Autism Association of WA 2020 Annual Report

Read about our services and achievements in this year's annual report.

Annual Report 2020

Contents

Our Strategic Directions

4

Services Overview

6

President's Report

15

The Board

16

Chief Executive Officer’s Report

18

Therapy and Clinical Services

20

Employment Placement and Support Program

22

Community Living

25

What is Autism?

Short Breaks for Children and Adolescents

26

Individual Options

29

Diagnostic Clinics

31

Autism Spectrum Disorder* is a neurodevelopmental condition that impacts on child development in a number of key areas, including communication, social interaction and repetitive patterns of behaviour. Autism is frequently associated with sensory sensitivities and sensory processing difficulties. While Autism Spectrum Disorder is a complex lifelong developmental disability, with appropriate intervention children and adults with Autism can make significant progress and live fulfilling lives. Consequently, it is imperative that individuals with Autism have access to specialist services that understand their needs and are experienced in developing their skills and strengths.

Support for Parents and Families

32

Regional Services

35

Collaboration with Health Care

36

WA Disability Support Awards

38

Community Development and Inclusion

40

Autism in Cricket

42

*For ease of use, the term “Autism” will be used throughout this report to refer to Autism Spectrum Disorder.

International Collaboration

45

COVID-19

47

Conclusion

48

Autism Association of Western Australia - Annual Report 2020 2

It is estimated that 1 in 100 people in Australia have Autism

Autism Association of Western Australia - Annual Report 2020

1 in 100

3

Our Strategic Directions

Our Vision What we work to achieve: • All children with Autism have a great start in life • All children with Autism receive the education they need • All adults with Autism receive the support they need to lead an ordinary life • A community where people with Autism are understood, accepted and celebrated

Our Purpose To advance the personal development, equality of opportunity and community participation of people with Autism and related disabilities

Our Values Passion

Our Culture Belief

to make the greatest difference for the uniqueness of each person to treat individuals and families as we ourselves would like to be treated to fulfill dreams and aspirations to strenuously advocate for people with Autism and their families in all that we undertake

in great possibilities for every child and adult with Autism

Respect

Driven to assist each individual to achieve Respect for individuals, families and advocates Learn from people with Autism and their families Dream we dream BIG for each individual

Commitment

Excellence Innovation

Courage

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Goal 1

Goal 2

Goal 4

Goal 3

Increase organisational capacity and efficiency

Enhance the lives of people with Autism

Support families and carers

Influence and promote best practice

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5

For Children

Services Overview The Autism Association is one of Australia’s largest not-for-profit Autism specific service providers, providing services throughout the lifespan from early childhood through to adulthood. Established in 1967, our focus is on excellence in providing services to people with Autism and their families. Services are person-centred and based on leading international peer-reviewed research in the field of Autism.

School Aged Service

The First Steps for Autism Early Intervention Program The Early Intervention program provides multidisciplinary therapy for children aged up to 7 years of age and is based on a wide body of up to date international research. The program operates with an experienced clinical team, including speech pathologists, psychologists, occupational therapists and early childhood educators. Each family is assigned a key therapist who partners with a family to develop individual intervention plans that are tailored to the needs of each child. The aim of the program is to maximise child development and inclusion in mainstream settings.

The School Aged Service provides a comprehensive range of intervention, therapy, and support to school aged children between 6 and 18 years of age. Our multidisciplinary team of speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists and teachers work together to respond to the needs of each individual child and their family. Our service is child and family centred, and works collaboratively with schools, other community services and the family to maximise the educational and social progress of each child.

Autism Advisor Program

This service provides information and advice to individuals and families. We also provide support prior to, during, and following diagnosis. This includes guidance on services, pathways for early intervention and assistance to access the NDIS.

The Autism Association of

Western Australia provides services to people with Autism and their families across the lifespan.

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Short Breaks for Children (Respite) Short Breaks provides a home away from home where children aged 5 to 18 years old can stay on weekends or school holidays to do the things they enjoy, explore friendships, and build confidence and independence. Short breaks are provided in a range of ways: either at one of our homes in the suburbs, at the child’s own home, or through our community support programs.

Positive Behaviour Service The Positive Behaviour Service supports individuals aged 6 years and over with complex needs who are living at home with their family. The team is multidisciplinary and works closely with individuals and families to support them to achieve positive outcomes.

