We are a defence force family who moved over to WA from the NT for better access to health care services for our children, such as more options for paediatricians, Occupational therapy, speech therapy, child psychiatry and other allied health services that cater for their disabilities. We’ve been very disappointed with the incredibly long waiting lists we’ve faced as it impacts our childrens lives greatly. One of my children is still waiting for an autism assessment. There is no easy access to public paediatricians and there are not enough private providers, most have closed their books or retired. We have located an OT who is located over an hours drive away from our house (one way) and sue to this my son has to leave school early to attend so is missing critical learning at school but Ot is also just as important for him to thrive. It is very expensive and tiring having to drive for over two hours to attend occupational therapy appointments. We have to take leave from work or u paid leave if we don’t have any laid leave left. We have been on several waiting lists for over a year for a child psychiatrist to undergo an autism assessment and also access WA genetic services. There are not enough providers around the Rockingham area for allied health and we cannot even access Telehealth services for any assessments, treatment or to continue their adhd medications. The cost of those appointments are also increasing, harder to access and when we relocated despite already having diagnoses we were required to redo those, costs a few thousand dollars. The education system needs help to educate our children with special needs, as there isn’t even a basic understanding. Why can’t we have student OT’s and speech pathologists in schools, learning hands on skills and working with these kids?! Is the cost of University degrees in those fields and not meeting the ATAR to enter those degrees creating this industry shortages? Can we access interstate Telehealth providers and more bulk billed services to fill in these gaps?