Western Australia’s beautiful and popular Margaret River region is also home to one of the State’s two regional PlayConnect Playgroups.

Community response to the PlayConnect has been very positive. Since it began in November, the group, which is led by development worker Rhiannon Meale, has had six families enrol. 

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Doctors’ appointments! Specialist appointments! Therapy appointments! The weekly routine for families with a child diagnosed with an ASD does not leave much time for simple play and leisurely activities. The value of play can often be overlooked.

However, the benefits of engaging in ‘play time’ can be instrumental in connecting the whole family. It can relieve stress for caregivers and help siblings connect to the 'focus' child.

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• Congratulations to PlayConnect Cairns who were presented the Playgroup Award for Excellence (Facilitated Playgroup) at the recent Playgroup Queensland AGM. They are the State's longest running PlayConnect group.
• Two hundred pregnant women, half of whom already have autistic children, are taking part in a Perth study to determine if there are any signs during their second pregnancies they're carrying another autistic child. Read more...
• Results from the world’s biggest study of children with autism have shown a link between autism and the amygdala, the almond-shaped mass of nuclei located deep within the temporal lobe of the brain that helps control a person’s mental and emotional state. Read more...

Parents of children aged from three to nine years with an ASD, intellectual disability or developmental delay are invited to join in a trial for an online tool called the Behaviour Skills Builder.

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