New Autism Guidelines Aim to Improve Diagnostics and Access to Services

Prof Andrew Whitehouse

writer

Prof Andrew Whitehouse

Winthrop Professor, Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia

New Australian autism guidelines, released today, aim to provide a nationally consistent and rigorous standard for how children and adults are assessed and diagnosed with autism, bringing to an end the different processes that currently exist across the country.

There is no established biological marker for all people on the autism spectrum, so diagnosis is not a straightforward task. A diagnosis is based on a clinical judgement of whether a person has autism symptoms, such as social and communication difficulties, and repetitive behaviours and restricted interests. This is an inherently subjective task that depends on the skill and experience of the clinician.

PASSWORD RESET

Forgot your password or password not working? Please enter your email address. You will receive an email with the link to set a new password.

Share this

Share this

Prof Andrew Whitehouse

writer

Prof Andrew Whitehouse

Winthrop Professor, Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia

Test your knowledge

Recent articles

Latest GP poll

The government told the public that the average GP is earning $280k per year. Do you think this figure is:

Very overestimated

0%

Moderately/slightly overestimated

0%

Quite accurate

0%

Moderately/slightly underestimated

0%

Very underestimated

0%

Find your area of interest

Once you confirm you’ve read this article you can complete a Patient Case Review to earn 0.5 hours CPD in the Reviewing Performance (RP) category.

Select ‘Confirm & learn‘ when you have read this article in its entirety and you will be taken to begin your Patient Case Review.

Last chance - $155 special ends midnight Sunday!

This is your last chance to secure discounted registration to both national seminars before prices increase on Monday! You're invited to attend Australia's most popular seminars for GPs and healthcare professionals.

Upcoming Healthed Webcast

POTS – What You Need to Know

Tuesday 17th February, 7pm - 9pm AEDT

Speaker

Prof Dennis Lau

Cardiac Electrophysiologist; The Royal Adelaide Hospital; Clinical Professor, The University of Adelaide

Hear the latest evidence-based management options for POTS - a common, yet poorly recognised and misunderstood autonomic dysfunction condition in our community. Join Prof Dennis Lau for an update on POTS, who is at risk, presenting symptoms and how it can be diagnosed in the primary care setting.