Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In fact, I praise the member for Holt again for his support for autism in the Committee the other day. In terms of my interest in autism, I support a local group called the Unique Mothers, for mothers of children with autism in the Canning electorate. One problem is that people with autism suffer greatly because, as I understand it—and the parliamentary secretary can confirm this or otherwise—autism receives less funding than other areas of health because it is not considered a syndrome. Because it is not considered as a specific syndrome, it does not receive funding as such.

I know that this is an area that comes under the responsibility of the parliamentary secretary. I receive many representations from parents of children with autism. For example, in Canberra there is a group called A4, which is very active in contacting us in relation to further funding and resourcing for parents of children with autism. My question to the parliamentary secretary is: what programs and funding does the federal government continue to assign to autism? One of the areas that parents of children with autism are continually seeking support on is early identification and early programs. The earlier you take on the role of identifying and then working with children with autism, the better the results are.

One other area of great need for parents of children with autism is respite. It is not just about respite; it is about flexible respite. By way of an aside, in an adopt-a-politician program in Western Australia, which is largely unique to Western Australia, I have adopted a boy with autism. I went through a formal adoption process in the state parliament to do so—along with other members on both sides of parliament, state and federal—to help people with disabilities. I would recommend to the parliamentary secretary that this program be funded so that it can become an Australia-wide program. It not only helps awareness but also helps the parents involved in many different ways, which I will not go into now because of time constraints.

Flexible respite is needed for when a parent is absolutely at their wit’s end. We know that in the past some parents have actually harmed their autistic child because they cannot take it any longer. Flexible respite is something they crave. There is no point in saying, for example, ‘You have a respite time next Sunday between the hours of two and six,’ because you might not need it then. You need respite when the child is absolutely out of control or the parent has had enough. This stops harm. In fact, I understand there have been cases where parents have caused the death of their child. That is how serious the matter is. I ask the parliamentary secretary, on behalf of the parents of children with autism: what programs and funding have we allocated in this budget and what can we do into the future for this very needy program?

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