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No. 9 - September 2006 |
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Articles
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Autism Victoria InfoLinePlanning for the launch of our updated and improved Autism Spectrum Disorder Information service is well underway. The Autism Victoria office refurbishment is nearly complete, a new phone system has been installed and interviews for the new staff position of Information Support Officer have been held. A service logo and brochure and new elements to our web page are currently being developed. We are well on track for the anticipated October launch of the new look service! Thank you to current users of Autism Victoria services for your patience during this redevelopment phase – especially when our office was being refurbished in early August. One of the features of our refurbished Glen Iris office is a dedicated Visitors Area. This area (immediately inside the car park entrance door) contains our Library and Information displays, a children’s reading area, our networked photocopier, scanner and printer and a work desk with computer, laminator and colour printer. Visitors will be able to access the internet and our library catalogue and use the BoardMaker program to produce their own visuals. Library users are welcome any time during normal office hours, but please ring first if you wish to use the computer or BoardMaker facilities, as we need to ensure the equipment is available. There will be a small charge to cover the cost of consumables used. Remember that only current members of Autism Victoria are able to borrow books from our library. As part of the process of upgrading the Autism Victoria Information and Support Service, the Autism Victoria Committee inserted a survey in the Winter 2006 issue of The Spectrum. Thank you to the many who responded to the survey questions. The committee are currently collating the responses and a report will be included with the next issue of eSpectrum and posted on our website. Contacting Autism Victoria by phoneRegional Victorians can now contact the Autism Victoria office for the cost of a local call using our new 1300 service. The new number is
Interstate callers must use the [03] 9885 0533 number as we are unable to offer this service beyond Victoria. Metropolitan callers can use either number, as there is no difference in cost. As part of the improvements to our office facility, we have installed a new phone system with an ‘auto attendant’. This means that callers are able to select the staff member they wish to speak with, and if that person is not available to take your call, you can leave them a brief voice message. When you next phone Autism Victoria, you will receive a welcome message and be asked to select from the following options:
You don’t have to listen to the entire recorded message – if you know which staff member you wish to speak with you can press their number at any time! And please don’t select any other number – your call may not be answered, as the auto attendant won’t know where to send it! If you have to leave a message, please include your name, phone contact number and a brief message – it helps if you repeat your phone number, as some phone connections can be quite poor, making it difficult for us to retrieve the correct number. More News from Autism Victoria The Autism Victoria Annual General Meeting is an opportunity for the committee and staff to meet with members and other interested persons and share the activities and achievements of the past year. The 2006 AGM will be held on Monday 9th October in the Western Autistic School Multi Purpose Room, Garnett Street, Niddrie. Everyone is welcome to attend our AGM and full details are on the attached invitation. Speakers this year will talk about the new Autism Teaching Institute established by Western Autistic School and the highly acclaimed book “What About Me?” produced by Wantirna Heights School. The Association’s Annual Report will be presented, as will the 2006 Autism Victoria Awards for Excellence. If you would like to nominate a professional or service provider for these awards, please download the attached pdf file. But hurry, nominations close on the 15th September. Immediately after the Annual General Meeting the new Autism Victoria State Council and Executive Committee are formed. If you are interested in being part of the governing body of the association – contributing to policy formation, service direction and day-to-day governance matters – please complete the attached Expression of Interest/Nomination form. There are three elected and five co-opted positions available. Closing date for expressions of interest is Monday 2nd October. The 5th Autism Victoria Research Forum will be held on Friday 17th November 2006 at the Darebin Arts and Entertainment Centre, Preston. Guest Speaker will be Dr Susan Leekam who is a Reader in Developmental Pyschology at the University of Durham in the UK. The object of the Research Forum is to provide an opportunity for local researchers to share their research, as well as common interests and concerns. Full details and the Call for Papers to present at the Research Forum are in the attached pdf document. Closing date for proposals is Friday 29th September. Registration is now open and full details are in the attached pdf document. Autism Victoria Lobbying & Public Relations – an update from Meredith Ward.A very big thank you to parents who have already returned our Early Childhood Intervention Services Flexible Support Package (ECIS-FSP) Survey regarding the stressful application process. Your contributions have been raised with Minister Garbutt who responded with prompt action. The application process will be simplified and parents can request that this funding be used for therapy if they so desire. This ECIS-FSP Survey is attached here – if you currently use, or have recently used early intervention services in Victoria please consider completing the survey. The information you provide will help Autism Victoria form a powerful ‘picture’ of the poor state of specialist early intervention in the lead up the November State Election. Last week Meredith attended a forum, “The Parties Respond”, at which all political parties were invited to ‘reveal’ their policies relating to disability and community services. Most chose to keep their policies under wraps, but our congratulations go to the Nationals and Noel Maughan. Autism is the Nationals top policy priority, specifically in the areas of diagnostic services and early intervention. Congratulations also to the Bendigo Autism community and parents around the state that have lobbied hard over several years. Noel Maughan is the National Party spokesman for Community Services, Housing and Arts – why not send him an email of congratulations and support - noel.maughan@parliament.vic.gov.au! Autism Victoria Election Priorities – this document has been prepared by Meredith after extensive consultation. Have a look at the document and consider contacting the following ministers to show your support for the document and tell them some real life examples of why they must take action.
