dental clinic environment at their own pace. These clinics have seen interest and attendance grow year on year, with additional clinics running later in 2025 already at capacity.

19

A Community for All

We remain committed to creating a community where all can participate and all are welcome. We work to achieve this through greater understanding and awareness of Autism and working with West Australian organisations to create more opportunities for Autistic people to get involved in community activities and events. Our Autism in Cricket program is now in its seventh year. In September we welcomed over 200 children to our annual Come and Try Session alongside Autism Association staff and Program Ambassador Adam Gilchrist. We have also built on our relationships with endorsed cricket clubs across Perth, supporting them to create inclusive sporting environments and opportunities on and off the field. We continued collaborating with and providing training to staff and volunteers from Ocean Heroes, an organisation supporting people with disabilities to feel confident and safe when participating in water-based activities.

We commenced work with Volleyball WA to support with developing a suite of resources and training sessions to increase inclusion in volleyball for individuals with Autism and other disabilities. To create better experiences for all, we continued our work as part of the Perth Airport Access and Inclusion Panel, Optus Stadium Disability Inclusion Advisory Panel, and Western Australian Electoral Commission Disability Reference Panel. We had 14 Sensitive Santa days during the festive season across five Perth shopping centres in October and November. Over 200 families registered to enjoy sensory-friendly Christmas cheer with the support of our staff. To recognise World Autism Month in April, we again launched the Learn Together. Grow Together campaign. We also hosted our largest Light Up the Spectrum event to date, with more than 51 buildings and landmarks spanning metro and regional WA taking part to light up the state in a spectrum of colour.

20

International Collaboration

In November, we had the privilege of traveling to East Java to deliver an intensive four-day masterclass to over 1,000 alumni, teachers, and health professionals. Our workshops covered healthcare, employment, and transition to adulthood among other key topics. During our visit, we spoke with politicians and heads of government departments involved in services for children and adults with Autism. In recognition of the 35 th anniversary of the sister-state relationship between Western Australia and East Java, we welcomed a sport diplomacy contingent to Perth to discuss inclusion in sport. In the year ahead we will host a study tour from the Paediatric Dentistry Specialist Program, Department of Paediatric Dentistry

at the Universitas Airlangga. This visit will focus on learning about dental health care and services for children with Autism in Western Australia and sharing information about the other services we provide. We have also received several requests for collaboration and Autism advice and consultancy internationally, including Ireland, France, and a study tour from Heep Hong Society in Hong Kong, to learn about our early childhood services, family supports, and community development initiatives.

21

Asia Pacific Autism Conference 2025

We are delighted to be hosting the Asia Pacific Autism Conference 2025 (APAC 2025) this November. At present, there are representatives confirmed from over 28 countries, including Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central America and North America, as well as Australia. Educators, medical professionals, academics, allied health professionals, government policy makers, NGOs, Autistic individuals and families will meet at Crown Perth from November 13 th to 15 th inclusive to share knowledge and insights from current cutting-edge research, best practice, leadership and lived experience. Having received over 350 speaker submissions from more than 20 countries, reflecting the depth and breadth of expertise across the Autism community, the Asia Pacific Autism Conference is expected to be a vibrant hub of innovative thinking and impactful approaches in the field of Autism.

22

T (08) 9489 8900 F (08) 9489 8999 E autismwa@autism.org.au

Locked Bag 2 SUBIACO WA 6904 215 Stubbs Terrace Shenten Park 6008

autism.org.au