On Tuesday afternoon at the Ballina RSL, Micheal Lynch pushed the launch button of the Northern Rivers Autism Association and became its Chairman.

For those of you who don't know Micheal, he is a man driven by his passion for helping people with autism improve their lives to be more accessible and inclusive not only in the Northern Rivers (NRs) but also in NSW. Micheal has autism himself, so there is no better person to lead the charge.

The Federal Government has outlined a national autism strategy; however, the State Government has not. Micheal is on the case, lobbying Premier Chris Minns at every opportunity to get the ball rolling with the support of Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin.

Tuesday's launch included business leaders from the region, such as Lismore City Council, Joel Jensen Constructions and Lismore Toyota. One of Micheal's goals is to communicate the advantages of hiring a person with autism in local businesses and make that happen.

(It was a full house of business leaders at the Ballina RSL on Tuesday for the launch of the NRs Autism Association)

During a Q&A with one of Micheal's mentors, Shelley Oldham, he said it was important for future employers to go to seminars and learn from lived experience people rather than just doing a one-hour course online.

"You'll get some richness of ideas from people with experiences and learn what works and what doesn't work. For example, before we came here, Savannah had to make sure all the sensory light areas are just right because I wouldn't be able to communicate with you because of the challenges with that."

"The other thing you can do is to be an ally to us. We'll tell you what works for us and what doesn't.

Micheal said the benefits of employing a person with autism are many.

"You'll get somebody who comes in from the crack of dawn. Who comes there regularly. Who shows commitment and passion just as much as the business owner. You'll get loyalty and gratitude."

"If someone gets a chance, it's like, someone actually believes in you. It really does make a big impact on the person's life when you acknowledge them as who they are. So the biggest thing is to treat us like human beings. Listen to what we suggest because we'll tell you upfront what needs to be better. Don't take it as a criticism and just say oh man, it's going to be a problem. We're actually telling you because we care about your business."

"People say I'm negative and pick out all the faults. Actually, I'm your biggest fan; they are just the areas that need to be improved."

"So, what I wanted to do with establishing this organisation is to show people, like a single parent, a parent of a football player, someone who's living rough or has four kids and struggling with other issues, you're not going to be alone. We're going to be with you on the journey."

The Northern Rivers Autism Association wants to be part of someone's life as soon as they are diagnosed and be part of their life journey.

"We want to be there; we want to be with you; we want to watch you grow to your potential. We want to be there from the day you are diagnosed to when you get old. We want to be a family that's really simply what it is."

Enter Mat Rogers to share his life story.

Mat Rogers is an ex-rugby international in both league and union. He is married to Chloe, and the couple have three children. One child, Max, was diagnosed with autism at 18 months in 2008.

Mat said he did not have a clue what that meant or how it would affect their lives. "What I knew about autism was, well, all I could picture in my mind was the movie Rain Man."

No parent likes to see their child inexplicably change suddenly, but that was Mat's experience.

"Max would walk into our room, and he would commonly give me a kiss. That was like a daily routine. And then, one day, he just didn't do it. It was like someone turned the lights off for about a year."

"I literally didn't understand what that meant. What I felt was I had lost my son."

(Mat Rogers sharing his story at the Ballina RSL on Tuesday)

"I remember saying, Maxy, come and give me a kiss, and it might sound a little crass when I explain this to you, but as anyone who has seen The Walking Dead or a zombie movie. Right? And the zombies just walk, and it's like they're not looking at you; they're looking through you. Well, that's what Max was like. He went from being this engaged little 18-month-old baby that would be a little chatterbox to not talking and looking straight through me."

Mat explained that in the early days, he thought he wanted to fix things but soon realised he needed to fix the way he thought because "Max was fine. We just needed to put him on the right path."

Mat and Chloe were lucky enough to get Max into an early intervention school on the Gold Coast where all the help Max needed was in one place, and they could develop a program for him.

"We put Maxy into that school, and within three months, we got our son back. He began to be engaged again; he started speaking again. I remember the day he told Chloe I love your mummy. Just three words you take for granted as a mum with a typically developed child. She just lost it, broke down."

Mat and Chloe were accepted into that school because they could afford to send Max, not because they were next in line. Other families had to forgo their place due to the cost, so the Rogers' set up their 4ASDKIDS charity, which helped those families send their autistic child to the same school so they could give their child the opportunity to live their best life. Over the last sixteen years, they have raised over $2 million.

Max is now 17 and having had the support he needed and having had good people around him, he is thriving, even at work.

"It took us about eight months to find Max a job where someone would trust him and put him into the workforce. And to be honest, I really think he only got the job because I actually went to this interview with the boss, and I said, mate, if you give him the job, he will be your best employee. I know this kid back to front. He is the most committed, disciplined, and focused child that I know."

"If you told me that 16 years ago, Max will be our easiest, most dedicated, most focused, most committed child, I would have wanted to punch you because I wouldn't have thought it was possible. But because he's had good people around him, and he's got a great support network, and he has that at his work, he has been there for just over a year and has been Employee of the Month six times."

Mat shared that during the last meeting he and Chloe had with Max's paediatrician a couple of years ago, that Max would live a very independent life.

"He'll be driving, he'll be working, he'll be doing all the things that everybody does. So, I'm very proud that we have got Max to that point. But, there is going to come a point when we're going to have to cut the rope, and he's going to have to do everything on his own. So, we're preparing him for that."

Funding for early intervention and other schooling, plus other programs that provide autistic children the opportunity to live their best lives, is easier in 2024 thanks to the NDIS. One of Micheal Lynch's role is to find jobs for young adults and adults in the Northern Rivers as they transition from school to adult life.

Business NSW Regional Director Northern Rivers Jane Laverty said, "This was an incredibly important event, a real milestone event, where we brought business leaders together with community and businesses getting behind what is a really important cause, a really important movement moving forward."

"We're embracing our neurodiversity working with autism, the Northern Rivers Autism Association, and getting behind supporting our employers to learn more and be more aware so that they can open up their workplace to autistic people and neurodiverse people in the Northern Rivers.

"If you speak with employers who have embraced those differences and really worked with people who are neurodiverse and on the spectrum, they will tell you, they're some of their very best employees. We just want more people to see that. When I have business leaders saying to me every day that they're struggling to get staff, I think here is our opportunity."

"It is not just about getting the job done and increasing your productivity and your innovation in your business, it actually opens up and lightens the whole culture within your business. So here's an opportunity to do things differently."

If you want to learn more about hiring a neurodiverse or autistic employee, you can contact Jane for more details on 0419 260 220.