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School Funding for an Education Assistant in WA for Autistic Children

Liz Smalley

Accessing school funding can be tricky and present some obstacles and frustrations for parents and families alike. Here are the Education Dept requirements in Western Australia below.

I suggest getting a paediatrician on board. Waitlists can be long, but you can now use telehealth platforms (such as HotDoc) and see a paediatrician from anywhere in Australia. Sometimes fees are less and wait times a much less in other states such as NSW where it only takes a few weeks to get an appointment.


Eligible practitioners

Students can be assessed for ASD using a single lead practitioner diagnostic pathway or a consensus team diagnostic evaluation pathway.

The choice of practitioner and the number of clinicians involved in the assessment of functioning is determined by the assessment team. This is applied to students of all ages.

Consensus team diagnostic evaluation pathway

A consensus team diagnostic evaluation involves multiple practitioners with specified qualifications, tailored to the specified assessment needs, contributing to a diagnostic decision based on consensus.

If a consensus team pathway is taken, the ASD assessment is conducted by either a:

  • medical practitioner who holds specialist registration with the Medical Board of Australia in the field of community child health, general paediatrics, psychiatry or neurology

  • psychologist who holds general registration with the Psychology Board of Australia and an area of practice endorsement in clinical psychology, educational or developmental psychology, or neuropsychology.

At least one additional diagnostician from a different discipline is selected to join the diagnostic team. The decision is based on their skills and expertise and can be:

  • a psychologist with general registration

  • a speech pathologist

  • an occupational therapist who has experience assessing ASD.

Lead practitioner diagnostic evaluation pathway

A lead practitioner diagnostic evaluation involves a practitioner with specified medical or allied health qualifications considering the available information and making a diagnostic decision.

If a single lead clinician pathway is taken, the ASD assessment is conducted by either a: 

  • medical practitioner who holds specialist registration with the Medical Board of Australia in the field of community child health, general paediatrics, psychiatry or neurology

  • psychologist who holds general registration with the Psychology Board of Australia and an area of practice endorsement in clinical psychology, educational or developmental psychology, or neuropsychology.

The diagnosis must be confirmed by someone:

  • from the single lead clinician pathway with skills and expertise in the assessment and diagnosis of ASD

  • from a different discipline or speciality.

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