The program focused on school readiness because so many children were diagnosed with autism at age three or four,the year before they started school.
A report by Monash University commissioned by the NSW Department of Education estimated the number of children diagnosed with autism had grown from 1.1 per cent of students in 2013 to 1.9 per cent in 2018. When adjusted for the increase in total enrolments that was an average increase of 12.2 per cent a year.
The prevalence of autism in schools is expected to increase from 2.0 per cent of students in 2019 to 3.5 per cent by 2028,the report says.
The report found the main reason for the increase was the increase in the identification of students with autism who did not also have intellectual disability,and attributed this to increased awareness in the community.
Other early learning providers with specific autism programs include fellow not-for-profit operator KU,which employs trained therapists to run supported group sessions for children with autism,as well as offering individual therapy. Many participants have funding through the National Disability Insurance Scheme,and KU subsidises places in the groups for children who can’t access the NDIS.
KU has an in-house specialist unit at its preschool in Liverpool,which was an autism-specific long daycare centre until the funding model changed with the advent of the NDIS.
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Professor Adam Guastella,the Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health at the University of Sydney,said it was not surprising there was strong demand in the preschool age group,given roughly half of children with autism were diagnosed by age five.Long waiting lists can delay diagnosis.
Guastella said it was important that children with neurodevelopmental delays be given support especially in developing social skills and navigating systems and environments outside the family.
However,he said school readiness programs were no replacement for ensuring longer-term support for teachers in the classroom,given so many children were diagnosed after the age of five.
“It shouldn’t just be about getting kids to prepare for a school environment,it should also be making sure the school environment is ready to support children who have different needs and different sorts of developmental pathways,” Guastella said.
A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Education said schools meet the additional needs of students even if they don’t have a formal diagnosis of disability.
“As a child transitions from preschool into kindergarten,teachers work closely with parents and carers to understand any specific needs they might have and monitor how they are adjusting to school,” the spokesperson said.
“This means if additional strategies are needed to support the transition to school - for example,making changes to lesson activities - they can be identified and put in place early.”
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