Supplementary submission to the
House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability regarding the Inquiry into the Thriving Kids Initiative
From the Autistic Self Advocacy Network of Australia & New Zealand (ASAN AUNZ)
Executive Summary
Our supplementary submission provides requested information on suicidal ideation in autistic children and addresses questions taken on notice or for which we were not given an opportunity to address during the hearing.
Specifically, our supplementary submission responses to the following questions from committee members:
Committee member, Dr Scamps, asked, o what are the biggest barriers to kids getting the support they need? o how would we address those barriers?
Committee member, Ms Jordan-Baird, questioned o how do you believe the Thriving Kids program can support young people in a neuro-affirming, trauma-informed and culturally sensitive way? o do you have any specific recommendations that could ensure this? o what does change that is co-designed look like?
Committee Chair, Dr Freelander, invited ASAN AUNZ to submit supplementary information regarding research on suicidal ideation rates for autistic children
We have provided constructive responses to each of these questions.
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Key Messages
We take this opportunity to remind the Committee of the importance of implementing a child-rights, neuro-affirming, trauma-informed, and culturally safe approach to early supports so that every child, regardless of disability or background, can truly thrive.
Here are the key messages from our supplementary submission:
Community distrust is the biggest barrier to Thriving Kids’ success
Over 75% of young people with disability, families and carers don’t trust it.
Biggest barrier to children getting the support they need is Government’s unethical governance, erosion of rights & focus on short-term cost-cutting.
The risk of long-term harm to Autistic and neurodivergent children from inappropriate programs delivered under Thriving Kids is real.
Suicidal ideation 28 times higher in autistic children (Cassidy et al., 2021).
Autistic children are at higher risk of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
The dangers are highly probable with high impact, & the evidence is visible.
Genuine partnership and co-design are essential to build trust
Communication challenges arise from differences in style, not ability.
Examples of co-designed programs and supports are provided to show how a neuro-affirming, trauma-informed, culturally-safe and rights based approach can be implemented and delivered.
Without us, you know nothing about us.
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The Barriers: Distrust, Discrimination and Death
1. Distrust is the biggest barrier to kids getting support
Over 75% children, families & carers don’t trust Thriving Kids
In CYDA’s survey on Thriving Kids¹, of the 1500+ children and young people with disability, parents and caregivers who responded, 76% are worried.
The report mentions the word ‘trust’ 32 times in 39 pages and identifies that one of the top five concerns raised by survey participants is that rushed rollout erodes co-design and community trust.
The other concerns were also based on trust issues. They worried that:
- children would fall through the cracks of the support ecosystem
- Thriving Kids is a cost-cutting exercise, an ill-fitting one-size-fits-all
- policy makers ableist, behavioural framing shows a lack of understanding and absence of respect for neurodivergence
- trust in government services has already eroded through system failure
If parents don’t trust the service or the program, they won’t participate.
Our community has repeatedly reached out to Government
On 12 August 2025 ASAN AUNZ wrote to the Hon. Mark Butler MP and cc’d Senator the Hon Jenny McAlliaster requesting a meeting to work collaboratively on issues facing our community. The request was denied.
On 26 August 2026 ASAN AUNZ issued a media statement regarding the Thriving Kids announcement, calling for co-design, expressing concerns regarding behavioural approaches, and inviting the government to work with us. Silence.
More examples of the Government’s failure to partner, co-design or even genuinely consult with us are set out in our Media Statement dated 5 December 2025.²
1 Altman and Hunter (2025) Masking is not thriving: Views of children and young people with disability, parents and caregivers on Thriving Kids Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) available: https://cyda.org.au/thriving-kids/
2 ‘Australian Government erodes disability rights by ignoring autistic and disabled peoples’ lived expertise’ available: https://www.asan-aunz.org/australian-government-erodes-disability-rights/
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Trust continues to be eroded
Our community has noticed Thriving Kids policy makers and leaders are not taking action to build trust. They have:
- Failed to meaningfully engage with Autistic advocacy organisations.
- Systematically limited opportunities for neurodivergent people to share perspectives
- Not properly considered cultural safety and intersectional approaches for Neurodivergent, First Nations, CALD, rural/remote & LGBTIQASB+ families and carers.
- Paid university and consulting firms to do consultation,
- Failed to ensure independent scrutiny of committees and programs
- Not addressed perceived, potential and actual conflicts of interest
- Ignored inconsistent informed consent processes
- Promoted programs that have no embedded harm monitoring
- Dismissed and devalued risks & long-term impacts of interventions
- Perpetuated inaccessible, disrespectful and harmful processes
One of CYDA’s report’s key messages for government is to build trust.
