Early autism screening across Tasmania is expanding as a number of key services implement training in the Social Attention & Communication Surveillance (SACS) tool developed by the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC), La Trobe University. Training and certifying professionals in the use of this tool enhances timely identification and access to support for families.
Developed by Associate Professor Josephine Barbaro at OTARC, the SACS tool enables professionals to identify early signs of autism in children aged 11 to 60 months and it is the world’s most accurate early screening tool.
Over the past 18 months, OTARC Training Coordinator Maddie Francis has worked with a number of Tasmanian organisations to expand training across multiple sectors. Twenty-one Tasmanian general practitioners were trained in SACS through a primary care research initiative funded by an The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners grant and led by Dr Nilushka van der Walt.
Information on the SACS tool and associated checklists for different ages have been incorporated into the University of Tasmania’s Master of Speech Pathology program. In addition, allied health staff across three major hospital sites completed training online with OTARC’s Dr Nancy Sadka in 2025, and interest continues to grow, with enquiries recently coming in from the disability and community services sector in Tasmania too.
An impressive 150 child health nurses from the Tasmanian Department of Health were enrolled in SACS training in 2025/2026 through a partnership with OTARC and the Child Health and Parenting Service (CHaPS). The Assistant Director of Nursing Clinical Service Integration at CHaPS, Gwyneth Delpero, said “CHaPS proudly embraced the SACS method early, taking part as one of the original SACS-R pilot organisations back in 2016. That early commitment has only grown stronger.”
We are pleased to see CHaPS and other groups across the state adopting this training in early autism screening throughout Tasmania. The state is becoming a leader in ensuring children are identified earlier, supported sooner, and followed through with appropriate care all the way to full diagnosis, if required.
Gwyneth confirmed this sentiment, saying “CHaPS’ adoption of the SACS method has solidified a streamlined, reliable referral pathway to allied health therapy providers. This ensures that children who require further assessment or a formal autism diagnosis can access timely, specialised support, along with early therapeutic [supports] that can make a profound difference in their developmental journey.”
These combined efforts across the state represent a significant step forward in strengthening early developmental surveillance and improving access to support for Tasmanian families.
For more information on SACS training please email Maddie Francis at:
otarc.training@latrobe.edu.au
