Kese House becomes Ricky Stuart House

Ms Burch MLA (former ACT Minister for Disability) tweeted enthusiatically about an article in the Canberra Times (Ricky Stuart takes daughter for sneak peek at state-of-the-art respite centre, 25/1/2016).

ACT Minister for Education and Disability resigned. What's her legacy?

Ms Burch MLA resigned as Minister in the ACT Government on 19/1/2016.

The Canberra Times lists SOfASD's motion of no confidence in their timeline of relevant events.

Fwd: autism prevalence again

Dear Mr Barr MLA,

below is another letter expressing serious concern about the ACT Government's planning of services for autistic people in the ACT. Surely, autistic people in the ACT deserve better than this.

Our original letter on this matter is available online at: http://sofasd.org.au/d7/node/142

I attached a copy of the Minister's response.

yours sincerely,

special needs transport for autistic students in the ACT - responses

Below are responses to SOfASD's email to the ACT Government and to the NDIA ... see http://sofasd.org.au/d7/node/143

Most of the content is in the attached letters. You can download them using the links.

Basically, the gist of the matter is that ACT Eduction Directorate and the NDIA will be working out special needs transport for students in the ACT before it moves to the NDIA sometime soon. The Director for Families and Students wants to meet (SOfASD) to discuss concerns and hear experiences.

Dear Mr Buckley

assessment of the Expert Panel's report (2015) and the ACT Government's response

Bob Buckley, SOfASD Chair

Following is SOfASD's view of the Schools for all Children and Young People: Report of the Expert Panel on Students with Complex Needs and Challenging Behaviour (The Report) and the ACT Government's response (available at http://www.det.act.gov.au/school_education/complex-needs).

The Report's Terms of Reference, the Expert Panel's report itself and the ACT Government's response to The Report all omit any mention of the “cage” affair that was the catalyst for the appointment of the Expert Panel. The Report is unclear about why the ACT Government convened the Expert Panel: key aspects of the recent context relating in challenging behaviour in schools are absent.

Hard lessons still not learnt

“A principal in desperation chucking a student in a steel cage has prompted a carefully calibrated response to do as little as possible while appearing to have done enough to make the problem disappear, ... ”

Education directorate staff reprimanded over autism cage affair

Eight ACT Education and Training Directorate staff have been reprimanded or counselled over the autism cage scandal at a Canberra school but none have lost their jobs.

It was revealed a boy with autism was placed in a cage in a government school in Canberra's south in April.

Autism cage inquiry leads to 8 public servants being counselled

Emma Macdonald

Eight public servants within the ACT Education Directorate have been reprimanded over their role in Canberra's autism cage scandal.

Under sustained questioning from Opposition Education spokesman Steve Doszpot during Education annual report hearings this week, the directorate finally revealed some level of detail on how its own bureaucrats mishandled reports of the cage constructed at a Canberra primary school – specifically failing to escalate the matter properly.

special needs transport for autistic students in the ACT

Dear Mr Barr MLA and Mr David Bowen (NDIA CEO),

Parents, families and carers have raised concerns about physical access to special needs education for autistic students in the ACT. Some autistic children need transport so they can access their school/education.

International law says children (which includes autistic children) have a right to free primary (and secondary) education. Children's education is the state's responsibility, not their parent's. Student must be able to access their education physically.

ACT Government gets autism prevalence very wrong

Dear Mr Barr MLA and Mr Rattenbury MLA

Speaking Out for Autism Spectrum Disorder (SOfASD), the systemic advocacy group for autism in the ACT, sees from the Minutes of the ACT Legislative Assembly that on 18/11/2015 the ACT Government moved and passed a motion saying:

“That this Assembly:

(1) notes:

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