Professor Andrew Whitehouse and Dr Kiah Evans at Parliament House
One of the most important policy changes ever implemented in the area of autism research and practice came to fruition in October 2018, when the Autism CRC released A National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Australia.
Telethon Kids Autism Research Team Head Professor Andrew Whitehouse – who is also Chief Research Officer of the Autism CRC – and Telethon Kids autism researcher Dr Kiah Evans led the development of the Guideline, sitting on the executive committee responsible for the document.
Dr Evans said the Guideline brought disparate state and territory assessment and diagnostic practices together into a coherent, streamlined benchmark practice, with the aim of providing consistency for people on the autism spectrum nationally.
“Since being launched in October the Guideline has already been downloaded more than 9,500 times – both by people in Australia and overseas – and is being used by major diagnostic services providers around Australia,”
In addition, an interdepartmental working committee is meeting at a Federal level to discuss wider implementation of the Guideline, and two new research projects have kicked off, examining clinicians’ uptake of the Guideline and its implementation in a rural setting.
The Guideline can be downloaded from the Autism CRC website. Once you've registered your details, you'll receive a link via email.
First published Wednesday 10 July 2019.