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For Adults Autism Association of Western Australia - Annual Report 2020 8

Individual Options There are a range of support services that can be chosen by the individual and their family to assist them to participate in the community as well as at home. We work closely with each person to identify the support that best suits them. Our aim is to provide the support the person wants, at the time they want it and in ways that meet their needs. This can include developing a range of new skills and lifelong learning initiatives towards independence, further education, volunteering, or pre-employment assistance.

AIM Employment Our AIM Employment program is a highly regarded specialist employment service focusing on securing and maintaining employment for people with Autism. As the only specialist Autism employment service in Australia we provide comprehensive support to individuals to find jobs that are matched to their goals, skills, and abilities. Employment opportunities encompass a range of work settings from individual commercial environments to supported group business partnerships. Each person is provided on-the-job training and continuing support tailored to their needs.

Therapy and Clinical Support Program

Community Living This service provides support to adults moving from their family home and into a home of their own. Options include support to live independently close to family and friends. In addition, we support individuals to share a home with one other person, or to live with a small group that is comprehensively supported. There are also several other options that can be discussed with our Community Living team. The underlying principle is that we work with each person to have their individual needs and preferences met.

This service assists adults to develop their skills, maximise their independence, and participate in the community. Our multidisciplinary team draws on the strengths of a range of therapists from different professional backgrounds to create a service that is tailored to each individual’s needs and aspirations. We work closely with each person and their family to achieve outcomes that are important to them in a range of natural environments including home, education, employment, and recreation settings.

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Parent Training and Workshops Parents and family training workshops are provided across several of our services including Early Intervention, School Aged Services, and Behaviour Support Programs. Parent training workshops are designed to provide information, practical strategies, and resources to support families in managing everyday situations. These sessions can be delivered as part of a group, one-on-one in the family home, or through webinars.

Information and Advice

First Steps for Autism Day Care This service provides a long day care setting for children aged 2 to 5 years old who have received an Autism diagnosis or are currently going through the diagnostic process. The Autism-specific curriculum incorporates the Early Years Learning Framework, as part of the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care. Each child’s program is designed based on their learning profile and skills development.

Our advisory and consultancy services are available to all families and community members. This is an important service, giving families and individuals access to advice and support when they need it. We provide a range of information via brochures and fact sheets and offer general and specialised consultancy online, via the phone or face-to-face. We also have a range of publications available addressing important topics for people with Autism and their families.

For Families Autism Association of Western Australia - Annual Report 2020 10

Support Groups Raising a child or supporting an older person with Autism places a range of different demands on families. Our support groups are tailored to the family’s journey and focus on the needs of families at different stages of their life. Groups are available for families of newly diagnosed children, school age children, adolescents, and adults with Autism.

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Additional Support

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Regional Outreach We offer a range of services to families living in regional and remote areas through our regional support and consultancy. This includes program therapists providing individual support to families and their support networks via teletherapy, telephone and email consultation. Families also have the option to travel to Perth during school holidays to participate in our intensive holiday program. When our Regional Therapy team are not traveling to various regional towns to provide training and support, online webinars are provided to families and professionals alike.

Professional Training and Development Our multidisciplinary teams provide training services to a range of professionals and other groups including teachers, allied health professionals, service providers, employers, and the broader community. We regularly host leading international training and professional development for researchers and practitioners in the field of Autism through our Masterclass series.

Diagnosis We provide specialist diagnostic services for children from the age of 2 years old. We also provide a specialist Youth Diagnostic Clinic for individuals from 13 years to 30 years old. The specialist assessment teams include a consultant paediatrician, a consultant psychiatrist, psychologists, and speech pathologists; each team specialising in different age cohorts.

