The Autism Victoria State Conference

The Autism Victoria 2005 State Conference was held on the 19th and 20th July, with Plenary Speakers Professor Rita Jordan and Ms Wendy Lawson.  More than 500 delegates attended over the two days, which comprised 26 presentations and 22 exhibitors.  Feedback has been very positive, and the organisers appreciate the very valuable suggestions offered by delegates via the Conference Evaluations.  The Autism Victoria staff comprising Carol (registration manager), Donna (exhibition and speaker manager) and Amanda (conference convenor) spent nine months planning the conference, very ably assisted along the way by a team of commercial services, staff from other agencies and members of State Council and the Executive Committee.  Autism Victoria would like to thank Conference Sponsors, presenters, exhibitors and participants for supporting this major event.

PROGRAM ABSTRACTS:  For full details of the program, exhibition and supporters, have a look at the conference website.  Presenter abstracts, including their contact details, can be downloaded via the program as pdf files.  Autism Victoria staff are able to print handout notes from each presentation.  Please email our office to arrange notes for your selected sessions.  There will be a small charge to cover copying and postage costs.

EXHIBITOR DETAILS:  Full details of the Exhibition with contact details for each exhibitor can be downloaded as a pdf document here.

RECORDING OF AUDITORIUM PRESENTATIONS:  The presentations held in the Auditorium have been audio recorded to CD.  Copies are available for loan by Autism Victoria members from our library.  We are also taking orders for full sets of the eight CD’s.  The cost will be $30.00 plus postage.  For full details see the attached order form.

The Spectrum – Vol. 1, No. 2 – Winter 2005

Autism Victoria members must be wondering if they missed the Winter issue of our magazine The Spectrum.  Don’t worry, you haven’t!  All the hard work of sourcing and collating material has been done, but the formatting and printing had to be put aside whilst staff concentrated on the final stages of preparing for the State Conference.  We estimate that the Winter issue will be posted in mid August, with the Spring issue to follow in early October.  Feature stories in the Winter issue will include:

• The artwork of Scott Nye, and

• A look at some of the different therapy approaches, including PECS, Sensory Integration Therapy and Music Therapy

All financial members of Autism Victoria receive a copy of The Spectrum.  If you are not a member, why not join up now – membership details are on our website – www.autismvictoria.org.au - click ‘Become a Member NOW’.

Events

The Events Calendar on the Autism Victoria web site maintains an up to date listing of forthcoming events that are submitted to our site.  Some of the events currently listed include:

PECS Melbourne Training Workshops – August 2005

Pyramid Educational Consultants Australia will be holding their Picture Exchange Communication System Training Workshop in Melbourne on Monday August 15th and Tuesday August 16th 2005.  A further training session titled “Teaching Nine Critical Communication Skills” will be held on Thursday August 18th.   This workshop will describe effective teaching strategies for individuals who speak or sign.  All sessions will be held at the Hotel Ibis, 600 Little Bourke Street and there is a range of registration options.  Full details can be found on the Pyramid website at www.pecsaustralia.com or by contacting their South Australian office on (08) 8240 3811.  the Autism Victoria office also has copies of the registration forms.

Pyramid Educational Consultants Australia were a valued Major Sponsor at the recent Autism Victoria 2005 State Conference.

Positive Approaches – IABA Training – October 2005

The Institute for Applied Behaviour Analysis (US) is presenting this important programme series in Melbourne from 18th to 21st October 2005.  The program is for those providing educational and/or support services to individuals who have behaviour challenges associated with intellectual disability, autism, acquired brain injury, mental illness or behaviour disorder.  Participants will learn concrete strategies to improve quality of life of the people they support using person-centred, positive behavioural strategies.  Seminar leaders will be Gary LaVigna and Michael Reid.  Gary Radler will conduct a pre program workshop on October 17th.

For a program brochure and registration details email your name and postal address to Autism Victoria, or you can go to the IABA website for more information about the IABA - www.iaba.com .

Student Disability Conference – September 2005

A conference for parents, principals, teachers and student services staff supporting students with disabilities in schools.  The conference will be held at the Melbourne Convention Centre on Thursday 1st September and Friday 2nd September.  It is organised by the Dept of Education & Training, Eastern Metropolitan Region.

Keynote Speakers include Professor Loretta Giorcelli “Learners and resilience:  building capacity in students who experience challenges in the classroom”, Dr Sev Ozdowski, the Australian Human Rights Commissioner and Acting Disability Commissioner and Robyn Moore, a master communicator.  Concurrent Sessions over the two days will explore a wide range of disability and curriculum areas, covering both primary and secondary level needs.

The cost of registration is $270 and early registration is advised as this popular conference fills up quickly.  Copies of the Registration form can be downloaded from the EMR website at www.emr.vic.edu.au or by contacting Alyssa Drollett on (03) 9881 0221 or email drollet.alyssa.d@edumail.vic.gov.au

A message from Autism South Africa and the World Autism Organisation

The 2nd World Congress on Autism is being staged in Cape Town, South Africa from October 30th to November 2nd 2006.

• Call for Papers closes 30th September 2005

• Early Bird Registration closes June 30th 2006

The warm sun and the blue skies of Africa await you!

Visit www.autismcongress.com for full conference details, and consider joining us 2006!

Developing Better Health Outcomes for People with Developmental Disability

This Conference will be held from September 28th to 30th 2005 at the Carlton Crest Hotel, Melbourne.  For details contact the Centre for Developmental Disability Health, Melbourne University on 03-9564 7511 or email faye.alphonso@med.monash.edu.au.

