It’s the end of the month and this means that it’s time for an Autism News Round-up.
We start with this piece from the Conversation titled “Why do some people with autism have restricted interests and repetitive movements?“
This article takes a closer look at the cluster of behaviours that form part of an autism diagnosis: restrictive and repetitive behaviours and interests (RRBs).
These behaviours and interests appear to be made up of two dimensions. The first is a pattern of overly regulated thinking: obsessions and intense interests; a strong preference for maintaining sameness; and ritualistic or habitual patterns of behaviour, such as fiddling, or motor tics like blinking or throat clearing.
The second dimension is the rocking, twisting, flapping behaviour often associated with early depictions of severe autism in the media.
You can read more of the article here http://theconversation.com/why-do-some-people-with-autism-have-restricted-interests-and-repetitive-movements-94401
Next up is a letter written by a mother about what happened when she took her autistic son to the zoo and was shamed by a man simply because she was out in public with her autistic son.
The man wasn’t happy with the fact that the son was flapping his arms, and making loud noises purely because he was excited to be at the zoo.
You can read more here https://www.mamamia.com.au/teen-with-autism-shamed-for-being-at-zoo/
Next up we have a really heart warming story about a man called Ali Wehbi, an extreme runner and adventurer who achieved the fastest crossing of Lebanon on foot in just 1 day, 15 hours and 49 minutes. He set the record for the fastest time on world autism awareness day.
You can read more here http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2018/6/adventurer-runs-across-lebanon-and-dedicates-his-record-to-people-with-autism-530564
Is autism funny and can you laugh at it?
This next article is about a comedienne who is a mother to an autistic son and was doing a comedy routine about what life is like for her, but due to some finding her comedy (and comedy is always going to divide people) she ran into some trouble. To read more click the link here. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-12/autism-mums-comedy-routine-causes-controversy/9859092
So the NDIS was in the news recently and again last night on the ABC’s show Q & A.
With the NDIS being rolled out this has caused massive amounts of issues with funding being cut for certain levels of people on the autism spectrum (level 2) and then it’s not so it’s been a bit of a back and forth fight. This article looks at how the NDIS is trying to tackle the issues it faces as other states join the NDIS. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/health/autism-advisory-group-to-help-ndis/news-story/8ff4fe6afd8d29ef716824e7a6a1821e?nk=0bacde047183142199a55a307fe3f9f7-1529997340
The Q & A article can be read by clicking on the link here https://tendaily.com.au/news/australia/a180625phb/ndis-under-attack-during-emotional-qa-debate-20180625
And lastly a morning tea raising awareness of autism with the opportunity to network and meet new people in a cafe environment. This is a great way to get involved with the autism community. And is a great opportunity to catch up, have a cup of coffee and meet other parents and carers to discuss coping techniques as well as the opportunity to have a cup of coffee with other adults in a judgement free zone. Read more about it here https://www.youngwitness.com.au/story/5475687/autism-morning-tea-on-sunday/
And that rounds up our news for the month of June!
Autistic Nick 