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President’s Report

2019-20 marked another solid year for the Autism Association. We delivered on our strategic priorities, including strengthening and expanding our services and options available to individuals and families. We also continued advancing our work through a range of best practice initiatives and collaborations with the local, national and international communities of practice. This year we undertook the transition more fully to NDIS and worked with all of the people we support to tailor their services to their particular needs. The demand for our services continued to grow in the last 12 months, including therapy and clinical services, early intervention for newly diagnosed children, school age services, individual support for children and adults, community living support, employment options and diagnostic services. We expanded our Children’s Diagnostic Clinic in response to demand and successfully opened the Youth Diagnostic Clinic for youth and adults aged 13-30 years. We continued our work with the disability sector in Western Australia, as well as nationally and internationally. We also furthered our work in East Java as part of the Sister State initiative between the West Australian Government and East Java. We worked collaboratively with mainstream services and local communities and made a significant contribution to community development initiatives for people with Autism, in addition to promoting best practice. Like many other services, we faced the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty that surrounded it. However, we used this time to establish new ways of providing services and ensuring ongoing support to people with Autism and their families. In concluding this report, I would like to acknowledge and thank the support of the State Government through Disability Services Department of Communities and other funding bodies, State and Federal, for their ongoing support. In addition, I would like to extend my thanks to the Board for their dedicated support and commitment throughout the year. Finally, I would also like to acknowledge and thank all of our staff, led by the Chief Executive Officer, Joan McKenna Kerr, for the significant work undertaken this year and their dedication to the Autism Association’s mission on behalf of people with Autism and their families.

“This has been another year of

significant work to support people with Autism and their families and we are delighted to report continuing service growth”

Autism Association of Western Australia - Annual Report 2020

Dr Rob Storer President and Chair of the Board

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The Board

Mr Mark Altus

Dr Rob Storer

Mr Geoff Kidd

Mrs Bobby Brownhill

Mr Altus joined the Board of the Autism Association in January 2010. He is also a Director of the Lutheran Church of Australia’s APRA-regulated Authorised Deposit Taking Institution (chairing the Board’s Risk Committee and sitting on the Governance Committee), and chairs Lutheran Homes Foundation (WA) Inc (a small charity). In 2014, he became a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Mr Altus previously chaired the Curtin Business School Advisory Board for the School of Economics and Finance and held a number of positions within the Western Australian Department of Treasury, including as Director of Revenue and Intergovernmental Relations. In 2003–2004 he completed a 6-month secondment to University of Western Australia as Executive Director of Finance and Resources (equivalent to Chief Financial Officer) and continued as a member of the University’s Senate Strategic Resources Committee until December 2015.

CHAIRMAN

VICE CHAIRMAN

Mrs Brownhill has been actively involved in the field of disability over many years. Prior to returning to Western Australia from Melbourne where she and her family lived, Mrs Brownhill represented Mansfield Autistic Services on the Victorian State Council for Autism. On returning to Perth in late 1999, Mrs Brownhill resumed her involvement with the worldwide Special Olympics movement and was a Director of Special Olympics Western Australia up until 2004. Mrs Brownhill is a family member of the Autism Association of Western Australia.

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 adviser 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.

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Emeritus Professor Louis I. Landau AO

Mrs Vicki Rank

Dr Duncan Monro

Ms Catriona Macleod

Professor Landau was medical advisor to the Western Australian Department of Health. Professor Landau was Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at The University of Western Australia for 9 years and was Professor of Paediatrics at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth. He is the founding Chairman of the Institute for Child Health Research (Telethon Kids Institute) and has served on committees of the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee, the Australian Medical Council, and the National Asthma Campaign. Professor Landau was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1996 for his contribution to paediatrics and research in respiratory medicine.

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 2 children. Mrs Rank has been an active member of the Autism Association for more than 2 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 recently retired as a Principal in the Corporate Finance division of RSM Australia Pty Ltd. He previously worked for the large accounting firms KPMG and Crowe Horwath. He has also worked as the CFO for a small listed company APA Financial Services in Australia. Dr Monro has worked in a diverse selection of industries with a particular focus in mining, manufacturing, government, not- for-profit, property, transport, retail and primary producer sectors. 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.

Ms Catriona Macleod is the co-director of Cullen Macleod Lawyers. Cullen Macleod provide services across 5 specialist teams from their team of 18 lawyers plus support staff. Catriona is part of the dispute resolution team - helping businesses and individuals resolve disputes in a practical and cost-efficient way. Ms. Macleod is involved with a number of boards and committees across the legal, business, and not-for profit sectors including the Piddington Society (law), the Western Suburbs Business Association, the Subiaco Justice Centre (a form of community legal centre). She has just finished a 3-year appointment as the inaugural co-chair of the Australasia Centre for Legal Innovation. As a business owner with a diverse working background in many industries, and a real passion for innovation, Catriona has a broad understanding of many of the issues facing her clients, that encompasses more than a legal perspective.

