The Algorithm Age

Paige Carter and her son Oaklan were front and centre when the Premier unveiled the state's first Minister for Autism almost three years ago. Ms Carter welcomed the "world leading" appointment of Emily Bourke and the state government promised to deliver nation-leading autism reforms. But the mother-of-two said she now felt "let down" and as though her family and the autism community were "used" by the government. "[Oaklan] was a good look for them, but they haven't come through so, I don't think there's any other way to feel other than used," she said. "... He [the Premier] can announce skyscrapers and LIV Golf and all these really cool exciting things for the state and yes they're amazing, but what about our little kids who can't even access an education?" The government has pushed back against these claims, pointing to the rollout of 400 autism inclusion teache...

READ MORE: Autism treatment parents say is reversing children's symptoms A leading psychiatrist has revealed his 'guilt' over America's spiraling autism crisis, after his team's work led to an explosion in cases — and fueled the anti-vaccine movement. In the 1980s, around one in 2,000 children had autism in the US. But by the turn of the century, this had jumped 13-fold to one in 150 children , in large part due to Dr Allen Frances and his team's updated guidelines for diagnosing autism. For the first time, doctors began recognizing Asperger's syndrome — a milder condition where patients develop in the typical way in early life but tend to have difficulty with social cues, empathy and forming relationships — as a form of autism. In 2013, building on his team's work, the definition was loosened yet again to include even milder cases, and autism was re-defined as 'autism spectrum disorder'. The result was, acco...