Lifestart Eastern Sydney mother Margaret-Anne Otton has once again appeared on the ABC’s Q & A program to question federal government equity in the provision of early intervention services. Ms Otton first appeared on the program last September when Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilites Bill Shorten drew a round of applause for saying that Ms Otton’s daughter Sophia, who has a mix of developmental disabilities, was still a child and deserved the same government support as other children with more easily defined developmental problems.

Five months on and Ms Otton has challenged Mr Shorten that, despite the introduction of the $190 million dollar autism package, nothing has changed, because this is a condition specific package therefore is of no use to her daughter. Mr Shorten replied that the autism package was only a start and the government was looking at ways to improve access to early intervention assistance across the board.

Lifestart is a listed service provider for the Early Intervention Service Provider Panel, for the Helping Children with Autism package funded by the Australian Government through Departments of Families, Housing, learning Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA). Click here for more details.