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Chief Executive Officer’s Report

2019–20 was a challenging and defining year for the Autism Association as we grew services, supported people with Autism and responded to the challenges of COVID-19. We delivered on our Strategic Directions by ensuring high quality services, service growth, engagement with families, building organisational capacity, and pursuing innovation. There was growth in all services this year including: diagnostic services for children and youth; early intervention for young children; school age support programs; and services for adults, including individual community support, employment and community living. Over the past 12 months we undertook further planning to expand services and design new services. Additional work also took place to prepare for the full transition in the coming year to NDIS and Quality and Safeguarding Commission. While the second half of the year was characterised by the advent of COVID-19 and the stress experienced by families, we continued to provide services in all of our support programs. What remained unchanged during this time was our dedication to supporting people with Autism and their families. Additionally, we adapted services, where required, during the pandemic to continue this support. Key achievements this year include expansion of Early Intervention and School Age Services across 8 dedicated centres; we supported over 3,153 individuals with therapy services and supported families thought our parent support groups; we supported 85 community-based homes, including 55 shared living homes; and assisted over 523 individuals with employment. In addition, over 4,256 families were assisted by our Autism Advisors and 176 diagnostic assessments were completed for young children. This year, we were extremely pleased to launch the Youth Diagnostic Specialist Team for individuals aged between 13 years and 30 years of age. We also maintained our international networks this year, including our Sister State relationship with East Java, Indonesia. We engaged with research, extended national state-wide networks and continued to promote and facilitate ‘best practice’ in the field of Autism. Furthermore, we spearheaded several new projects to improve health outcomes for people with Autism.

"While no one could have anticipated COVID-19 and its disruption, what remained unchanged during this year was our dedication to supporting people with Autism and their families. Additionally we adapted services, where required, during the pandemic."

Joan McKenna Kerr Chief Executive Officer

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• Autism Advisor Program and family support for newly diagnosed children. • Comprehensive Autism diagnosis for children, adolescents, and adults. • Multidisciplinary early intervention services for newly diagnosed young children. • School support and therapy services for children and adolescents. • Positive behaviour support programs. • Parent MyTime coffee groups and Dads Autism Connect group. • Community living supports including individual living and shared living options. • Support programs tailored to individual needs including skills development, independent living training, social skills, recreation, and personal wellbeing. • After school groups for children and adolescents. • Individual employment support including job-search, on-the-job-training and ongoing support in the workplace. • Mealtime management services delivered by our specialist TASTEE team. • Professional development services for teachers, health professionals, community workers and others. • State-wide consultancy service. • Flexible family support tailored to each family’s needs including in-home and out-of-home support, short breaks, and holiday breaks. • Shared Management Services and/or assistance with managing funding to support self-directed services. • Support to coordinate services. • Regional Intensive Holiday Therapy Program and advice and support services for families living in regional WA. Services Delivered 2019-2020

Year Highlights

400+ mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, attended specialist workshops delivered by a consultant psychiatrist. families were supported by the Autism Advisors team. 4,256 580 health and dental professionals engaged in Autism-support training.

this year. 7,929

service users supported

registrations recieved for our workshops and seminars. 683

523 people with Autism were assisted in employment.

diagnostic assessments were completed by our multidisciplinary team for young children.

176

people were supported to explore new community opportunities. 332

Autism Association of Western Australia - Annual Report 2020

15 regional and remote areas supported through consultancy, webinars, teletherapy and individual programs.

AIM Employment program recieved a 5-star rating.

New Youth Diagnostic Clinic established for 13 – 30 year olds.

Autism in Cricket were awarded the Excellence in Innovation Award at the Western Australian Disability Support Awards.

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This year over 3,153 children and adolescents aged between 6 and 18 years were supported with a range of individual and group therapy. We expanded services in all program areas across our 8 outreach hubs throughout the metropolitan area and developed a range of new social skills groups to support communication and social emotional skill development for all ages.

