Jackie Kelly (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Autism is a disorder which shows itself in early childhood in which a person’s ability to think, feel and communicate with others is impaired. All children and adults who have the condition have problems in the areas of social interaction, social communication and imagination. They may appear aloof and indifferent to other people and often cannot understand the meaning of gestures, facial expressions or tone of voice. Because of their limited capacity to understand other people’s feelings they do not develop friendships easily. People with autism do not look any different from anyone else. They are not physically disabled but they may have learning difficulties. The common factor that everyone with autism shares is a difficulty in making sense of their world. In particular, children with autism appear to live in a world of their own and in some cases use a language or vocabulary only they understand.

Autism is one of the most common developmental disabilities and its characteristics show themselves in the first three years of life. There are three to four times as many males diagnosed with autism as females. However, girls who have the condition are likely to show more severe symptoms. Although autism is often associated with learning problems, not all people with the condition are affected in this way. Every person with autism is affected differently, and some live and work successfully in the community, having adjusted to the effects of their condition on their lives.

In children, symptoms include: delayed development, particularly of language skills; solitary play and withdrawal from others; apathy toward other people’s attempts at communication; a short attention span; a dislike of physical affection; displays of temper towards the self or others; being able to learn one day but not the next; difficulty with changes in routine; lack or absence of eye contact; repetitive and compulsive behaviour which, if interrupted, may provoke temper tantrums; difficulty in learning; impaired senses—that is, sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch; and, in some, extraordinary talent or brilliance in specific skills. The most renowned illustration of that is the portrayal of Raymond in the classic film Rain Man, in which Tom Cruise had an autistic brother. I believe Dustin Hoffman got the Oscar for his portrayal of Raymond. They have not been able to pinpoint the exact causes of autism. Research has been done into genetic links et cetera, and a lot more work has to be done and is going on.

Parenting is a difficult job, and for parents of a child with autism there are extra challenges. These extra challenges are things like respite and things that Luke Priddis and his wife, Holly, came to know with the birth of their third child, Cooper, who was diagnosed with autism. Luke Priddis is the 2007 Player of the Year for my beloved Penrith Panthers. He and his wife found it very difficult to research any types of support groups or to locate others dealing with this need. Luke has always been very forthright, and when he found that the Rugby League players had no appropriate superannuation he designed a specific superannuation scheme for Rugby League players. He is currently the Treasurer of the Rugby League Players Association—he is a bit of a financial whiz-kid. When he found that there was very disparate and uncoordinated support for parents, families and carers of people with autism and for people with autism he put together the Luke Priddis Foundation, which can be found at www.lukepriddisfoundation.com. Information on autism can be found at www.aeiou.org.au.

On 29 November the Luke Priddis Foundation is holding a fundraiser at Le Montage in Leichhardt. They are fundraising to get money for this foundation to continue in its goals. It is about providing services and early childhood intervention, which is a favourite of mine, for children diagnosed with autism. If you would like to go to that function, please ring Sharon Finnigan on 0419636616 or contact the Panthers club in my area of Penrith. There are fantastic prizes to be won, such as a trip to the Gold Coast to be the guest of the NRL for the launch of the 2007 season and a day with Gai Waterhouse at her stables. Such media personalities as Ray Hadley and Karl Stefanovic will attend and all proceeds will go to the Luke Priddis Foundation.

This highlights one of the things I have always been moving towards in my relationship with the Penrith City Council, which used to run 75 per cent of the childcare places in Penrith. The federal government has doubled the number of childcare places in Australia from 300,000 to 600,000 in the last decade. The private sector is overwhelmingly the provider of child care to date. I always have a problem when governments try to compete with the private sector. Governments should really stay with the leading edge of it. I often think there is a golden opportunity for councils like Penrith City Council and other councils that have a childcare centre which is losing market share to the private sector to move into these types of leading edge specific childcare centres—centres for autistic children, for kids with a disability, for kids who are sick or for kids whose parents work shiftwork. All of these niche markets need to be catered for in the two- to five-year-old age group.

Luke Priddis and his wife discovered a school in Wetherill Park that ran an autism specific program, but for the two- to five-year-olds there was that vacuum. Luke needs to be congratulated on his efforts in taking this on. I know the Prime Minister has sent a message, which I hope will be played on the night of the 29th. I cannot get there because parliament is sitting—I would dearly love to be there. I wish them well and I hope that they raise enough money to launch this foundation and really make an impact in this area. It is certainly where community based, council provided or government provided child care into the future needs to move—to specific types of child care. The private sector is always going to be the strongest and best model in delivering cost-effective outcomes.

The major sponsors of the Luke Priddis Foundation are Lexus, Mondial Assistance, Johnston Rorke Chartered Accountants, the Coffee Club, Anthony’s Fine Jewellery and a number of other sponsors. If you would like to be a sponsor of the foundation please get in touch with the foundation on the website.

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Reconciliation and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Garrett interjecting

Jackie Kelly (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Always touting for business. The Queensland Reds have sponsored the foundation, which puts the Panthers to shame, but I am sure the new coach of the Panthers is supporting Luke by giving him time out from the game until after this launch and fundraiser. Uniquely Indigo and New Business Media are the other major sponsors of this foundation. Congratulations to all of them in this cutting edge response to children diagnosed with autism.

When you are searching the internet for information on autism management programs, be aware that not all information on the net is reliable. If they are touting a cure for autism, be very wary of that claim. Do discuss things with your doctor or paediatrician. It is really helpful to talk with other families who have children with autism and the support groups that are available. I wish Luke, his wife and everyone supporting him all the best for the 29 November event. I hope it is just the start of many great things to come for the Luke Priddis Foundation.