Q&A - My role as an Autism Connect advisor. Working with Amaze Autism.

Autism Connect is a free, national autism helpline accessible by phone, webchat, or email. Autism Connect provides independent, expert information to support Autistic people. Along with their families and carers, health professionals, researchers, teachers, employers and the broader community. The service is run by Amaze together with delivery partners across Australia. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.

Image of a women assisting with information and advice.

We spoke to Narelle McCrae, who has been an advisor for just over a year, about how Autism Connect operates and benefits individuals and the wider community.

Who works at Autism Connect?

Narelle had already heard of Amaze and the great things they were doing for the Autistic community when the position of an advisor was advertised. She was thrilled to be able to join the organisation. Narelle says, “I have a lot of [personal] and professional experience with Autistic children and adolescents, so I felt I had much knowledge, understanding, care, and empathy to give to all our callers.” Narelle is part of a diverse team of Autistic, neurodiverse, non-Autistic individuals, parents, Autistic parents, and people with backgrounds in community service, education, medicine, and the NDIS.

Who calls?

A wide range of people call Autism Connect. Parents, guardians, partners, Autistic people, allied health professionals, educators from all sectors (early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary), support workers, researchers, and NDIS coordinators. Narelle has noticed that recently there has been an increase in the number of grandparents calling too.

Why is it beneficial?

Autism Connect is a good first step for people because it has many resources to draw from. Narelle says, “Our dedicated team has a collective wealth of information and backgrounds from different sectors, as well as lived experience, which is vital.” The information collected via the helpline is also beneficial in informing the organisation’s delivery, opportunities for research, and policy and advocacy to the government.

How is personal information handled?

While callers can remain anonymous, their basic information (name, phone number, email, postcode) and their reason for calling are taken when they contact Autism Connect. Narelle says that the more information they get from people, the better the service they can provide. Other helpful details include: whether they belong to vulnerable groups and basic case notes to support the person should they call back. This is important so they don’t have to repeat their story. By providing contact details, the person who takes the call can send resources that match a query. Because of this they have an opportunity to also follow up on complex phone calls if necessary.

How is the information collected used?

Autism Connect collects information that is incorporated into reports and informs the service on many areas. For example, who is calling (family member, Autistic individual, professional, or community member) or what a query is about. Narelle says, “We can report back to our funders around things like the national reach of our service, what our impact is, or we can report to the government if there is an area of policy or advocacy, we think is important. . .but it is important to know [the information] is always de-identified demographic type information”.

What is the biggest concern for callers?

Narelle says, “The number one concern for parents and Autistic individuals who call Autism Connect is difficulty in accessing specialised medical and experienced health professionals in their area or region.” This is consistent all over Australia and is regarding long waitlist times for accessing assessment or diagnosis and for accessing therapy supports.

There is no doubt that Autism Connect is an invaluable service for anyone impacted by autism. To support individuals and their families or carers. Because of this it is comforting to know that there are people like Narelle on the other end of the phone line assisting people. Narelle says, “I let them know that they are not alone, that we are here to support them with information and guidance. . . They are so grateful to speak to someone who understands”.