Therapy

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Therapy and Clinical Services

First Steps for Autism Early Intervention Program The First Steps for Autism Early Intervention program for children aged up to 7 years provides multidisciplinary comprehensive learning and development support to children with Autism through centre-based, home-based and community-based programs. We also work to empower each family to teach their child new skills in everyday situations. The focus is on areas such as communication, social interaction, early childhood skills and a range of other individual needs. Over the year, First Steps expanded into year 1 of school at the request of families. To support this initiative, we developed an individually tailored school curriculum to support each child and their teacher. We are very pleased to say that this has been extremely successful. First Steps for Autism Playgroups Thanks to funding support from Telethon, the First Steps Playgroups were introduced at 5 Child and Parent Centres throughout the Perth metropolitan area. This year over 160 families were supported through these groups and our other therapy services.

Social Skills Therapy Groups We have seen increasing demand for our school age holiday programs this year. These are fun recreational programs with an underlying focus on developing communication as well as social-emotional skills in a supportive environment. There were 9 different programs this year for children and families to choose from, with each tailored to the child’s age, skill level and interests. A total of 85 groups ran across an 8-week period and were accessed by over 600 children. This year we also extended our Koder club for teens, with 15 clubs being held across 5 locations. We also successfully developed a research pilot for the KONTAKT Kids Social Skills Curriculum for children aged 9 to 12 years old. This was undertaken in collaboration with the Stan Perron Foundation, Karolinska Institute Sweden and the Curtin Autism Research Group. In addition, we expanded the community groups available to adults with Autism such as the newly created the PEARLES Therapy Employment group and PEERS for adults. TASTEE Team The Autism Specific Team of Everything to do with Eating, or for short, TASTEE, continues to provide highly specialised mealtime supports for individuals with Autism who have complex mealtime needs. This year the specialist team have provided assessment and intervention plans to a wide age range of people with Autism - ensuring mealtime safety and promoting mealtime participation.

Oisin’s Story Oisin is a creative little boy who loves constructing things. He has a passion for music and has taught himself Twinkle, Twinkle on the piano. He loves spacecrafts and rocket ships, and you will often find messages to be decoded from objects and food left in his midst. Prior to his participation in the Early Intervention program, Oisin’s speech was very limited. He said a few words when he was little and then went mute for a long time. With support, Oisin now holds a conversation, acknowledges how he is feeling, and insists on ordering his own meals at restaurants! “From the moment we started, if we ever needed anything, they never turned us away. When you don’t have family here that is everything and the team have become our family. When we look back to how things were for our family before Oisin joined the Early Intervention program, the transition is huge! Day-to-day the change is slow but looking back, in the last 2 years, it’s night and day!” Oisin’s mum, Louise says:

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Employment Placement and Support Program Our Employment Support program is the only Autism

In collaboration with the Therapy and Clinical Services team, we now have the PEARLES Employment group. This 10-week program targets skill development for finding and maintaining employment through practical skill development tailored to vocational needs. 5-Star Employment Rating Government along with only a handful of other services nationally. This award acknowledges the team’s delivery of high-quality services, knowledge and support to job seekers with Autism. Autism Awareness in Employment During the year we worked with 230 individuals from 10 organisations to promote employment opportunities for people with Autism. Some of the organisations we collaborated with include Bankwest, Dive in Festival, Crown, Department of Health, Key Engineering, Child and Adolescent Community health, Price Cooper Waterhouse, Linkforce, BHP, and Compass Group. Our program was the only program in Western Australia to receive a 5-star rating from the Commonwealth

This year the program expanded to support over 520 participants to find and maintain employment across a range of industries and sectors. This included government, mining, administration, hospitality, information technology, banking, real estate, warehousing, law firms, universities and many more. We partnered with schools and families to provide information on employment pathways and support options for school leavers through our School Engagement and Transition service. This collaboration enables us to make contact early with school- leavers and support them through the transition to employment. This year, opportunities for individuals with Autism to complete internships in businesses continued. We supported interns at BHP, Woodside and Bankwest, with some gaining permanent employment with these companies. We were also very excited to partner with both large and small businesses to develop training and other resources to assist the business community to increase capacity to employ job seekers with Autism in the coming year. Most importantly, we trained and matched individuals with jobs, placed people in jobs with on-the-job training, and worked with employers to expand new opportunities for jobseekers with Autism.

specific employment service in Australia, supporting job seekers to find and maintain employment. Our staff work with individuals to ensure work-readiness, as well as identifying and matching jobs to the strengths, skills, interests, and aspirations of the jobseeker.

