Information & Referrals

Autism Connect is Australia’s first national autism helpline.

Marymead CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn Autism Centre is a proud partner of Amaze (Victoria) to deliver Autism Connect for the ACT region, providing information, advice and referral.

Autism Connect provides information, advice and referrals to help autistic people, their supporters and professionals.

This helpline is free, evidence-based and independent.

The friendly team offers expert advice in many areas, including:

exploring autism and autistic identity
assessment and diagnosis
school and education
the NDIS
behaviour strategies
referrals to services
peer support connections
finding autism-friendly places and events.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Autism Connect Open?

Open from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, Monday to Friday (AEST).

How to Contact Autism Connect

Phone: 1300 308 699
Email: [email protected]
Webchat: available at www.amaze.org.au (click the live chat icon at the bottom right of the screen, or the speech bubble icon in the top menu.)

If you need immediate support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Parentline on 13 22 89.

Please note: this is not a counselling service, and we do not provide healthcare referrals. However, we can give information about accessing these services.

Find out more about Autism Connect on the Amaze website.

Find A Service Provider

The Marymead CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn Autism Centre has compiled this Provider Database that might be useful for people on the spectrum.

The list below is pre-filtered for the following popular services:

General Practitioners	Paediatricians	ASD Assessments
Psychologists	Psychiatrists	Behaviour Support</U.
Speech Therapists	Occupational Therapists	Support Workers
Social Groups	Employment Providers	Plan Managers

Also, see a list of online counselling services.

Please note that search, filter and sort functions work best on a desktop computer rather than tablets or smartphones.

Autism Library

The Marymead CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn Autism Centre currently has over 1000 autism related books.

The library is currently closed.

To view the catalogue, please access Librarika.

Below is a shortlist of books that have proved to be very useful to others wanting to find out about the autism spectrum. The following books are available from the Marymead Autism Centre Library.

You can also download lists of other books, websites & blogs and podcasts.

Information

Diagnosis

How to get a diagnosis

Marymead CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn Autism Centre does not provide autism assessments.

View providers that do ASD Assessments in our Provider database.

Getting a diagnosis – under 12 years

A free diagnosis is available to children under 12 years of age. This is available through the ACT Child Development Service (ACTCDS). To join the waitlist for an assessment, you will need a referral from a pediatrician or psychiatrist. The waiting times for a free assessment can be up to 18 months depending on demand.

Please note that your child does not need a formal diagnosis of autism to access the NDIS if they are under 6 years of age, as long as a ‘developmental delay’ has been identified they can enter the NDIS through the Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) pathway.

You will first need to talk to your GP and get a referral to either a paediatrician or a psychiatrist. The paediatrician/psychiatrist will conduct a medical assessment to eliminate any underlying medical conditions. A hearing test is also required before the assessment (for children under seven years). An appointment with either a paediatrician or psychiatrist will be an out-of-pocket expense, although you might be able to recoup some of this through Medicare.

View Pediatricians in our Providers database.

A community pediatrician is available through the ACT Child Development Service and incurs no out-of-pocket expense. However, there is a waiting list to see the community pediatrician. There is one located in Holder and one in Gungahlin.

An up-to-date developmental or cognitive assessment (from a school counsellor or psychologist) is also required.

Once they have ruled out any potential genetic, medical or hearing issues, and if an assessment is seen as being beneficial, you will be referred to the Child Development Service for an Autism assessment. In keeping with best-practice standards in autism assessment, the assessment itself is multi-disciplinary, meaning it is done using a range of professionals as opposed to one individual. It involves standardised assessments conducted by a psychologist, speech pathologist and/or occupational therapist.

The assessment process can take some time, as there are a number of aspects to it.

A multidisciplinary assessment for Autism Spectrum Disorders involving Observations of the person in their home and/or educational and other settings.
Consultation with significant others, such as allied health professionals, Child Health Medical Officers, paediatricians, education staff and others involved with the person.
Social work coordination and support is available throughout the assessment process.
A multidisciplinary team/family feedback session to discuss the findings and implications of the assessment.
A written report summarising the assessment findings is provided to the family and referring medical practitioner.

If the assessment is time-reliant, you have the option to have a private assessment done by a Psychologist. This will be an out-of-pocket expense of around $2,000.

Getting a diagnosis – over 12 years

Once the individual is over the age of 12, a private assessment is required. This assessment is done by a psychologist or psychiatrist and will incur an out-of-pocket expense of around $2,000.

Dr Paul Gooding is a GP in Gungahlin who can also do a private assessment (for clients 14 years and over), however, he will need to supplement his assessment with a session from a clinical psychologist for the purposes of the NDIS or Centrelink. This, however, might be a cheaper alternative to a standard private assessment.

