Heidi La Paglia

[3/3] Billions are being pulled from the NDIS and sold back to us as “reform.”
Children don’t thrive when their supports are cut — they thrive when governments listen.
#SaveOurNDIS #ThrivingKids #DisabilityJustice #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

[2/]3] We’re bringing the voices of over 1,000 people who took part in EAC’s survey — and the message couldn’t be clearer: families and disabled kids are being left behind. #NobodyWorseOff #NobodyLeftBehind #

House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability | Melbourne, VIC | 20/10/2025 YouTube video by Australian Parliament House Streaming Portal

[1/3] Been a bit quiet on here lately — but a lot’s been happening behind the scenes.

Today I’m speaking at the Parliamentary Thriving Kids hearing on behalf of @everyaustcounts.bsky.social , alongside Nick Avery (1:45–2:30).
🎥 Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...

On #Oct27 I’ll be speaking at #ParliamentHouse, #Canberra for #StopTheCuts #MakeTheNDIS #Safe #Fair & #Forever.

#Disabled people, families & allies are saying: #EnoughIsEnough. We deserve an #NDIS for all of us — not one that cherry-picks who gets rights.

#NDIS #StopTheCuts #DisabilityRights

From Trump to Thriving Kids: Misogyny, Autism, and the Politics of Blame When Donald Trump stood at a podium last week and claimed that autism is caused by mothers taking Panadol in pregnancy, the reaction from many Australians was disbelief (May, 2025). How could a politi...

I’ve not published a #LinkedIn article before, but #misogyny in how #autism is talked about — here & globally — needs air time.

👉 From Trump to Thriving Kids: Misogyny, Autism & the Politics of Blame
www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-t...

#DisabilityRights #GenderEquality #NDIS #HumanRights

The 'terrifying' notion underneath Trump's unproven autism claims The Trump administration's rhetoric only adds to the noise around autism and will make it harder for the community to feel understood and accepted, write Nas Campanella and Evan Young.

I’m quoted in this #ABC piece on #Trump’s #autism whack claims.

“We’re framed as a problem to be fixed, instead of people who need support to be included.”

Grateful ABC gave #ActuallyAutistic people a voice.

🔗 www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

a man with a towel wrapped around his head is asking if we just not Alt: GIF of David Rose from schitt's creek with a towel wrapped around his head. Text reads; "Can We Just Not?"

#Trump says he’s “found the answer to #autism” — blaming women for taking #Tylenol in #pregnancy. 🙄 Same old #misogynist BS!! Autism doesn’t need a cure — #autistic kids & mums need real supports and #HumanRights. What a waste of airtime.

Grateful to contribute to the Spring 2025 #CanberraDisabilityReview with @sarahlangston.bsky.social from #ANPA. We unpack the $2B stripped from the NDIS & the risks of block programs. Rights, not retreat. 🔗 advocacyforinclusion.org/cdr/ Starts pg 18. #NDIS #DisabilityRights

@everyaustcounts.bsky.social @greens.org.au @australianunions.bsky.social @kelpieunicorns.bsky.social @criprights.bsky.social @sarahlangston.bsky.social @ausgov.bsky.social @awnnetwork.org

'A betrayal of our children': NDIS autism changes slammed by parents, expert

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Full story
www.9news.com.au/national/ndi...

Sign our petition: www.change.org/p/protect-au...

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The #NDIS is not a burden – it’s an #investment. Every $1 results in $2.25 return. #Investment creates jobs, #prevents crisis, reduces health & education costs, and builds stronger communities. Cuts now will cost far more later. #ROI

'A betrayal of our children': NDIS autism changes slammed by parents, expert

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#Women & #girls are already poorly served by the #NDIS. Their needs are too often overlooked. Diluting supports even further will only deepen those inequities.

