Oxford Paediatric Autism Assessments

07/07/2025

A new wave of picture books written by Australian authors is tackling the ways children view being neurodivergent. And experts say picture books can help families struggling with identity and confidence issues.

01/07/2025

01/07/2025

Researchers at would like to hear from young people who are experiencing insomnia or difficulty sleeping to trial a new sleep app.

The study involves using a sleep app for six weeks, along with completing some short online surveys and follow up questions after using the app.

Your child's use of the app will help researchers understand how acceptable and feasible the app is, and how it helps your child address sleep issues.

To take part, your child must be:
💡 Aged between 10 and 16 years old
💡 Live in Western Australia
💡 Have a formal autism diagnosis

Please email melissa.cleary@thekids.org.au for more information.

The University of Western Australia

01/07/2025

30/06/2025

26/06/2025

Many Autistic people are not lacking in social skills. Get a bunch of Autistic friends together and watch the magic happen.

Many of us are not lacking in humour or sarcasm. The funniest people I know are Autistic. Our humour may be different to yours.

Many of us have so much empathy that the feelings try to crush us. We might express that empathy differently to you.

We communicate. Our communication style is probably different to yours.

It’s not that we don’t have these skills.
It’s that we do them differently. They look different.

And they’re often unrecognisable to neurotypical folk.

But they are there.

Em ☺️🌈✌️

21/06/2025

I work with a child who currently eats two foods. That’s right, only two.

How do I now tell this family who has experienced medical trauma and family violence that I can no longer see them in their home to deliver their dietetic and feeding therapy support? How can I tell them that they can no longer access a life sustaining support in the place that affords them safety, comfort and a feeling of regulation. How do I tell them that I cannot deliver best practice by providing therapy in their natural environment.

They don’t have car, nor could they afford the time and transport costs to visit a clinic. And given their traumatic history, they don’t feel safe out in the community and have difficulty being in medical environments.

It has taken almost a year for me to complete all aspects of my assessment with them as I needed to build a trusting and safe relationship. Not just rapport but a safe and trusting therapeutic relationship. For them to feel comfortable enough with me to unmask, to allow me into their world so that I can understand their reasons for approaching food and eating in the way that they do.

I didn’t set up a mobile business so that I could get paid to travel to people in their homes. I did it because the people I work with experience challenges and layers of complexity many of us could not imagine. I did it because it is the best way to support clients to feel safe, comfortable, valued and actually achieve the changes that benefit their lives the most.

The cuts to the NDIA will isolate our most vulnerable. They will put people at risk of harm. They will reduce the developmental potential of children. They will cost lives.

We know that the government has a job to do with reforming the NDIS, so that it meets the individual needs of participants, alongside being a fiscally responsible scheme for all Australians.
But let’s pause these reforms that will guarantee that NDIS participants lose their essential services.

We have solutions NDIA. Hear us. Pause the reforms. Co-design with us and the people who have the lived experience.

20/06/2025

15/06/2025

Autistic Girls & Masking: The Cost of “Coping”

Many autistic girls aren’t identified until much later in life — often not until adolescence or even adulthood.

Why?

Because they’ve learned to mask.

Masking is when an autistic person suppresses or hides their natural behaviours in order to appear “socially acceptable.” For girls especially, this can mean mimicking peers, forcing eye contact, rehearsing conversations, copying facial expressions, and suppressing stimming or sensory needs — all to “fit in.”

From the outside, they often appear to be coping. Teachers may say, “She’s fine, she’s quiet, she’s getting on with her work.” But the reality beneath that surface can be entirely different.

Autistic girls are often internalising their struggles, carrying huge amounts of anxiety, confusion, and fatigue. By the time they get home, they may melt down or shut down completely — a pattern sometimes referred to as “school trauma” or “after-school restraint collapse.”

The Invisible Toll of “Looking Fine”

Masking isn’t harmless. It can lead to:

• Chronic anxiety
• Autistic burnout
• Depression
• Loss of identity
• Eating difficulties
• Low self-worth
• Misdiagnosis (often with anxiety or borderline personality disorder)

The pressure to appear “normal” teaches autistic girls that who they are is not okay. That their natural ways of being — such as needing movement, time alone, or literal communication — are wrong.

And tragically, the better they mask, the more likely they are to be missed. That means they often don’t receive the accommodations, compassion, or understanding they desperately need.

In education, we must stop celebrating children who are “quiet” and “compliant” without checking whether that silence is distress.

When autistic girls go unnoticed because they don’t “act out,” they are being failed by a system that equates calm with well-being.

We need to look for the signs beneath the surface:

• Exhaustion or shutdown after school

• Perfectionism or people-pleasing

• Social mimicry without true connection

• Frequent stomach aches or headaches (often anxiety)

• A sense that the child is “playing a role” rather than being themselves

What Real Support Looks Like

Supporting autistic girls starts with believing them, even when their struggles are invisible.

It means:

•Giving them permission to be themselves

• Creating quiet, low-demand spaces to decompress

• Encouraging authentic self-expression — even if it looks “different”

• Reducing social pressure and allowing solo play

• Making accommodations based on need, not just diagnosis

And above all, listening when they say they’re struggling — even if their grades are good, their uniform is neat, and they smile on cue.

Support isn’t just for visible struggles.
It’s for the unseen survival some children are managing every single day.

Let’s stop measuring well-being by appearances and start asking better questions. Because being “fine” shouldn’t have to be a full-time performance.

Photo: Numbers 2, 3 and 4 visiting Coalbrookdale

12/06/2025

08/06/2025

We’re looking for happy little helpers!

If you have a child aged 8 months to 5.5 years, you’re invited to take part in an informal developmental assessment to support the training of our future paediatric doctors (paediatric registrars).

The 2-hour session covers motor skills, speech and hearing, coordination, social development and more – all through playful interaction.

Parents are welcome to join in the fun and ask questions throughout the assessment.

When: One session between 4-6 August 2025
Where: Child Development Services, Joondalup
Click the link to register online: https://forms.office.com/r/Y332tLeYpp

Spots are limited, don’t miss out on this unique and valuable experience!

02/06/2025

My son doesn’t have friends.

He doesn’t notice. But I do.

He doesnt care. He doesn’t seek out other kids, he avoids them like the plague.

There are no playdates. No sleepovers. No whispered secrets or inside jokes.

Other kids his age are riding bikes together, trading Pokémon cards, texting.

He’s in his own world.

I’m happy he’s content. I really am.
But sometimes, I let myself feel the part that hurts.
The part where he’s alone, and I’m the only one who sees it.

This is autism too.
The kind people forget when they talk about “different, not less.”