:00:04. > :00:09.Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's headlines. Waiting to be officially
:00:09. > :00:12.diagnosed with autism. Concern thousands like Tom are missing out
:00:12. > :00:19.on the right education because the system is so slow.
:00:19. > :00:25.Everybody just wants their children to be seen and if they have got a
:00:25. > :00:45.condition or not. People in Wales pay more for the
:00:45. > :00:47.electricity than customers in England and Scotland. How is that
:00:47. > :00:53.fair? A hot topic at Plaid Cymru's
:00:53. > :00:55.conference. The party sets out how they'd drive down energy bills for
:00:55. > :00:59.customers. Jamie Owen's inside story on how
:00:59. > :01:02.we've got it wrong when it comes to tackling the obesity epidemic.
:01:02. > :01:06.Good evening. A manager with his future on the lin. Chris Coleman
:01:06. > :01:10.says his career could be decided by Wales' next two games but with so
:01:10. > :01:20.many players missing he admits it will be tough.
:01:20. > :01:24.Thousands of children with autism may not be getting the education
:01:24. > :01:28.they need because it's taking so long to be diagnosed. According to
:01:28. > :01:31.information obtained by Wales Today there are almost 4,000 children here
:01:31. > :01:36.with Autism Spectrum Disorder but many more are waiting to be seen.
:01:36. > :01:39.According to the National Autistic Society more than half of those
:01:39. > :01:45.finally diagnosed waited two years or more and nearly 60% say the
:01:45. > :01:48.process took too long. Abigail Neal reports now from Pembrokeshire,
:01:48. > :01:53.where some children have been waiting up to seven years.
:01:53. > :01:57.Nine-year-old Tom Fairburn has a chromosome condition which gives him
:01:57. > :02:06.learning difficulties. It's also thought he has autism. What does
:02:06. > :02:08.that say? Autism is a spectrum disorder which affects people
:02:08. > :02:15.differently but individuals can often find it hard to relate to
:02:15. > :02:21.others and the world around them. They react very differently to other
:02:21. > :02:26.children, yes. It can just get really upset old really cross.
:02:26. > :02:29.Sometimes they can't cope with their emotions.
:02:29. > :02:32.Wales Today has found there are 311 children in west Wales diagnosed
:02:32. > :02:36.with autism but Tom is one of 340 more currently waiting to be seen.
:02:36. > :02:42.Without a diagnosis children can find it hard to get the education
:02:42. > :02:47.they need. Tom now has a place at an autistic unit but until now he's
:02:47. > :02:57.struggled in mainstream school. Last year he was excluded 14 times. I
:02:57. > :03:01.felt they thought he was naughty. To be honest, I felt they could not
:03:01. > :03:07.cope with him they did not want him in a school. That is what I felt was
:03:07. > :03:10.the end. I think Tom felt like that as well.
:03:10. > :03:15.Our research shows that the majority of children with autism, two thirds
:03:15. > :03:18.are in mainstream education. For those like Tom who need more
:03:18. > :03:21.specialist care, there are 60 places available in Pembrokeshire, more
:03:21. > :03:27.than in many other parts of Wales. But Hayley Wood who runs a parent
:03:27. > :03:32.support group says it's not enough. The parents I work with have
:03:32. > :03:40.difficulty in having their children placed there. What parents were told
:03:40. > :03:45.why somebody in education that the problem is there has been no
:03:45. > :03:52.planning for these children over the last five to six years. Figures
:03:52. > :03:58.showed there are 4000 children in Wales who are diagnosed with autism.
:03:58. > :04:02.The situation in Pembrokeshire, we asked councils how many more are
:04:02. > :04:06.awaiting an official diagnosis. All but one told us they did not hold
:04:06. > :04:09.that data, it was a matter for the local health board.
:04:09. > :04:13.When we shared that with one leading charity, they felt it was a worrying
:04:13. > :04:17.sign. Local authorities need to know how many children are waiting
:04:17. > :04:20.because then they can plan their provision efficiently and we know
:04:20. > :04:26.that early intervention is crucial to the development of and benefits
:04:26. > :04:29.of children with autism. There are signs the situation in
:04:29. > :04:31.Pembrokeshire is improving. The council is developing specialist and
:04:31. > :04:35.mainstream provision, and in January the health board will be taking on
:04:35. > :04:39.more staff to cut waiting times for children like Tom.
:04:39. > :04:42.Abigail Neal reporting there. Well we can speak now to Emma Carver from
:04:43. > :04:49.Ashgrove School in the Vale of Glamorgan. Good evening. You work in
:04:49. > :04:54.a specialist school for children with autism from the age of three.
:04:54. > :04:58.You must know what difference the early diagnosis can make.