Would you like to become involved in the Autism Victoria lobbying process? If so, have a look at the attached ‘Expression of Interest’ document. Your involvement could be as simple as outlining the issues at the top of your list, so that Meredith can put them at the top of the Premier’s list. Or perhaps you would like to be part of the Autism Victoria Lobbying and Public Relations sub committee? If you would like a copy of the document in Word format to fill out and forward via email to Meredith, please send an email request to her. You can send Meredith an email to liaison@autismvictoria.org.au or fax her on [03] 9885 0533.
Other News and Information
This conference will be held from 14th to the 16th March 2007 at the Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, Queensland. It is convened by Autism Queensland under the auspice of the Autism Council of Australia. The theme for the conference is the Future – what does the future hold for children and adults on the spectrum and their families? For full details, visit the conference website at www.astmanagement.com.au/autism7/ . Registration is now open, and the Early Bird rates apply until 12th December 2006. The Autism Council of Australia directors, representing each state and territory autism association, met in Melbourne recently. A number of initiatives were discussed and adopted. From 2008, Autism Awareness Week will become Autism Awareness Month, giving greater scope for staging local, state and national awareness activities. May received the ‘thumbs up’ as the best month Australia wide. Dr John Wray presented a preliminary report of the Australia wide prevalence study commissioned by the Autism Council of Australia using a federal government grant. It is expected that an Autism Spectrum Disorder prevalence figure for Australia will be announced later this year. For more information about the Autism Council of Australia, download their meeting communiqué here, or visit their website. Irabina children – where are they now? Irabina Childhood Autism Services is currently undertaking a follow up study to learn about the school pathway taken by past Irabina children. They are keen to gain an understanding of the education experiences ex Irabina children are having and use this knowledge to develop the services they provide to families and schools. Did your child attend Irabina between 1993 and 2003? If Erin Hume hasn’t yet contacted you, it maybe because you have moved or Irabina does not have your contact details. In the first instance they are only seeking to gather basic non-identifying data about what type of schools your child has attended since leaving Irabina. This will involve a two-minute phone call! Please contact Erin Hume or Jacqui Borland at Irabina on 9720 1118 or email jacquib@irabina.com . Research Project – “Me time for Mums” Debbie Zaks, a PhD candidate from Swinburne University, is examining the well being of mothers of children with a disability. It has been shown that mothers of disabled children limit their leisure, social and relaxation time. Many mothers feel guilty and selfish for taking time for themselves. Yet research consistently demonstrates the benefits of leisure time for caregivers’ wellbeing. This project aims to provide a creative arts leisure program for mothers of disabled children to experience leisure in a validated and supported space. It is predicted that participating in a hands on leisure program will decrease stress and improve wellbeing. The project involves developing a questionnaire to measure attitudes towards self-care and leisure, delivering a pilot creative arts and leisure program and finally evaluating the program and its impact on the wellbeing of participants. Do you want to be involved in this innovative and valuable project? Go to the online questionnaire for full details. You can also contact Debbie via email at dzaks@swin.edu.au .
