Autism Association of WA 2020 Annual Report

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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