A landmark in Autism inclusion: SA's first Autism Strategy 2024-2029 explained
Graphic by Justin Olivares.
Knowledge. Understanding. Belonging.
These are the concepts at the heart of South Australia’s first Autism Strategy 2024-2029 (the Strategy). Launched on 19 June 2024, the 5-year roadmap is a global landmark in autism inclusion and seeks to address the community barriers that Autistic South Australians and their families have faced for far too long.
What is Autism?
According to the Strategy:
Autism is a neurological developmental difference that impacts the way an Autistic person sees, experiences, understands and responds to the world.
Every person’s lived experience of autism is different.
This definition was developed in consultation with the Autistic and autism communities, those with lived firsthand and secondhand experiences respectively, to acknowledge the diversity of Autistic experiences.
It serves as a basis for which knowledge, understanding and acceptance can grow within policy, in recognition of the difficulties that arise with distilling what it means to be Autistic in a couple sentences.
Significantly, many Autistic people who are First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) struggle to explain how their autism influences their identity and the subsequent compounding barriers they face in accessing supports and services.
This is because some attribute their perceived differences to their culture and not their disability/neurodivergence and vice versa.
Autistic differences include:
- May require support to interpret social communication and nuance
- Can pay attention without making eye contact
- May enjoy predictability and security in routine
- Sensory processing and regulation needs (e.g. taste, touch, sight, smell and sound)
What is the State Autism Strategy?
The Strategy is “a dedicated whole-of-government approach to create a fairer and more inclusive society” for Autistic people of all ages.
Led by the Department of Human Services (DHS), the Strategy aims to address the significant gap in life outcomes between Autistic and allistic (non-Autistic) people in health, education, employment and community participation.
It is designed to create long-lasting, meaningful cultural change by moving beyond mere autism awareness to challenge outdated myths and misconceptions.
With much autism discourse being focused on ‘deficits’, the Strategy highlights the positive qualities that Autistic people contribute to the community, provided that organisations have the right supports in place and demonstrate ongoing respectful curiosity to improve their operations.
Based on over 1,300 consultation responses from the Autistic and autism communities, the Strategy identifies 7 priority areas (called ‘Focus Areas’) under which commitments for the SA Government’s 5-year plan are outlined.
These are:
Focus Area 1: Pathways to diagnosis
Improving the accessibility of diagnosis and awareness of diagnostic services for Autistic people, including availability and affordability and continued misconceptions of autism that increase the prevalence of misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis, particularly in girls and women and First Nations and CALD communities.
Focus Area 2: Positive educational experiences
Improving school community and staff understanding of autism and improving school environments and supports for Autistic children and students.
Focus Area 3: Thriving in the workplace
Improving inclusivity of recruitment practices and creating meaningful and inclusive workplaces for Autistic people to thrive in.
Focus Area 4: Access to supports and services
Improving access to information on services and supports for Autistic people, their families and carers.
Focus Area 5: Participation in the community
Improving sensory consideration in the built environment and opportunities for Autistic people to participate in the world around them.
Focus Area 6: Access to health and mental health services
Improving the accessibility of health and mental health services for the Autistic and autism communities.
Focus Area 7: Interactions with the justice system
Improving understanding of autism and enabling access to support services within the criminal and youth justice systems.
The Strategy will also work in tandem with other disability inclusion-related initiatives at state, federal and international levels:
State
Federal
International
What does this mean for corporate governance?
DHS will implement the Strategy in partnership with all SA Government departments, which will be responsible for delivering actions to achieve the core commitments.
Each Focus Area will have an action plan developed in ongoing consultation with the Autistic and autism communities.
The purpose of these documents will be to “respond, as required, to the shifting priorities of the Autistic and autism communities and be responsive to other State and National reform work underway, including the new National Autism Strategy.”
While ‘lead’ agencies will be identified to develop initiatives, all government departments must establish efforts to close the gap in life outcomes between Autistic and allistic people across three reporting domains:
Scope
Agencies will investigate ways to improve access and inclusion for Autistic people, in relation to identified commitments in the Focus Areas. They will assess whether existing plans require amendments or if the creation of new plans is necessary to effect cultural change.
Action
Development of strategies, policies and reform work will then commence to create new initiatives that address the Focus Areas.
Implement
They will put these new or improved actions into practice to respond to the Focus Areas.
Lead agencies will be required to report on their progress through their State Disability Access and Inclusion Plans (DAIPs).
DHS will also release an annual report to update the public sector on whether actions are working adequately to address issues highlighted in the Strategy.
How can easyread.tech support the Strategy?
Article 21 of the UNCRPD states that people with disabilities have a right to access information intended for public consumption in formats that are appropriate to the needs of specific disabilities. These formats must be available “in a timely manner and without additional cost.”
This includes Autistic people who may or may not also have an intellectual disability.
As such, the SA Government and its agencies are obligated to provide their resources in Easy Read and Plain English formats, as they are designed to be conducive to the neurology of Autistic people and those with intellectual disability.
These resources include:
- Focus Area action plans
- Individual state agency Disability Access and Inclusion Plans (DAIPs)
- DHS’s annual report
- Consultation discussion papers and reports with the Autistic and autism communities
- Brochures educating staff and the community about Autistic strengths and differences
Plain English is useful for Autistic people and their families and carers, including those from First Nations and CALD backgrounds, who prefer organisations to provide clear, concise and jargon-free information about essential details, that is, to say what they mean and mean what they say.
Meanwhile, Easy Read targets the specific needs of Autistic people with additional disabilities/neurodivergence, such as intellectual disability and dyslexia.
easyread.tech supports organisations to speedily deliver inclusive and accessible content for people with cognitive disabilities that are compliant with Australian standards and are tested by Autistic people, promoting the aim of the Strategy to centre Autistic voices.
However, accessible resources are not just limited to Easy Read and Plain English, they encompass a range of formats, including:
- Accessible website content
- Tagged PDFs
- Screen Reader-friendly content
- Auslan videos
- Animated videos
Reach out to easyread.tech to find out how we can help you develop accessible resources in alignment with your organisational branding.
You can read the final Strategy here and the Easy Read version here.