At Definition Diverse we support much needed change to assist individuals with a diagnosis of autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions to enhance individual potential and quality of life.

Through engagement with government, organisations and institutions, we advocate for the following to improve optimal outcomes for the individuals and families we support:

  • Improve quality of and access to appropriate evidence-based practice that facilitate positive outcomes across individual, family, social, educational and employment domains. Supporting families is as important as optimising development of the individual. Parents/ carers often provide a micro-environment to assist development and caregiver mediated skill-building interventions, which are shown to have a positive impact across family and relationships
  • Improve quality of and access to appropriate evidence-based practice to support mental health and to implement preventative models at systemic levels. Mood disorder, anxiety, and ADHD may present during the adolescent period in particular, in addition to issues concerning sleep, sexuality, gender identity, adaptive skills, and vocational skill. Improved access to evidence-based treatment options for these commonly co-occurring conditions and issues is essential to maximize life outcomes.
autism services Australia
  • Improve quality of and access to services and programs to enhance transitions from secondary education to post-secondary education and /or employment. Dissemination of training programs to develop specific skills for providers working with individuals to enhance transitions following post-secondary education is of high importance. Also, in both educational and work settings there is a critical need to develop efficacious interventions that target the environment and not just a focus on individual adaptation.
  • Identify and trial promising efficacious approaches involving skilled and trained providers in collaboration with national and international agencies working in the field of autism and related fields. Sufficient evidence exists that indicates promoting self-determination is important for more positive outcomes for students transitioning to post-secondary education, employment, and independent living. Scaffolding self-determination can also play a core role in skill development in the domain of community living, job performance, social skills, and functional academics.
adhd training
  • Identify and implement strategies, interventions and practices, that practitioners can use to improve employment outcomes for young adults. Strategies could involve goal development, ecological assessments and person-centered planning. Also implementation of early career development experiences, work-based learning experiences, and ongoing program evaluation to equip young adults with the skills needed to obtain competitive, integrated employment is needed. Professional development for Educators in evidence-based practices to implement processes prior to final years of secondary school to promote strong transitions is also core to change outcomes, and the implementation of positive organizational coaching is of high value in identifying unique talent and importantly enhancing workplace culture change.
  • Investigate the nature of the barriers to adoption, and timely implementation of the numerous available evidence-based approaches and secondary education transition practices for assisting adolescents and young adults. Most existing interventions have been developed in North America and European communities which are then often disseminated to other regions. To ensure timely delivery of best care for individuals and their families, we need to address barriers to adoption of promising national and international approaches as well as proven interventions.