The efficacy of the Australian Disability Employment Services (DES) for autistic jobseekers has not been examined and is currently undergoing Government reform. To help inform the new DES strategy, we sought the views of: 24 autistic individuals; seven family members of autistic individuals, and; 46 DES employees. Data were collected using surveys…

Children with developmental concerns in Australia continue to experience inequitable healthcare and service-related delays, even when diagnostic risk is identified. This study sought to explore service and demographic pathway factors leading up to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment, including value of screening measures applied at triage.…

An on-line survey of 102 (51 females; undergraduate and graduate) university students with ASD across Australia and New Zealand examined student characteristics and satisfaction with academic and non-academic supports. A broad range of disciplines were studied, and the participants' reported strengths included a passion for learning, strong…

Parents of children with ASD who had attended an Australian emergency department (ED; n = 421) completed a questionnaire relating to their experiences in the ED, including (1) child's reason for presentation and existing comorbidities, (2) quality of care during the visit (3) child's behaviour during visit, e.g. sensory responses to the ED…

Employment outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are poor and there is limited understanding on how best to support individuals with ASD in the workplace. Stakeholders involved in the employment of adults with ASD, including employers and employment service providers have unique insights into the factors influencing…

Autism is associated with a range of costs. This paper reviews the literature on estimating the economic costs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). More or less 50 papers covering multiple countries (US, UK, Australia, Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, etc.) were analysed. Six types of costs are discussed in depth: (i) medical and healthcare service…

Knowledge about the quality of care delivered to children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in relation to that recommended by clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) is limited. ASD care quality indicators were developed from CPGs and validated by experts, then used to assess the quality of care delivered by general practitioners (GPs) and…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) are neurodevelopmental disorders with strong genetic components. Increasingly, research attention has focused on whether genetic factors conveying susceptibility for these conditions, also influence the risk of other health conditions, such as cancer. We examined the occurrence of…

Psychiatric disorders are more common in the mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or intellectual disability (ID) after the birth of their child. We aimed to assess the relationship between women's psychiatric contacts and subsequent offspring with ASD/ID. We linked three Western Australian registers to investigate pre-existing…