The following content was part of OTARC’s invited submission to the Western Australian Inquiry into support for Autistic children and young people in schools.
Autism can have significant impacts on learning, communication, and behaviour. Many children will meet criteria for multiple diagnoses and be susceptible to poor mental health during their school years and beyond, reducing their own and their family’s wellbeing across the lifespan. Therefore, an early diagnosis, not only of Autism but of co-occurring conditions such as intellectual disability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sleep difficulties, and mental health conditions, must be a priority for any government aiming to enable Autistic students to thrive at school by facilitating active participation in education.
What can an early autism diagnosis mean for the child, family and community?
- Independence: Promotes greater independence and better quality of life for Autistic children and their families
- Participation: Enables Autistic children to begin participation in specialised support programs at younger ages, maximising their developmental opportunities
- Community: Benefits the community by significantly increasing the chances of these children participating in society and the economy
- School: Reduces ongoing support required at school age by 30%
Buescher et al (2014), Clark et al (2017), Clark et al (2018)
We have also charted the behavioural and cognitive profiles from toddlerhood to middle childhood in 48 Australian children who received an Autism diagnosis before they turned 2 years old(Clark et al, 2017, 2018). We found that children diagnosed by 2 years of age, compare to those diagnosed between 3- to 5-years-old were:
- 3 times less likely to have an IQ < 70
- 1.3 times more likely to be in a mainstream school (see below).
Australian children who receive an Autism diagnosis and subsequent supports in the early and critical years (18-36 months) have better school-age developmental outcomes. And yet, the average age of Autism diagnosis in children remains at about 4 years in Australia.
Access to evidence-based, supportive early childhood education is crucial to addressing inequalities experienced by Autistic children throughout their schooling.
Case study: La Trobe University’s Community Children’s Centre
Improving the developmental outcomes of Autistic children in Australia and across the world through access to evidence-based, supportive early education and care.
OTARC has an embedded research-in-practice program at the La Trobe University Community Children’s Centre on its Melbourne campus. Approximately 40-50 children participate daily in an evidence-based early support program called the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM).
More than 300 Autistic children have attended the Centre since it opened in 2010. The findings from research undertaken within the Centre are incorporated into a cycle of continuous evidence-based improvement and were pivotal in the development and implementation of the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) in inclusive (mainstream early education) and specialised (Autistic children only) settings. A group version of the EDSM (G-EDSM) was developed within the Centre and has been adopted worldwide, including programs at the Gpwrie Early Learning Center in Victoria and Every Child in the United States.
Our research shows that Autistic children who receive ESDM supports embedded in childcare for one year make significant developmental gains across a variety of early learning and care settings, increasing their chances of participation (Clark et al, 2017, 2018), with an earlier age of access bolstering their outcomes. Importantly, our research shows these children continue to make significant cognitive gains into their school years (Vinen et al, 2018, 2022; Clark et al. 2023), a finding we have recently replicated in new (as yet unpublished) research.
