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Calls mount for specialist autism school in Perth

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Bethany HiattThe West Australian
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Former Perth Wildcats Coach Scott Morrison with wife Susanne and children Max and Shaylen.
Camera IconFormer Perth Wildcats Coach Scott Morrison with wife Susanne and children Max and Shaylen. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian

Parents desperate for more help for kids diagnosed with autism are ramping up their push for a specialist autism school in Perth.

Autism and the challenges parents face in the State were highlighted when former Perth Wildcats coach Scott Morrison last month revealed his decision to resign was driven by his inability to access help in WA for his two-year-old son Max — who was diagnosed with autism on their return to Canada.

At an open day for the group Furthering Autistic Children’s Education and Schooling (FACES), founder and chairperson Emily Pearce on Monday said autism was the fastest growing disability in Australia, making up 31 per cent of all disabilities.

Dr Pearce said WA was the only Australian State without a dedicated autism school, but it desperately needed one because a typical classroom environment did not work for many children.

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Dr. Emily Pearce is one of the people behind a massive push to get a designated autism school in Perth.
Camera IconDr. Emily Pearce is one of the people behind a massive push to get a designated autism school in Perth. Credit: Kelsey Reid/The West Australian

“The only option for children on the spectrum without an intellectual disability is a mainstream environment, and teachers just don’t have the time or the resources, and often not the training, to provide the individualised learning these kids require,” she said.

“Social communication skills, all those things you require to function in a classroom, they don’t acquire naturally, so we need to explicitly teach them those skills to be able to function.”

Many disability advocates believe separating students into mainstream and special schools is a form of segregation.

But University of WA autism expert Andrew Whitehouse, one of the high-profile names behind the push for a specialised school, said no school system in the world could cater for the full breadth of challenges experienced by children on the autism spectrum.

He said while the best solution was to include all children in the same classroom, in reality that was “unachievable”.

Opening an independent autism specific school would give families another option to educate their kids.

“There are dozens of kids who are being home schooled because at the moment the education system simply can’t cater to their needs,” he said.

Professor Whitehouse said the school’s main goal would be to get kids back into mainstream schooling.

He said the specialised learning programs provided by the Department of Education had been transformational.

“We can’t just stop there — we need to ensure that all children are catered for,” he said. “And at the moment the school system simply can’t do that.”

Morrison told The West Australian’s The Dribble Podcast he hoped speaking publicly would shine a light on autism and provide support for other families.

“The morning after we did the press conference to say I was going to resign, I was feeling pretty down about it and I got a call from one of the places I had been calling to say they had an opening for Max in mid-July. I took that as a sign we did the right thing,” he said last month.

Tina Russell has an autistic nine-year-old who is currently undertaking a six-week program.
Camera IconTina Russell has an autistic nine-year-old who is currently undertaking a six-week program. Credit: Kelsey Reid/The West Australian

As part of the group’s first steps towards opening a school in 2024, FACES just completed a six-week pilot program at its South Perth base providing classes to support social skills and academic learning for children with autism.

It has a waiting list for the second program starting next week and recently won a grant to bring a specialist from New York to Perth to train teachers in methods for teaching kids with autism.

Education Department deputy director general Jim Bell said the WA public school system catered for the individual needs of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder by providing a range of education options built on the principles of equity and inclusion.

“Most students with ASD have had their learning needs best met in their local school, while others have benefited from the programs provided in education support settings,” he said.

“A few years ago, we further strengthened our provision for students with ASD and established specialist learning programs (SLP) in a number of mainstream schools.

“Sixteen of these programs have been established, with another eight announced in the State Budget in May through a new $18.2 million investment to improve educational outcomes for students with disability and additional learning needs.

“SLPs provide specially trained teachers and individualised planning and support for students with ASD. They target academic achievement, organisational skills, social skills, positive peer relationships and emotional self‑regulation.”

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