The onus is on the Government to build trust.
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2. Discrimination is the biggest barrier to children getting the right support
The Australian Public Service Academy³ recommends starting with a clear intent and seeking diverse perspectives, including from those impacted by the policy. The people involved must be curious and humble (rather than always being the expert), seek to expand their understanding, be open to new approaches and new ways of doing things, and continuously seek ways to improve.
There is no evidence that Thriving Kids has done any of this and our community sees the Government’s clear intentions.
Thriving Kids is imposed on us to fix our kids and reduce short-term costs
To deliver the right supports to our children, the people building the solutions need to properly understand the problems faced by the children the program is trying to support. This can only be fully achieved by engaging with young people and adults who were those children.
Neurodivergent children have complex needs
Neurodivergent children have unique needs. If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person. There is no one-size-fits-all or universal solution. It is nuanced and multifaceted. Their needs cross over multiple systems and settings, and co-design solutions consider this.
3 Australian Public Service Academy (2024) ‘Delivering Great Policy’ Australian Government available: https://www.apsacademy.gov.au/aps-craft/strategy-policy-evaluation/delivering-great-policy
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3. Do no harm
The Committee has allocated a strong percentage of its hearings to receiving evidence from health and allied health professionals and researchers, many of whom have associated commercial or professional interests arising from their intellectual property ownership of early childhood interventions they are promoting for our children in the Thriving Kids program. Yet little if any evidence has been given about the steps taken to ensure these supports or services do not result in harm to our children.
In fact, some of these professionals still openly support Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)⁴, despite widespread condemnation from the adult autistic community⁵.
While ABA has a strong evidence base for outcomes in the short-term it has devastating long-term and life-long consequences. In 2023, the American Medical Association withdrew its explicit support for ABA⁶.
To be clear, we are not suggesting that any of the programs being considered for Thriving Kids are Applied Behaviour Analysis. Rather we are using ABA as an example of how a focus on short term outcomes can lead to long term harm. It is our intention to help the program avoid such a ‘Grey Rhino’.
A “gray rhino” is a highly probable, high impact yet all too often neglected threat: kin to both the elephant in the room and the improbable and unforeseeable black swan. Gray rhinos are not random surprises, but occur after a series of warnings and visible evidence.7
4 Bayley, K., Trembath, D., & Leif, E. (2023). Supervision for aspiring behaviour analysts in Australia: an exploration of current practices, challenges, and opportunities. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 16, 587-603. /doi -022-
5 Australia, Stop ABA being taught to psychology students and ban ABA altogether (2020) available: https://www.change.org/p/stop-aba-being-taught-to-psychology-students-and-ban-aba-altogether
6 Americal Medical Association House of Delegates (2023) Resolution: 706 (A-12) https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/a23-706.pdf
7 Wucker (2016) The Grey Rhino available for purchase: https://wucker.thegrayrhino.com/writing/the-gray-rhino/
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ASAN AUNZ engaged with The Kids Research Institute and the South Australian Government’s Office for Autism at length seeking to understand how they are ensuring the infants in the Inklings program are not harmed. They failed to give us a meaningful answer. More details are available in our Facts about Inklings paper⁸.
Autistic people are at higher risk of death by suicide
While the figures vary, the trends are consistent. Autistic people are at higher risk of self-harm, suicidal ideation and death by suicide than the average person.
Cobbaert and Rose’s 2023 report⁹ gives the following comparisons between autistic and non-autistic people:
- Autistic peoples rate of death by suicide is 7x higher
- 13x higher in autistic women compared to non-autistic women
- Suicidal ideation 28 times higher in autistic children
- Autistic people have 3x risk of experiencing self-harm
Olga Tennyson Autism Research Centre (OTAR)¹⁰ reports similarly:
- young Australian Autistic males 3.5x more likely to die by suicide.
- suicide death is the only condition where risk is significantly higher in Autistic people without an intellectual disability compared to those with
- US study of Autistic children, documented earliest suicide attempt at 7 years and the average first suicide attempt was just 12 years
- 81% of Autistic people experienced suicidal ideation at some point in their life, and 35% of participants reported recent thoughts of self-harm.