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5-Star Support

The Funky Monkey Team “The team from the Autism Association has made a huge difference to our workplace at Funky Monkey Bars. They are reliable employees who put their best efforts into the invaluable tasks they perform every day. Everyone is critical in delivering Funky Monkey fun to families everywhere. The team’s willingness and joyful presence makes our workplace a happier place for all” – Shane Roberts, Director, Funky Monkey Bars. Funky Monkey Bars is a West Australian company that designs and sells monkey bars and play equipment created specifically for family backyards to inspire fun and resilience from active outdoor play. They also employ a number of people from our Employment Program and are great employers! Jessica, Breaden and James are participants in our AIM Employment Program and are an important part of the Funky Monkey Bars team. In amidst COVID-19, Funky Monkey Bars had to close for a short period of time to keep the team safe. However, Aussie kids were eager to keep active outside and with community playgrounds closed, orders began flowing in. We are very happy to say, this brought the team back together in no time at all!

Autism Association of Western Australia - Annual Report 2020

Left to right: Shane Roberts (Business Owner), Marley (Dog), Jessica Ramsden (Employee), Carla Iddon (Job Coach), Breaden Ayres (Employee), Colin Burdle (Business Owner), and James Summerton (Employee).

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Independent Living

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Community Living

Supporting individuals

The Community Living program offers a range of options to assist people to move into a home of their own. This can include living with a small group of people or sharing a home with 1 other person. It can also include living alone with staff support. The diverse nature of the option’s available means that individuals and families can choose what best meets their needs. We work with each person and family to assist them to identify what works best for them and what suits their short-term and long-term goals. This year we again expanded services with 85 homes supported. This includes 56 shared-living homes supported by fulltime staff providing 24-hour support. There are also 29 independent living homes with part- time staff for individuals who only required this level of support. Throughout the year the Community Living team focussed on supporting individuals to transition to the NDIS, working with each individual and their family to ensure they continue to receive the supports they need to achieve their aspirations and goals. We work closely with the person and family to provide each individual with the support they need through careful planning. We pay attention to the detail of each person’s life - to the things that are important to them. We listen to the individual and their family to ensure that transition into a new home is as stress- free and enjoyable as possible.

with Autism to live in a home of their own.

Siahn’s Story Siahn is 19 years old and like most 19-year-old girls, loves to be pampered and have her hair cut and styled. Until recently, Siahn had never visited the hairdresser and instead her mum cut and styled her hair at home. All of this changed this year, when Siahn embarked on a new adventure of having her hair done in a salon. Siahn was a little apprehensive at first but, in time, warmed to the idea of having her hair cut and styled by a trendy hairdresser. Siahn is definitely not looking back. It is all forwards from here, with more regular visits to the salon already in the calendar!

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Short Breaks for Children and Adolescents

Everyone needs a break at times. Our Short Breaks program, also known as Respite, provides a home away from home with fun filled activities for children up to the age of 18 years old. During the short stay, the young people can enjoy the things they

Short Breaks provides an important service for families and children and there are a number of options available, such as support in the family’s own home or a weekend away at one of our homes in the suburbs. It can also include an activity-based program during school holidays; or one-on-one support during the week, including pick up and drop off at school followed by an overnight stay. Our 4 Short Break homes are familiar and homely and provide room to play inside and outside. Each child has their own private bedroom so they can enjoy their own space. During their stay, there are plenty of opportunities to get out and about and participate in their favourite activities. Children are carefully matched based on age, gender and support needs to ensure each child enjoys their stay. Getting away from home provides an additional opportunity for children to form friendships and explore activities they have may not tried before.

Giaan’s Story

“I really love going on Short Breaks, it’s so much fun I have booked in 2 more!... I am hoping that other people can go on Short Breaks to try new activities, become more independent and meet new friends.” Giaan, 17 years. Giaan enjoys her stays at Short Breaks. She enjoys going out for dinner, hanging out, making French toast, and learning different hair styles. At Short Breaks, Giaan gets to do all while hanging out and making friends with girls her age who have similar interests. During her stays, Giaan also learns about tasks around the house such as cooking and shopping – all good skills for any young person to develop, as most mums and dads will tell you!

like to do and explore friendships. They also

have lots of opportunity to build confidence as well as independence skills away from home.

