Vic maternal nurses to spot autism in kids

Thousands of Victorian toddlers will be assessed for autism with the government funding training for childhood nurses in a bid to identify the disorder early.

More than 1200 Victorian maternal and child health nurses will be trained to spot autism spectrum disorder in toddlers.

Premier Daniel Andrews on Wednesday announced $1.1 million to fund the online and face-to-face training to identify the disorder as early as possible, which is part of a broader $19 million early childhood service investment.

La Trobe University's Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre will train nurses to spot the signs in about 80,000 toddlers aged 12-to-24 months each year, Families Minister Jenny Mikakos said.

"This is about giving every child every chance to succeed and making sure those living with autism have the same opportunities as everybody else," she said.


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Published 5 September 2018 10:44am
Source: AAP


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