'A betrayal of our children': NDIS autism changes slammed by parents, expert

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These labels are misleading. Autism is lifelong, and no 2 Autistic children are the same. Replacing #individualised services with block-funded, one-size-fits-all programs is a real risk to children’s wellbeing.

'A betrayal of our children': NDIS autism changes slammed by parents, expert

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I was interviewed by @9news.bsky.social about the @ausgov.bsky.social plan to push kids with so-called “mild” or “moderate” #Autism off the #NDIS into the new #ThrivingKids program.

Autistic children are not driving #NDIS costs. What is driving costs is the explosion of administrative churn, endless reassessments, & ballooning legal expenses [3] as the NDIA fights & polices participants through tribunals & courts. Billions are wasted every year.
#Auspol #Autism

Sign the Petition Protect Autistic Kids: Stop the ‘Thriving Kids’ Behaviour Program

sign the petition: www.change.org/p/protect-au...

#NDIS #ThrivingKids #DisabilityRights #UNCRPD #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs @ausgov.bsky.social @markbutlermp.bsky.social @australianlabor.bsky.social @greens.org.au

Labor's $2bil fantasy: Socialising autistic kids into thriving neurotypical adults I wrote most of this piece in early 2024, in reaction to rollout of the Inklings program. Because I know how getting “socialised” into meeting neurotypical standards - in schools, or otherwise - works...

The sustainability maths behind this foundational support fantasy just isn't adding up.

#NDIS #Auspol #Autistic #Disability

8/8/ Our #children deserve evidence-based, #NeuroAffirming supports that protect choice and dignity — not programs that erase difference. #JoinUs in this fight. ✊ #Solidarity

7/ 🚨 RAEN and ANPA are leading a campaign to protect us. Join us. Go to:

www.facebook.com/profile.php?...
www.facebook.com/profile.php?...

Autistic Children Don’t Break the Budget. Broken Systems Do - Every Australian Counts Every Australian Counts is here to make sure the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is delivered as promised and is the best it can be. Find out how the NDIS process works and hear real stori...

6/ 📰 And I wrote about them for #EveryAustralianCounts @everyaustcounts.bsky.social: everyaustraliancounts.com.au/opinion/auti...

Mornings - ABC listen Stay informed about Tasmanian and national issues.

5/ 📻 I spoke about these issues on ABC Hobart this morning (from 47:52): www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

4/ ⚖️ These changes breach the @AUsGov obligations under the #UNCRPD and risk promoting #masking in #Autistic children — something research links to #burnout, poor #MentalHealth & #suicidality.

3/ ❌ Families are losing #choice & #control. Individualised supports are being stripped away and replaced with #BlockFunded, 1-size-fits-all non-neuro-affirming programs like #Inklings.

2/💰 Cutting supports is a false economy. The NDIS returns $2.25 on every $1 invested. Stripping kids’ supports denies rights, cuts jobs & forces parents (esp. mums) out of work & widens the #GenderPay gap.

1/ The govt’s Thriving Kids plan risks dismantling what makes the NDIS work. RAEN and ANPA are leading a campaign against these harmful reforms ⬇️

[6/6] If the @ausgov.bsky.social is serious about reform, disability voices must be at the table — #EveryTable where decisions are made that impact us. #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs. #NDIS #EconomicRoundtable #UNCRPD

[5/6] The #NDIS isn’t just a line in the #budget. It’s core economic infrastructure + a lifeline for hundreds of thousands. Cuts don’t save money — they push people and costs onto #hospitals, #homelessness + #crisis systems, all while stripping away rights.

[4/6] With the papers, We asked for a seat at the federal table. The gov’t has not responded. 1 token seat at one state forum is not inclusion. It’s exclusion dressed up as consultation. #DisabilityRights #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

[3/6]
Following the #Tas roundtable I tabled papers with #FederalMPs showing how a strong NDIS drives jobs, growth + productivity & warning of the hidden costs of cuts. They also highlighted waste that could be looked at, like huge spending on external lawyers + admin costs policing participants.