How is autism diagnosed?

When diagnosing autism, clinicians and diagnosticians use a number of measures to determine whether or not an individual meets the criteria for a diagnosis. They may conduct observations, take a developmental history, and assess the individual’s communication skills, social and play skills, adaptive behaviour and cognitive skills. Usually a number of professionals are involved in the diagnosis, including a paediatrician, psychiatrist or psychologist.

The Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC) has now released Australia’s first National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders. The recommendations of the guideline are based on the best available scientific evidence and have been approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and had financial support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Schooling in the ACT

Choosing a school can be a difficult decision when your child is on the autism spectrum. Whether you decide on a mainstream or specialist school, your child has the right to the same educational opportunities as all other children. In the ACT, it is compulsory for all children to be in school from 6 years of age.

View list of ACT public schools with disability programs

View list of ACT non-government schools

Visit the Education Directorate website for information on Disability Programs in the ACT

Specialist Public Schools

Specialist schools are for children with additional educational needs such as intellectual or physical disability and/or autism. Contact the school to find out if your child fits the school’s criteria for enrolment and determine if this would benefit your child. Specialists schools in the ACT are:

Cranleigh and Malkara schools are specialist primary schools for students with a moderate to profound intellectual disability, or autism who require intensive levels of support.
Turner School operates as a primary school with a predominant enrolment of mainstream students and a substantial enrolment of students with disabilities. Students who access the Disability Education program at Turner meet the ACT criteria for intellectual disability or autism.
The Woden School is for students in years seven to 12 with an intellectual disability or autism.
Black Mountain School is for students in years seven to 12 with an intellectual disability or autism requiring intensive levels of support.

Home-schooling

All children have the legal right to homeschooling. Families and carers choose to home school their child for different reasons, including distance from a suitable school, religious or cultural values, or the particular academic or behaviour needs of their child. If you choose this option you’ll need to follow certain requirements from your state or territory education department. In the ACT, all children that are homeschooled must be registered with the ACT Education Directorate. Children with ASD who are home-schooled need the chance to not only learn, but also practice their communication and social skills with children of a similar age through other types of activities. Find out more about Home Education from the ACT Government website.

Things to consider when choosing a primary school

The first thing to think about is what you want for your child and what’s best for their needs.
The next step is finding out how and where you can access the schooling you think will be best. It’s a good idea to start looking for a school early, to give you and your child plenty of time to get ready for starting school.
Being able to talk with school staff about your child’s needs is important. When you’re looking at different schools, easy communication and understanding is a good sign of whether a school will be right for your child. You need to be confident that you can talk to staff any time you have a concern and that they’ll be happy to listen.
When you’re choosing a school, you can also think about whether the school has access to specialist teaching and services like psychology, speech therapy, and occupational therapy or they are accommodating for your own therapist to visit the school.
Other things to consider include whether the school will give your child the chance to socialise with children who are not on the autism spectrum and to take part in extracurricular activities like music or sports.

Visiting primary schools you’re interested in

You should visit the school or schools you’re interested in well before you enrol your child. These tips can help you assess a school’s suitability when you visit:

Try to speak to class teachers and teacher aides, as well as the principal. This will help you see how open the staff are to two-way communication.
If possible, talk to parents and carers of children on the autism spectrum or other additional needs at the school. You could ask them about their experiences of talking with teachers and other staff and how well the school has handled any concerns they’ve had. Your local parent and carer support group could help you meet other parents and carers from the school.
Ask about how children’s progress is evaluated. This will give you an idea of how well the school adapts to the changing needs of children on the autism spectrum as they grow and develop.
Ask how the school responds to children’s varying needs. Not all children on the autism spectrum need the same style of teaching.
Ask to see some examples of how the school does its education plans for children with additional needs. This can help you see how relevant it would be for your child. Also, ask how often the plans are evaluated and updated.
Try to look at the playground at lunch or break time. This will give you an idea of the way other students behave. Ask whether there are structured activities for children at lunch and other breaks.

What the school will need from you

If you’re thinking of enrolling your child at the local government school, you need to contact the school well before the enrolment date as there could be a waiting list.
The school will need diagnostic and developmental assessments of your child to build an individual education plan. The school will also want to know about any additional funding or specialist resources that have been allocated to your child. The school might need to prepare an application for additional funding.
Much of this information will come from your early intervention provider or kindergarten teacher, but it’s always best to check. You should also contribute to your child’s individual plan, in conjunction with the teacher and therapists.