8 Autistic Self Advocacy Network of Australian and New Zealand (ASAN AUNZ) (2025) ‘The Facts about Inklings’ available: https://www.asan-aunz.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/asan_aunz_inklings_facts_sept_2025.pdf
9 Cobbaert, L. & Rose, A. (2023). Eating Disorders and Neurodivergence: A Stepped Care Approach. Available: https://nedc.com.au/assets/NEDC-Publications/Eating-Disorders-and-Neurodivergence-A-Stepped-Care-Approach.pdf?2025120803
10 Hedley, Darren; Haschek, Alexandra; Brown, Claire; Batterham, Phil; Dwyer, Patrick; Gibbs, Vicki; et al. (2024). Suicide in autism: Research evidence and policy brief. La Trobe. Report. https://doi.org/10.26181/26401519.v2
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- Despite the ability to reliably diagnose autism in children as young as 2 years, average age of diagnosis is over 9 years, with 90+% of people over 25 years receiving a diagnosis in adulthood despite suicide risk potentially being greatest when autism diagnosis occurs later in life.
2024 research led by the University of Queensland¹¹ had similar findings:
- Autistic persons were almost three times more likely to die by suicide than non-autistic persons.
- Autistic persons without intellectual disability were more than five times more likely to die by suicide compared to non-autistic persons.
- Risk of death by suicide for autistic females relative to non-autistic females was significantly larger than the relative risk for autistic males.
- Almost 2% of all suicide deaths globally in 2021 could be avoided if the risk for death by suicide was not elevated for autistic persons.
- Globally in 2021, there was more fatal health burden due to suicide mortality among autistic persons than for cocaine use disorders, rabies, or testicular cancer among the total population.
Autistic children are at higher risk of adverse childhood experiences
Self-harm and suicide aren’t the only risks that autistic people face.
Autistic children experience significantly more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) than their peers¹²,
Increased ACEs are negatively associated with their health¹³.
Autistic children are bullied 3-4 times more than non-disabled peers with negative impacts on academic functioning & mental health symptoms, including increased risk for suicidality¹⁴.
The danger is highly probable, has a high impact, and the evidence is visible.
11 Santomauro, et al (2021) The global burden of suicide mortality among people on the autism spectrum: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and extension of estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Study Psychiatry Research, Vol 341, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2024.116150.
12 Kerns et al 2017 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5523127/)
13 Rigles 2016
14 Hoover & Kaufman 2018 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6082373/)
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Removing Barriers
ASAN AUNZ encourages the government to build trust with our community through genuine partnership and co-design. Such an approach dismantles the biggest barrier to success faced by the Thriving Kids initiative and provides the right conditions to tackle the unconscious preconceptions of many ‘autism experts’ that prevent genuine understanding and result in the current denial of the potential for harm because they have good intentions.
Despite our statement at the hearing on 17 November 2025, difficulty in communication and challenging conversations aren’t a reason to shy away from engaging our community.
Communication challenges arise from differences in style, not ability.
Despite autism’s clinical definition of social communication deficits, research shows that autistic people share information with other autistic people as well as non-autistic people do with other non-autistic people¹⁵.
This is one of the reasons ASAN AUNZ seeks for autistic people to be present at all levels and all stages of development and delivery of any Thriving Kids program. Because…
Without us, you know nothing about us.
15 Crompton, Foster, Wilks, et al.(2025) Information transfer within and between autistic and non-autistic people. Nat Hum Behav 9, 1488-1500. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02163-z
Crompton, C. J. & Fletcher-Watson, S., (2021). Autistic communication and peer engagement. Salvesen Mindroom Policy Briefing, number 6
Crompton, C. J., Ropar, D., Evans-Williams, C. V., Flynn, E. G., & Fletcher-Watson, S. (2020). Autistic peer-to-peer information transfer is highly effective. Autism, 24(7), 1704-1712.
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Development and Delivery
Our community is united in its call for co-designing neuro-affirming, trauma-informed, culturally safe and rights-based support for our children and their families and carers.
We know our community has diverse views on what those could look like, and it is the co-design process that enables our people to feel their perspectives are valued, and so often identifies amazing opportunities, improvements and enhancements through the intersection of those ideas.
ASAN AUNZ doesn’t pretend to have all the answers but here are some examples of what elements of a Thriving Kids program could look like.
1. Overlapping systems of support
Overlapping support structures help prevent children from slipping through the gaps. Children in need of support shouldn’t be handed off from one service to another, rather children should be transitioned to ensure the new supports work before existing services are removed.
Supports for children should be considered holistically. Too many autistic adults only identify the multiple co-occurring conditions that are often present alongside autism and other neurodivergences.
We encourage the Committee to consider the example that is described in “Eating Disorders and Neurodivergence: A Stepped Care Approach” ¹⁶ as the document describes many co-occurring conditions, intersectionality and other complex considerations that are often overlooked or misunderstood.
