Autistic Adults Don't Exist

...At least, according to Mark Butler.

I find this laughable, especially as I am sitting here writing this blog post and... existing!

In recent weeks, the Australian autistic community has been shaken by announcements by Mark Butler, Minister for NDIS, that the NDIS will be scrapping all funding for adults and children with "mild to moderate" autism. "Only those with permanent and significant autism" will remain eligible for NDIS funding, according to Mark Butler. He also made claims that children grow out of autism.

There are so many things wrong with not only the new changes to NDIS policies, but also to the word choices Butler made. Firstly, in Australia, the terms "mild to moderate autism" does not exist under medical terminology for autism. I believe Butler was referring to level 1 and 2 autistic individuals, as per the DSM-5. It feels weird for me to have to correct someone that is in the job position of Minister for NDIS - you'd think part of the job description would be to know the terminology relevant to NDIS participants, especially before you go and make press releases.

The second blatant error is making the statement that "children grow out of autism". Ask any medical professional or autistic person and they will tell you that autism is a life-long disability. One does not simply "grow out" of it. Autistic adults exist - there are many of us in fact! - and autistic adults still need support provided to them, such as through the NDIS.

Now that we have gone through the various terminology errors as used by Mark Butler, let's talk about the new changes to autistic people on the NDIS. It is proposed that a new initiative, "Thriving Kids", a generic one-size-fits-all scheme for autistic children in schools and childcare centres, will be introduced in 2027. In the meantime, the government says that autistic children that are currently on NDIS will continue to receive support through NDIS.

It is nice to believe that Thriving Kids will meet the support needs of all of Australian autistic children, but this is just not realistic. Each autistic individual has entirely unique needs and thus requires unique support. Additionally, support provided only within the spaces of schools and childcare centres is simply not enough. Many autistic children mask heavily during school day and bottle up all of their overwhelm. This often leads to meltdowns and extreme overwhelm being displayed at home, a place where there will no longer be any support for these children and their families.

And what about autistic adults? You may ask. Simple. We don't exist (at least according to Mark Butler). Autistic adults are already beginning to be taken off NDIS and losing their vital support systems as provided by NDIS.

As someone currently in the process of applying for NDIS support in order to receive vital support, the future feels bleak. I only wish that politicians such as Mark Butler took the time to meet with the autistic people that this changes will impact, to see how integral support is.

And to also see that we exist. Autistic adults exist.

I am an autistic adult.