:04:58. > :05:08.Absolutely. The early years of children's dedication is important
:05:08. > :05:11.but their early intervention, whether it is in the mainstream
:05:11. > :05:15.setting or in a specialist setting for a child whose needs are more
:05:15. > :05:21.complex, it means a child with autism can develop the communication
:05:21. > :05:26.skills that are really the bedrock for future learning. The later this
:05:26. > :05:35.begins, the bigger the academic gap is going to be. Pupils that are
:05:35. > :05:43.diagnosed later, we know have significantly greater risk of
:05:43. > :05:47.developing anxiety. This can be due to a failure in education are
:05:47. > :05:51.socially and because of a lack of understanding of the people around
:05:51. > :05:59.them. The longer that you know you are different but don't know why,
:05:59. > :06:03.the more likely that is to happen. Within our school we recognised this
:06:03. > :06:10.and we have made it a priority to develop -- deliver pre-Bacon assists
:06:10. > :06:17.training -- three-day gnosis training so staff are aware of
:06:17. > :06:21.indicators of autism. Many parents that we spoke to felt the demand for
:06:21. > :06:30.autism services has grown faster than the provision. Would you agree
:06:30. > :06:33.with that? Within the Vale of Glamorgan we have been able to build
:06:33. > :06:41.capacity to meet the needs of pupils as prevalence has increased. We now
:06:41. > :06:43.have a real exemplar the early intervention based at our school and
:06:43. > :06:49.an outreach service which supports intervention based at our school and
:06:49. > :06:52.the increasing number of pupils in mainstream settings.
:06:52. > :06:55.A man from Mold arrested yesterday as part of an investigation into
:06:55. > :06:58.historic child abuse at children's homes in north Wales has been
:06:58. > :07:01.released on bail. The 52-year-old was arrested as part of Operation
:07:01. > :07:04.Pallial on suspicion of child cruelty and indecent assault against
:07:04. > :07:11.four boys and one girl in the 1980s when they were 13 or 14 years old.
:07:11. > :07:14.He's been bailed until January. A teacher from Blackwood has accused
:07:14. > :07:17.her former employers of victimising her as she raised concerns about
:07:17. > :07:20.pupil safety and the conduct of other staff. Governors at
:07:20. > :07:23.Pontllanfraith Comprehensive in Caerphilly sacked Kim Shaw in
:07:23. > :07:25.September 2012 because of a "breakdown in relationships"
:07:25. > :07:32.following a previous final written warning. They said at today's
:07:32. > :07:42.employment tribunal that the correct prceedures were followed.
:07:42. > :07:45.Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has announced a proposal that she says
:07:45. > :07:52.that drive down household energy bills. At their conference she
:07:52. > :07:57.unveiled plans to pay 5000 new doctors are putting up the price of
:07:57. > :08:02.sugary drinks. It is all meant to help with the cost of living.
:08:02. > :08:06.Getting a feel for things. At Aberystwyth University researchers
:08:06. > :08:10.are turning plants into fuel. Energy and the price we pay for it has
:08:10. > :08:13.become a flash point in the political battle over the cost of
:08:14. > :08:18.living. Leanne Wood says Plaid Cymru feels the pain of voters who are fed
:08:18. > :08:22.up with their household bills going up. Then she convinced them they
:08:22. > :08:30.have a viable plan to bring those bills down again? Leanne Wood warmed
:08:30. > :08:35.to the theme in her conference speech. She wants a government owned
:08:35. > :08:39.energy company. People in Wales pay more for their electricity than
:08:39. > :08:44.customers in England and Scotland. How is that fair? It is not. Our
:08:44. > :08:49.country produces more electricity than it uses. But we are powerless.
:08:49. > :08:59.She went further on the cost of living, committing her party to rent
:08:59. > :09:06.controls. She had a new policy. It'll be paid
:09:06. > :09:10.for by putting a 20p levy of every litre of sugary drinks. We would
:09:10. > :09:16.employ a thousand more doctors with the money raised ringing Wales up to
:09:16. > :09:21.the UK average and reducing the need to take services further away from
:09:21. > :09:25.people. This is Plaid Cymru's alternative to hospital
:09:25. > :09:31.centralisation. The local hospital is a big issue in Rhondda Cynon Taff
:09:31. > :09:32.where she will be a candidate at the next election. Plaid Cymru are
:09:32. > :09:37.celebrating a big win of her next election. Plaid Cymru are
:09:37. > :09:43.leadership, the by-election in Anglesey. Some said and I bleached
:09:43. > :09:49.-- leadership Plaid Cymru could not swim in the North. This year has
:09:49. > :09:55.proven them wrong. And that is just for starters. Plaid Cymru said it
:09:55. > :09:59.will put Wales first and allowed to keep the momentum going if voters at
:09:59. > :10:01.puts Plaid Cymru first in the next election.
:10:01. > :10:05.Our political editor, Nick Servini, joins us now from Aberystwyth.
:10:05. > :10:12.Energy prices was one of the headline announcements this
:10:12. > :10:16.afternoon. It taps into that sphere of gas and registry prices rising.