Kindergarten Parents Victoria are running a campaign aimed at putting kindergarten on the political agenda in the lead up to November’s state election. A key element of the ‘Bigger Slice of the Pie’ campaign is to better resource additional needs children. Will you spend two minutes supporting the campaign by sending an electronic e-card to the Premier, Leader of the Opposition and other decision makers? If so, click this link. And tell a friend or two if you think they could be inspired to join the hundreds of people who have already sent a message to Spring Street. Drama for Life Holiday Activities Looking for a relatively inexpensive holiday activity for your child? Angelica Rose is running two drama-based activities (three sessions each) on September 19, 20 & 21 at her Doncaster facility. These programs are fun, innovative and specifically tailored to the needs of the primary age and teenage child with higher functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder. Full details are on the booking form here. A new Hollywood take on Autism – “Snow Cake” Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman star in this new drama from Columbia Pictures about one week in the life of a woman with high functioning autism and a man traumatised by a car accident. The film is being released in the UK this month (September), and no release date for Australia has been announced as yet. The scriptwriter, Angela Pell, has an autistic son, and was featured in the Autumn 2006 issue of Communication, magazine of the National Autistic Society, UK. Angela hopes that this film ‘will raise the profile of autism a little more, and maybe, after all these years, offer up an alternative point of reference to Rain Man!’ Star Holiday Camp – 7th to 10th December 2006 St Kevin’s College, Xavier College, Genazzano College and Loreto Mandeville Hall take great pleasure in holding a four-day holiday camp for children with physical and intellectual disabilities. They would also like to include several children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The camp aims to provide a fun camp for children with disabilities (age 5 to 15) at no cost to parents. Students from the colleges will act as companions to the participating children, supported by qualified medical and professional staff. Children will get opportunities they might not otherwise experience, families will get a few days respite and the students an opportunity to serve others. Time is short – if you would like to apply for a position, please read the attached letter and download the attached form and submit to Matthew Hutchison, no later than this Friday 15th September. Matthew can be contacted by email at hutchisonm@stkevins.vic.edu.au . New Social Group for Teenagers & Young Adults MOIRA/Interchange Southern has acquired seeding grants to establish a social group for young people (13-20 years old) with Aspergers Syndrome and high functioning Autism Due to this group being in its initial stages, they have an empty canvas to explore what participants want to achieve from the group. They feel it is important to nurture the potential for building friendships and relationships, and fostering independence within the local community. The organisers hope this group will be self-run within the near future. For more information on the group and how you can get involved, please contact Rhett Castagnon on 8552 2222 or 0419 154 482 (call or SMS) or email to lcastagnon@moira.org.au. Some freebies – first in best dressed! The Autism Victoria office has received one set of complimentary admission tickets for this month’s Royal Melbourne Show – 2 adults and 2 children – for use on any one day between 21st September and 1st October. These were kindly donated by The Holland Foundation. If you would like these tickets, you must be the first to send an email to amanda@autismvictoria.org.au, and be able to collect the tickets in person from the Autism Victoria office in Glen Iris. The Foundation Trustees would like a letter of appreciation from the family who use the tickets – possibly a thank you and drawing from the children! Kidsflix is a program of free children’s movie showings at various Hoyts Cinema complexes. Families with a child with special needs are eligible to attend. The next event is on Saturday 7th October at Hoyts Chadstone at 9:30 am. Movies being shown are ‘Barnyard’ and ‘The Ant Bully’ – families choose one. To obtain a family pass, please email amanda@autismvictoria.org.au for an application form and full details – first five will receive the application packages. If you have any queries about this program or would like to be on their regular mailing list, contact The Continence Foundation by email to Kidsflix@continence.org.au.
About eSpectrum eSpectrum is compiled and distributed by Autism Victoria Inc. All information is included in good faith, and is current at time of release. Any views expressed in eSpectrum are not necessarily those of Autism Victoria Inc, the State Council, Executive Committee or its member agencies. The publication of a product or program in eSpectrum should not be taken as an endorsement of the service or the product(s). Autism Victoria has included details of products and services for the information of readers in good faith. Readers should take care to evaluate them for their suitability to their particular needs. Queries, items for inclusion and comments should be directed to Amanda Golding, Executive Officer, Autism Victoria at admin@autismvictoria.org.au
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Spectrum Disorder who live in the City of Kingston and surrounding areas (Bayside, Glen Eira, Stonnington, etc.).