The Department of Health and Human Services has released a five-year plan to provide autistic Victorians with greater opportunities for community participation.
The Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, Luke Donnellan launched the Victorian Autism Plan with representatives of the Autism Plan Advisory Group, which contributed to the plan’s development.
“The Victorian Autism Plan sets out actions to improve the lives of autistic Victorians and their families and carers, backed by $7.1 million in funding,” Mr Donnellan said.
“The autism plan will guide our work to be more inclusive and address some of the specific challenges people with autism face in the community,” he said.
Mr Donnellan said the plan built on the Government’s $217 million investment in the Victorian Budget 2019-20 to make schools more inclusive, with more funding to support children with disability and additional needs.
He said the plan’s key commitments included: improving community attitudes towards autistic people; increasing opportunities for education, economic participation and access to assessment; early diagnosis and intervention.
“The plan will support a media campaign to encourage positive behaviour towards people with autism and an expansion of the Access All Abilities sports and recreation program,” he said.
Mr Donnellan said the Royal Children’s Hospital also received funding for a pilot project to reduce avoidable presentations and the length of stay for children with autism.
He said the Victorian Autism Plan was developed in response to the findings of the Parliamentary inquiry into services for people with autism spectrum disorder, which gave insight into the experiences of exclusion faced by people with autism.
