Total Pageviews

Thursday, July 7, 2011

RECENT BUDGET CUTS TO THE BETTER ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAM.....

RECENT BUDGET CUTS TO THE BETTER ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAM.....
THIS IS ONE SERIOUS PROBLEM THAT REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ACTION.


This afternoon I received the following email from Minds and Hearts.  Minds and Hearts is a specialised centre established by Professor Tony Attwood for children, adults and families affected by the Autistic Spectrum.  My own children and I have been clients of this centre for the past 4 years. Without their therapy, knowledge, programs and assistance...... Oh, we would be so much worse off.  Many, many people and families will be adversely affected by this. Minds and Hearts need voices to rise up and alert government agencies of the following ridiculous proposal. So much for the Budget commitment to Mental Health!  This cannot happen. Please help if you can.

Dear clients of Minds and Hearts

Minds and Hearts are concerned that people with autism spectrum conditions will potentially be left without appropriate mental health care under recent Budget cuts to the Better Access to Mental Health Care program. We have found that cognitive behaviour therapy for people on the autism spectrum can take longer to be effective than for people not on the spectrum. Some clients need up to 18 sessions, many need 12.  

A recent media release from the Australian Psychological Society (APS) has highlighted that:
- the number of sessions of psychological treatment a person with a mental health care plan can receive each year will be cut from a maximum of 18 down to 10 (not from 12 to 10 as was widely reported).
- the Government has stated that people who need more than 10 sessions of treatment should receive services through the specialised public mental health system, private psychiatrists or the expanded Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) program.
- there are concerns that people with severe depression and anxiety related disorders (which often present with autism spectrum conditions, including Asperger's Syndrome) will not be able to get into public mental health services, be able to get timely or affordable access to a psychiatrist or into ATAPS which we understand cannot accommodate all these people.
The APS are seeking personal experiences of any people affected by these changes, to monitor its impact and inform the Australian government to ensure that people with severe conditions (eg severe depression, anxiety) are not left without appropriate treatment options. The APS are also in the process of developing a consumer and carer survey to provide further data to inform future discussions with government.

Please be aware that the funding threatened is specifically for mental health conditions. Minds and Hearts does not consider autism spectrum disorder or Asperger's Syndrome to be a mental heatlh condition, however we are concerned that many who are on the spectrum suffer anxiety and depression, and some experience other mental health issues for eg OCD, PTSD, anorexia nervosa, bipolar disorder, Tourette's Disorder, and so will be affected by these proposed funding cuts. 

Can you please forward any (de-identified) stories about the impact the cuts to the Better Access program are having to Kim Harris of the APS by 12.00pm Friday 8 July to Kim.Harris@mhca.org.au.

Please feel free to circulate this to your networks.

Kind Regards

--
Dr Michelle S Garnett
Clinic Director/Clinical Psychologist

Minds and Hearts: A Specialist Clinic For Asperger's Syndrome and Autism
Tel 07 3844 9466
Fax 07 3844 9533

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Toy teaches autistic children positive play.


                           New Toy Developed for Autistic Children
by KATHERINE on JULY 1, 2011


Developing friendship and playing with other children are just some of the things that a child with autism is having difficulty with. Although they would like to join other children and play with them, they do not seem to have the necessary skills needed to encourage friendship with other children. They cannot understand social cues and they may have difficulty understanding concepts that would promote a positive playing atmosphere. Helen Andreae, a student at Victoria University in New Zealand, understands these social difficulties that autistic children experience and as a result, focused her efforts on developing a toy that can help the children in this regard. And on the final year of her Honors degree, she created an industrial design paper on a toy under the supervision of Tim Miller and Edgar Rodriguez Ramirez and in consultation with a child psychologist who works with autistic children and a professor whose research specialty is teaching autistic children. Dr. Peter Andreae, on the other hand, was responsible for the toy’s computer programming.The toy, called Auti, is a responsive and mechanized toy which is made of possum fur. Auti’s fluffiness makes it very attractive to the children and makes them want hug it and play with it all the time. At the moment, the toy is still currently a prototype but based on the response of the small group which have been lucky enough to test drive the toy, the toy seems to be very promising.Among the skills that the toy teaches are touching, speaking and collaboration skills. It responds to the child’s negative behaviour by shutting down but it quickly responds to the child’s slightest positive behaviour. For example, when the child hits the toy or screams at the toy, it will immediately shut down and not respond to the behaviour that the child just exhibited. On the other hand, the toy quickly responds when the child talks gently or when he strokes the toy. One good thing about this toy is that the sensor can be adjusted to respond accordingly to the child’s individual characteristics.You can view this video if you want to see how the toy works.

Toy teaches Autistic children positive play.


A responsive, mechanised toy designed especially for autistic children six months and up has been created to teach positive play behaviours.'Auti' develops speaking, touching, and collaborating skills. It shuts down in response to any negative behaviour such as hitting or screaming, but quickly responds to the slightest positive interaction such as speaking gently or stroking. Each sensor can be adjusted to respond appropriately to a child's individual characteristics."Autistic children find it difficult to play," says designer Helen Andreae, who developed Auti through an industrial design paper at Victoria University in the final year of her Honours degree last year under the supervision of lecturers Tim Miller and Edgar Rodríguez Ramírez. "They have great difficulty using their imagination to develop even the simplest fictional scenarios and have even further difficulties playing with other children because they often don't understand how they should control their voice and body. This can scare other children away when they are trying to make friends."I have had an awareness of autism for a long time, through family discussions and through observing the autistic child of a friend. In developing my design challenge, I thought a toy which could help families dealing with autism would be a positive area to focus my energies on."The toy was designed in consultation with a child psychologist who works with autistic children and a professor whose research specialty is teaching autistic children. Dr Peter Andreae from Victoria's School of Engineering and Computer Science did the computer programming.Ms Andreae says the toy is currently a prototype, so she has only allowed children of friends and family to play with it to avoid damage."The response to it has been positive—children love the fluffiness of Auti which is made of possum fur," she says."If one day Auti was commercialised it would need further fine tuning and I'd look at broadening its functions for a range of teaching applications." 
A video of how Auti works can be viewed at http://www.vimeo.com/25756104