Change for families' lengthy autism diagnosis wait

Perth mum Monique Forde says she waited years before her children were diagnosed with autism. (Aaron Bunch/AAP PHOTOS)

For Monique Forde, it was a childcare worker who first noticed something was amiss with her eldest son. 

Several years, lengthy waiting lists and a string of medical experts later, the then-eight-year-old and both of Ms Forde's younger children were diagnosed with autism.