We hope to be able to expand this service in the coming year.

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A home away from home

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Individual Options

The Individual Options program continued this year with each person with Autism and their family in

This year we assisted over 332 people to explore individual opportunities and supported them to achieve the things they wanted to achieve. Independence is different for every person. It can include a wide range of community involvement, networks, skills development, pre-vocational goals and exploring opportunities for further education or work readiness. However, independence is always about the right to choose what you want to do and how you want to be supported. We also developed a number of small friendship groups this year supported by staff. Each group has around 2–3 people who share similar interests. One of our groups, is the ‘Girls Night Out Group’. This group chooses who can join and they love their nights out going to movies, going to dinner, singing karaoke, or attending quiz nights! In addition to this work, there was a wide range of one-on- one support to give individuals opportunity to engage in a wide range of activities including recreational, vocational and volunteering pursuits. Shared Management is another component of our programs to support the person with Autism and their family to have as much choice and control in their service as they wish. It provides families and individuals with the tools and knowledge to shape and drive the support they receive. This initiative has been very successful and creates great personal bonds between the person and their support staff. It also maximises control and choices, as well as maximising flexibility in the delivery of services.

the driving seat directing what works for them.

Veronisha’s Story Veronisha (Nisha) is very connected to the land and being out in the open air is important to her. She enjoys watching people doing activities at the park. With support Nisha has been able to build her confidence to explore new places within her local community and find new hobbies and interests. Recently Nisha has begun participating in dancing, arts and crafts, cooking, swimming, and visiting the local shops to purchase groceries. Last year we also supported Nisha to attend a NAIDOC Festival to celebrate and feel connected to an important part of her identity.

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Diagnosis

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Diagnostic Clinics

Diagnosis provides individuals with Autism access to the support they need to overcome difficulties in education, employment, independent living, and in achieving a good quality of life. Our Diagnostic services now supports children, adolescents, and adults from 2 years old to 30 years of age. Our specialist multidisciplinary assessment teams include a consultant paediatrician, a consultant psychiatrist, psychologists, and speech pathologists, all of whom specialise in Autism. Children’s Diagnostic Clinic In partnership with the University of Western Australia, we provide a comprehensive diagnostic service for children aged 2 to 12 years at our clinic. A total of 176 diagnostic assessments were completed and we are expanding our clinic in the coming year with two additional consultant paediatricians to respond to the demand for diagnostic assessments and support. Youth and Adolescent Diagnostic Clinic This year we opened our new Youth Diagnostic Clinic to provide comprehensive Autism Diagnosis to individuals aged 13 to 30 years old. This new clinic is addressing significant unmet need of school-age youth who have been waiting a long time for assessment or who have ‘slipped through the cracks” in having their needs met. Individuals who are diagnosed in our Youth diagnostic clinic are also able to access tailored support from our Therapy and Clinical Services team.

Our Diagnostic Clinics expanded from our early childhood service with the establishment of a Youth Diagnostic Clinic supporting young people from 13 to 30 years of age.

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Support for Parents and Families

We offer a range of support services for parents, carers and families of children and adults with Autism to assist them with everyday needs.

remain popular and beneficial in building local community connections and development of new friendships.

Our parent supports and services include consultancy services, practical assistance to understand Autism and diagnosis, a wide range of information services including workshops and seminars, and parent support groups. Training Our training sessions provide information, practical strategies, and resources to support parents, carers, and families. A comprehensive calendar of events was launched for the year with a total of 27 workshops and seminar, including 10 delivered as webinars and online training for families in regional and remote areas. To ensure that families had the support and training they needed to transition to the NDIS, the Autism Advisor team ran Getting to Know the NDIS workshops. This included understanding the new funding model, the eligibility criteria, and preparation for the NDIS planning meeting. Throughout the year, 40 Early Days parent training sessions were facilitated, enabling over 250 families to attend the workshops to upskill on behaviour support and developing independence skills. Due to the large amount of interest, 1 workshop was delivered in Japanese and other workshop content was delivered one-on-one to support parents’ individual needs. Parent Support Groups MyTime Our Parent MyTime Coffee groups provide parents and carers with some much-needed time to themselves. These groups

These sessions are run across 6 locations and each group is run by a parent of a child with Autism. After its launch last year, we have continued to run a dad’s specific group with funding support from Ngala.

