Canberra Releases Strategy to Integrate, Improve Autistic Australians' Quality of Life

The United Nations declared April 2 as World Autism Day, which is aimed at raising awareness about the neurodivergent profile and taking the initiative in accepting and familiarizing society with the nature of autistic people.

In Australia, the observance in 2024 has been marked with its federal government releasing a draft strategy hoping to promote the lives of autistic Australians.

According to ABC, the document was released on Tuesday (Apr. 2) as part of a public consultation gaining feedback to coordinate a national approach aimed at better supporting autistic people at each stage of life instead of just in childhood.

It was revealed that based on the findings of a strategy oversight group commissioned by the Australian government, social inclusion, economic inclusion, diagnostic assistance and other services, and physical and mental health were the four key areas that were identified based on the input of autistic people and their families.

Public consultation for the document will be open until May 31.

Autistic woman and co-chair of the government's strategy oversight group Clare Gibellini said that the release of the draft strategy was a historic moment for their community.

"It's person-centered," she said. "It looks at our strengths, rather than things we can't do. It's trauma-informed and it's guided by our own lived experience."

The autistic community hoped that the strategy would ultimately lead to a greater understanding of autism across communities, help make education and employment more inclusive, and provide better support for parents and carers.

Personally, Gibellini was also hopeful that having a national strategy would become a paradigm shift in helping autistic people feel heard.

"It's time to acknowledge that being autistic doesn't mean we're flawed or broken and need to be fixed," she added. "It's also time to work towards preventing anything that seeks to erase autistic identities."

The ABC explained that outcomes for autistic Australians were much poorer than for the rest of the population, and the lack of a national approach has also led to inconsistencies across the country when it came to inclusion and support.

Countries like England, the United States, and France already have national autism strategies. Domestically, the state of South Australia provided a model and appointed an assistant minister for autism when Emily Bourke took the portfolio in 2022.

She welcomed the prospect of a national autism strategy and, since taking up the portfolio, has been able to implement several initiatives.

"We're now the first in the nation to have autism inclusion teachers in our public primary schools," the state minister said.

The government's push to develop an autism strategy was due to the surge in Australians knowing that they were autistic in recent years.

It was thought that at least 200,000 Australians have an autism diagnosis, though the true number of autistic people was likely to be much higher, which could be attributed to factors such as the time and cost of getting a diagnosis.

Another complication in implementing a national strategy for autism is the fact that every autistic person is unique and could have a wide variety of abilities and significantly different support needs - from cognitive behavioral therapy to occasional speech therapy to round-the-clock care.

According to the Australian Department of Social Services, the life expectancy of autistic people is 20 years less than the general population, and they are nine times more likely to die by suicide.

Autistic people are also almost eight times more likely to be unemployed, and they are at a higher risk of homelessness and violence, the department added.

In addition, about 95% of autistic Australians also have other neurodivergent diagnoses.

According to the latest quarterly report of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), out of 646,449 participants, 230,119 - or 36%, the highest proportion on the scheme - have autism listed as a primary diagnosis.