Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre
Enriching the lives of Autistic people, their families and their carers through high-quality scientific research, innovation and translation.
Georgia McKenzie will discuss the findings of her PhD research, which explored inclusion and participation in community gym settings for adults with cerebral palsy. Georgia will present the findings from a series of studies that have identified and examined key relationships between young adults with cerebral palsy and the environments around them that are influencing their participation in community gyms. Georgia will conclude the seminar with a discussion on the implications of the findings, and recommendations for change across the rehabilitation and recreation sectors.
A fresh year has begun and the second year of our re-imagined OTARC! I hope you were all able to have at least a little down time over the holiday period.
At OTARC, the hallways are buzzing again. This time, the office re-shuffle is in full swing! Creating neurodiversity-affirming workspaces is an idea gaining traction in the broader community and at OTARC, we aim to practice what we preach. This includes attention to smaller details such as dimmable lighting, provision of headphones for staff in shared office spaces and fidget toys at meetings. But it is also some of the bigger things like understanding our own and other’s preferred working and communication styles and advocating for space planning that accounts for neurodiversity. Credit is due to our Centre Manager, Doug Scobie, for steering this process. As you’ll see in this month’s newsletter, OTARC has been on the forefront of research to understand what leads to employment success for Autistic people. We hope to enact findings from this research in our day-to-day practice.
There have been no systematic studies on the prevalence of Autism in Australia. Accurate prevalence data allows for planning necessary services and supports, and also helps to build community understanding for Autistic Australians. We know that Autistic individuals make up approximately 30% of people accessing the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), however without accurate prevalence data, it is difficult to know what proportion of Autistic individuals are receiving funding.
In this blog post, we’ll delve into some of our research that aims to understand the prevalence of Autism in Australia. OTARC researchers have conducted four studies that have created a clearer picture of the situation and highlighted areas where more attention and support may be needed.
It appears that Spring has sprung! And with it some warmer weather, some sunshine, and a new family of very cute ducklings on La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus. At OTARC, Spring has brought us international visitors and an opportunity to meet members of the community at our Research Showcase in what we hope will become a regular event. This event, held on September 7th at La Trobe University’s Melbourne city campus, was an opportunity to showcase a sampling of our current and proposed research projects across our four program areas; Identification and Diagnosis, Supports and Practices for Daily Living, Vocational Engagement and Health and Wellbeing. We heard from our senior and junior researchers in rapid-fire 10-minute talks. Members of the audience were able to ask questions of the researchers which led to lively discussion. Even as Director, I learnt new things about the work that our researchers are doing and further appreciated the breadth and reach of OTARC’s research. It was wonderful to see so many members of the community in attendance and we will look to further refine the format for future events.
