National Guidance for inclusive education

The first round of community consultation for the National Guidance for best practice in inclusive education for autistic students (the Guidance) has wrapped up, and we had an amazing response. Thank you to everyone who participated!

This project aims to produce evidence-based guidance for Australian educators to effectively support autistic students throughout their formal schooling in mainstream schools.

The project team are now working on collating all the data from a systemic review of the national and international literature and consultation activities to include in a first draft of the Guidance.

Early Childhood Best Practice Framework released

The recently released National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention describes what high-quality, evidence-informed support looks like for children with developmental concerns, delay, or disability, and their families.

The Framework and supporting resources for families, were jointly developed by a group of research, practitioner and community representative organisations – including Professionals and Researchers in Early Childhood Intervention (PRECI) who recently became an Autism CRC Affiliate organisation.

Like Autism CRC’s Strength and Support Needs Framework and the Supporting Autistic Children Guideline, this is an important resource for those working with, and supporting, children and families in Australia.

Focus on strengths, not just diagnosis

Research from Autism CRC scholar Jia White reveals what autistic students really want from their schools – a focus on their strengths not just their diagnosis – in a new article featured in The Conversation.

This work was part of Jia’s PhD and the Autism CRC project ‘Finding a place in the workplace and in the community’ which explores inclusion across education, employment and community.

Have your say! NDIS supports

The NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee (EAC) are reviewing the safety, suitability and value for money of supports for NDIS funding.

The EAC are seeking community input on the following supports: active passive trainers, assistance animals for autistic people, psychiatric assistance dogs, seizure alert dogs, exercise physiology and smart home appliances (for cooking, cleaning and gardening).

Call for Abstracts: INSAR

The International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Scientific Program Committee is inviting proposals for panels, posters and oral presentations at the next INSAR General Meeting to be held in Prague, Czech Republic on 22-25 April 2026. Abstract submissions close Thursday 16 October 2025.

Call for Abstracts: PRECI

PRECI’s 3rd National Conference will take place 13-15 May 2026 in Adelaide, South Australia. The conference will focus on integrating research and practice in early childhood intervention. Abstract submissions for oral and poster presentations close Friday 14 November 2025.

INSAR Early Career Committee Mini Symposium

This virtual event will showcase the depth and breadth of research led by Early Career Researchers (ECRs), including previous Autism CRC Scholar Dr Stacey Rabba. The event will provide a platform to:

• present and highlight current research
• share reflections and insights from the ECR perspective
• engage in a live Q&A session, with a senior discussant synthesising key themes across the talks.

Autism CRC at APAC

Autism CRC will be attending Asia Pacific Autism Conference (APAC) in Perth, Western Australia in November 2025. We look forward to sharing our resources with attendees at our booth, so drop by and say hello if you’re attending.

APAC will bring together an international audience of autistic people, families, educators, medical professionals, researchers, allied health professionals, policy makers and more.

The theme for 2025 is “Creating and Inspiring the Future Together”.