Resources for professionals

For service professionals and teachers

  • The International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) has recently released a Declaration on Autism. IACAPAP is an international association of child and adolescent mental health professionals and academics. It advocates for the promotion of the mental health and development of children and adolescents through policy, information dissemination, training and research, and supports organisations devoted to this aim in all countries, with a specific emphasis on resource-poor regions of the world. Find out more about IACAPAP.
  • The new ‘Early Intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Guidelines for Best Practice 2012' by Margot Prior and Jacqueline Roberts is now available from the FaHCSIA website. 
  • A Review of the Research to Identify the Most Effective Models of Practice in Early Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders by authors representing The Australian Autism Research Collaboration, now The Australian Society for Autism Research (ASFAR), Margot Prior (The University of Melbourne), Jacqueline M. A. Roberts (Griffith University), Sylvia Rodger (The University of Queensland), and Katrina Williams (The University of Melbourne and the Royal Children’s Hospital).
  • OTARC's position paper on the changes to the DSM diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorders (Summary): Towards a new definition of Autism - Changes to the DSM diagnostic criteria.
  • The Helping Children with Autism (HCWA) package by the Federal Government is an initiative to assist both families and professionals who support children with an ASD.
  • Autism Speaks is an organisation in the US which aims to raise public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; to assist service providers and families with information and support and to fund global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism.
  • The Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT). Their mission is to share accurate, scientifically sound information about autism and treatments for autism.
  • Autism Centre of Excellence and Healthy Infant Development Laboratory. This centre in the US is dedicated to understanding how brain structure and function contribute to the health and well-being of all children. The studies aim to discover powerful brain biomarkers that will one day allow doctors and parents to identify babies at risk for developmental disorder.
  • Interactive Autism Network (USA) The Interactive Autism Network (IAN) is an innovative online project bringing together people affected by autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and researchers in a search for answers. Individuals with ASD and their families can share information in a secure setting to become part of the largest online autism research effort in the United States.
  • Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) is an advisory committee in the US that coordinates all efforts within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concerning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Through its inclusion of both Federal and public members, the IACC helps to ensure that a wide range of ideas and perspectives are represented and discussed in a public forum.

For Victorians

For additional information and resources related to families see Information and Resources for Families.