News

Australian Autism Research Alliance

There is considerable research interest in Autism Spectrum Disorders around Australia, but many academics and researchers seem to be working in isolation.  There are also very limited research dollars going to Australian Autism Spectrum Disorder related research projects, unlike the situation in the US and parts of Europe.  A group of researchers have taken steps to improving this situation by forming the Australian Autism Research Alliance (AARA).  Some seeding funds have been made available by the Autism Council of Australia to help the alliance get established, and their first major activity is to seek a Fulbright grant to fund a US-Australia Research Symposium in June 2006.

Autism Victoria has long supported local researchers and will be staging our 4th Annual Research Forum on Friday October 21st 2005 at the Darebin Arts & Entertainment Centre Preston.  Queries about AARA or the forthcoming research forum can be directed to the Convenor of the Autism Victoria Research Reference Group, Dr Cheryl Dissanayake at c.dissanayake@latrobe.edu.au and details of the Research Forum will be posted on our web site shortly.

Training Opportunity - DISCO (Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication disorders)

The DISCO is a three hour structured interview for diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders as well as other developmental disabilities.  It has specific scoring procedures for detection of Autistic Disorder and Aspergers Disorder and has been developed by Dr Lorna Wing and Dr Judith Gould at the National Autistic Society, UK.  It is for interviewing parents or other caregivers of people of any age with a developmental disability and is designed to form part of a high quality multidisciplinary assessment battery.

Thank you to the many who contacted Autism Victoria expressing interest in this course.  We have sufficient interest to go ahead with the course, but not until March 2006.  As details are finalised we will forward them to you, and place them on our website and in future issues of eSpectrum.

Camp America – opportunity for disability support workers, teachers and similar

“Applications are now being accepted for our 9 week summer camp programme in the US.  Each year we send around 10 000 people from 40 countries to participate in this great international opportunity.  Places are available in over 100 different activity areas.

Applicants need to be at least 18, able to depart during the month of June 2006 for a minimum of nine weeks, have no criminal record, be calm, energetic, flexible and have a genuine desire to work with special needs kids and adults.

Camp America will use its extensive resources to personally place you at a camp that best matches your skills and background.  As a counsellor to American youngsters, you'll be employed to teach them new skills, share experiences and cultures as well as providing overall supervision.  In other words, you'll be a 'brother, sister, mentor, supervisor' all rolled into one.  So get ready for an incredible American summer.

You'll receive food, accommodation and pocket money while you are away.  We'll help you obtain your visa; provide medical insurance and 24 hour emergency assistance.  After camp you can usually travel until October 31st on your J-1 visa.”

Applications are accepted until April 1 2006.  For more information or a brochure call 1800 653 477, email info@aifsaustralia.com or visit their website www.campamerica.com.au  - Mandy Britt-Crowhurst, Australian Program Manager.

Lobbying and Consumer Consultation

Early childhood intervention is different from kindergarten – how so?

Parents and service providers lobbying for improvements to the under funded and ever-changing early childhood intervention sector may find the attached picture schedule a useful tool.  It has been developed by a frustrated Melbourne mum using the Boardmaker program.

Disability Services Active Participation Project Expos

As part of the State Disability Plan, the Victorian Dept of Human Services has engaged a consultancy to “identify, strengthen and build the active participation of people with a disability and their families in the planning, delivery, monitoring and review of government and non-government disability support services.”  The consultants will be holding series of Expos around Victoria in mid August.  Service providers, people with a disability, carers and other interested people are encouraged to participate.  Access and participation for people with an Autism Spectrum Disorder can be extremely problematic – make your voice heard by participating in these Expos.  Full details are in the attached pdf document.

Resources

Princes Entertainment Centre, Melbourne

This new centre could suit the recreation needs of individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families.  It promotes extensive cue sport facilities (snooker, pool and billiards), table tennis, cafeteria, coaching and competitions and an Internet Café, and most importantly, a family friendly alcohol free environment.  It is located at 1068 Dandenong Road Carnegie (Victoria) and can be contacted on (03) 9571 9473 or email to pprince4@bigpond.net.au .  Autism Victoria would appreciate any feedback about the centre and its suitability to our community.

Homework Help – a local community initiative

Students aged 12-18 living in the Ashwood, Ashburton and Chadstone areas of Melbourne who are struggling with homework could benefit from a new community based group.  The group is an initiative of the State Government’s Neighbourhood Renewal program and is based at the Amaroo Neighbourhood Centre.  As with the Entertainment Centre above, this initiative could be very valuable to people with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Autism Victoria would appreciate any feedback from families.  It is also an idea that other communities could adopt.  The person to contact is Kelly Ann Kelly on 9807 2625.

Autism Consultation Team - ACT-NOW

This Team provides a program that will train and support early intervention service providers working with young children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in Victoria.  The team has developed an informative web site containing training event details, information materials and tip sheets.  The site can be found at http://www.med.monash.edu.au/psychmed/units/devpsych/actnow/

Asperger Syndrome Support Network 2005 Directory of Support Groups

This valuable directory has been prepared by the ASSN committee and can be downloaded here as a pdf document.  The ASSN website is at www.vicnet.net.au/~asperger/

eSpectrum is compiled and distributed by Autism Victoria Inc.  All information is included in good faith, and is current at time of release.  Queries and comments should be directed to Amanda Golding, Executive Officer, Autism Victoria at admin@autismvictoria.org.au