Dads Group

Our dads group started with just 2 dads and has grown significantly over the past year to support over 150 fathers to become the best dad they can be! The first day of MyTime was the hardest yet most influential day of my life to date. It showed me that it was ok to be feeling as I did; I needn’t be embarrassed. Other fathers were going through the exact same thing and had been doing so for a lot longer than I. They were still able to function as adults and parents. Very, very good parents. More importantly I was exposed to a level of family cohesion that a few months prior I had convinced myself was not possible. A change that to date has increased beyond recognition” - Father of Luke In the last year, the Dads MyTime sessions have extended to include events as part of the Dads Autism Connect group with support from Telethon. In partnership with The Fathering Project and Verge Counselling we have been able to host several nights for dads and father figures of children with Autism as well as our Dads Dinner and Pizza Planning focus groups to assist us in growing this work further in the coming year.

We provide resources, as well as

facilitating chat- groups and other supported parent networks.

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Family Support

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Regional WA

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Regional Services

The Regional Therapy program is growing significantly, supporting families from 15 regional and remote areas throughout Western Australia in the last 12 months.

This year we continued to develop our services as well as offer several therapy services to regional families including: teletherapy, intensive holiday programs, online training and most recently, youth diagnosis via telehealth for those in remote areas. The program expanded to include families with children between 8 and 18 years of age. Training and support were provided to families, teachers, allied health professionals and community organisations. We visited regional areas to deliver workshops and consultancy on support strategies, linkages, resources, and other information. In addition, we also delivered Getting to Know NDIS workshops to individuals and families transitioning to the NDIS. In collaboration with Parenting Connection WA and their Goldfields Parenting Partnership Coordinator (Anglicare), the Regional Therapy team provided workshops to the Kalgoorlie-Boulder region. This included local community workshops on Autism, training to health professionals, as well as training to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Group. We also continued to work in partnership with the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia which is aimed at increasing awareness of Autism in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The 1-week intensive holiday program for regional families also continued in high demand this year. The focus of the program is equipping families to undertake skill development with their child at home. The program is delivered during school holidays and includes the development of an individual program plan for each child based on an assessment with our multidisciplinary team. Families receive coaching and support to implement the plan at home, school, and in the community. In addition to the child-focus, families are supported to establish strong connections with other regional families so they can build natural support networks. Following the success of the First Steps Early Intervention program for children aged up to 7 years old, a School Aged Therapy program for students aged 8 to 18 years and their families has been added to the regional program.

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Collaboration with Health Care

Autism Training in WA Health Sector This year we received funding to partner with the WA Health Sector to work alongside dentists and health professionals throughout Western Australia to develop training packages and resources to increase Autism awareness and skills within the health sector. The aim is to improve health care outcomes for individuals with Autism. This collaboration allowed us to develop training and resources for health professionals on strategies to reduce anxiety and increase engagement of the person with Autism in a health-care environment. As part of this initiative we delivered training sessions to approximately 580 health and dental professionals. In addition, we developed an online training program for the health and dental sectors. The online training program consists of 5 individual modules that include general Autism information; strategies for interacting and communicating with individuals with Autism; and specific strategies for inpatient and outpatient settings. Mental Health Project We also commenced a new initiative that will be launched next year to broaden the knowledge and management of mental health difficulties for adults with Autism, and to respond to the unmet needs of individuals with Autism to access these services. As part of this initiative, we are working with psychiatrists and mental health practitioners to create awareness about Autism by developing a range of resources and delivering training to assist them in responding to the needs of people with Autism who are presenting with complex difficulties. Over 15 clinical workshops were undertaken in the last 12 months, with over 400 psychiatrists and community mental health professionals attended the workshops covering: • Autism identification and clinical flags • Differential diagnosis • Psychiatric comorbidities • Suicide risk • Improving pathways to diagnosis and disability supports • Environmental support strategies

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