16 Cobbaert, L. & Rose, A. (2023). Eating Disorders and Neurodivergence: A Stepped Care Approach. Available https://nedc.com.au/assets/NEDC-Publications/Eating-Disorders-and-Neurodivergence-A-Stepped-Care-Approach.pdf?2025120803
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2. Peer networks for all autistic (and neurodivergent) people
Research shows that autistic women find motherhood an isolating experience, and autistic mothers have a 5x higher rate of post-natal depression than their peers — 60% of autistic mothers experience post-natal depression¹⁷. Furthermore, research shows anxiety, depression and loneliness are more highly correlated for autistic people¹⁸.
Building peer networks for autistic people before they become parents is crucial in setting them up for success, as well as giving them to tools to help address loneliness with their children.
3. Support all parents & carers to create respectful relationships with children
Carer & infant groups should connect families with respectful parenting supports — examples include Educaring (Resources for Infant Education¹⁹), Robin Einzig’s Visible Child Parent’s Circle²⁰ and Facebook Group²¹. These programs prioritise:
- healthy attachments
- respectful communication,
- provision of age-appropriate information
- explains of developmental milestones
- support without fear or judgement.
These programs must be built on a strong understanding of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), enabling trauma-informed practice to be embedded.
These programs could also connect parents and carers with support for help with sleep and nutrition challenges that often arising with autistic children.
17 Pohl et al (2020) A comparative study of autistic and nonautistic women’s experience of motherhood Molecular Autism. DOI: 10.1186/s13229-019-0304-2
18 Grace, et al. (2022). Loneliness in autistic adults: A systematic review. Autism, 26(8), 2117-2135. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221077721
19 Resources for Infant Educarers https://rie.org/
20 Welcome to Visible Child | As a matter of fact, they DO come with instructions https://visiblechild.com/
21 https://www.facebook.com/groups/visiblechild/
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4. Accessible early identification
Thriving Kids should consider setting up peer identification (assessment and diagnosis) hubs for neurodivergent conditions. Autism hubs could be run by autistic health and allied health professionals, providing a neuro-affirming experience with strong linkages to community and peer support.
Following identification, appropriate professionals could screen or test for common co-occurring conditions, enabling treatment and management plans to be implemented early.
5. Inclusive community activities
Many local governments provide wide ranges of services and programs for people aged 65 years and over²² while their kids programs are limited to pre-school children.
Local government programs for school age children are typically limited to school holidays and are filled to capacity, such that they are rarely safe, inclusive or accessible for neurodivergent children under 9 years or their neurodivergent family members.
Services currently available could easily accommodate a wider range of people including children, with typical activities including:
- Exercise classes such as tai chi, pilates, yoga, balance, strength, walking
- Creative classes such as craft, painting and singing
- Community events such as book clubs and friendship groups
Extension of existing autistic-led programs would provide an additional layer of support, with just a few examples being:
- Peer mentoring such as provided by I CAN Network & Empower Autism
- Shared Gaming like those facilitated by Minds at Play
22 https://www.unley.sa.gov.au/Events-facilities/Events-programs-activities/For-seniors
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- Regional autistic peer networks like Regional Autistic Engagement Network (RAEN), Gladstone Region Autistic & Neurodivergent Network (GRANN) and Northern Autistic Network (NAN)
These are just a few examples and there are many more.
6. Trusted recommendations and referrals
Alongside peer networks comes the amazing recommendations, reviews and referrals provided by autistic peers. This can cover almost anything: venues, hotels, holiday destinations, dentists, hairdressers, health professionals and therapists.
ASAN AUNZ’s members consistently express frustration at the referrals they receive from people whose job includes providing those connections. For example:
- They are referred to services that are not genuinely neuro-affirming (even if they have a badge on their website)
- The service has a wait list of many months, or even years
- The journey there or even the space itself is a sensory nightmare
- The service provider has no idea how to communicate with their child
These are problems they rarely experience within their peer network.
7. Peer delivered services
Extending on the autistic identification hub, referral to peer experts and professionals would further enhance the wellbeing of the autistic community. Autistic children being supported by autistic therapists and professionals gives them and their families positive role models of what they can achieve, and provides increased employment for a sector of the autistic community that is often overqualified and under employed.
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8. Disability Service reviews
Many people in ASAN AUNZ’s community have expressed a strong interest in a website or app that enables them to rate and review service providers, and provide critique that is meaningful to the autistic community.
Given appropriate funding, ASAN AUNZ’s experience in developing its Self-Advocacy App²³ gives it the expertise required to co-design such a solution in partnership with neurodivergent app developers.
9. Co-operative empowerment
The peer networks mentioned previously provide an opportunity for autistic children and adults who do require services to negotiate as a collective, driving better value for money in ways that are valued by the autistic community.
Without us, you know nothing about us.
23 https://www.asan-aunz.org/self-advocacy-app/
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