:10:16. > :10:22.There is a big increase in the bills on the way. All the major parties
:10:22. > :10:26.have talked about this in conference season and in a way we have had the
:10:26. > :10:30.typical response from the Conservatives which is to get people
:10:30. > :10:34.on the lowest possible tariff. You could argue atypical response from
:10:34. > :10:37.labour which is to stop the companies increasing the prices. A
:10:37. > :10:42.typical response from the Nationalists fear which is to create
:10:42. > :10:46.a Wales wide organisation which will buy in bulk and remove the
:10:46. > :10:51.volatility of the prices for Welsh consumers. The other interesting
:10:51. > :10:54.thing is that Leanne work has been speaking this week about taking the
:10:54. > :11:00.centre ground. As centre ground in Wales being further to the left than
:11:00. > :11:07.the centre ground across the rest of the UK as a whole. I think that was
:11:07. > :11:10.in evidence today in that speech with the eye-catching proposals
:11:10. > :11:14.about attacks on fizzy drinks, the interdiction of rent controls,
:11:14. > :11:22.evidence of all fashion market intervention. Did she have much to
:11:22. > :11:28.say about independence for Wales? Not a great deal. It is our dream,
:11:28. > :11:33.she says, to see an independent Wales so we can be the nation we
:11:33. > :11:37.want to be. Even if you believe in independence there is an
:11:37. > :11:40.acknowledgement that the Welsh economy is far too weak at the
:11:40. > :11:45.moment to consider it. The big question is, whether economic
:11:45. > :11:50.policies like this can strengthen that economy? Canada reach out to
:11:50. > :11:53.potential voters for Plaid Cymru to put them into government in a few
:11:53. > :11:57.years time so they can make decisions in the future.
:11:57. > :12:00.A comprehensive school in Caerphilly which closed a year ago after
:12:00. > :12:04.asbestos was found there, won't fully reopen until 2014. Cwmcarn
:12:04. > :12:08.High School was due to reopen in September but plans were affected
:12:08. > :12:11.when a contractor died on the site. Some pupils will return in December
:12:11. > :12:15.but it won't be open to all students until January.
:12:15. > :12:18.Talks have been continuing at Wales' largest drift mine after company
:12:18. > :12:23.directors announced they were filing for administration. Unity Mine near
:12:23. > :12:27.Glynneath employs 220 people. Managers met with apprentices to
:12:27. > :12:32.discuss their future this morning. They're expected to meet with the
:12:32. > :12:36.entire workforce next week. One of the UKs leading surgeons is
:12:36. > :12:41.warning we're getting it wrong when it comes to tackling our obesity
:12:41. > :12:44.crisis. As part of BBC Wales' Live Longer Wales series, Dr Simon Blease
:12:44. > :12:48.says more effort is needed to combat our addiction to sugar if the
:12:48. > :12:52.country is to become healthier. He's been speaking to Jamie Owen who's
:12:52. > :13:03.spent the last six months changing his own diet and lifestyle to
:13:03. > :13:07.improve his health and wellbeing. They say a picture is worth a
:13:07. > :13:12.thousand words. This is an MRI scan and it is about a photograph my
:13:12. > :13:16.insides. We are bombarded with messages about healthy eating,
:13:16. > :13:20.taking more exercise and cutting alcohol consumption and yet we tend
:13:20. > :13:23.to ignore those messages. Perhaps if we had this opportunity to dip
:13:23. > :13:31.inside our bodies we might change our lifestyles. Here are the images.
:13:31. > :13:38.We are going to look as if we have an zippy new. Isn't that wonderful?
:13:38. > :13:44.Those images from the scan are projected onto my chest. I can look
:13:44. > :13:50.inside my body, my my guide to this snapshot of my health. You have got
:13:50. > :13:59.a fair deposition of fact over your abdomen. Men deposit their fat on
:13:59. > :14:03.their bellies. Using some clever camera trickery I can fast forward
:14:03. > :14:10.into the future and look at what's my internal organs might look like
:14:10. > :14:14.perhaps in 20 or 30 years time. It is a horrible deposition of fat
:14:14. > :14:18.all-around into the blood vessels as you can see. Not everyone gets to
:14:18. > :14:23.see their insides or into the future. That's if we did we might
:14:23. > :14:28.heed the messages of healthy eating, cutting alcohol and doing more
:14:28. > :14:31.exercise. One of Harley Street leading surgeons say we're getting
:14:31. > :14:37.it's wrong when it comes to tackling obesity. We have been fingering the
:14:38. > :14:41.wrong villain. We talk about a low-fat diet, fats being harmful.
:14:41. > :14:53.All along it is sugar that is the harmful product. The very high sugar
:14:53. > :14:58.diet that is typical of post-war era that was encouraged to try to give
:14:58. > :15:05.you more energy is now known to be causing the harm. I have always
:15:05. > :15:10.hated the chamber that is no quick fix if we're serious about losing
:15:10. > :15:13.weight getting fit. We like easy answers but perhaps the answer is
:15:13. > :15:19.simple and yet unpalatable. Eat better, drink less alcohol and do
:15:19. > :15:21.more exercise. For many of us, including me, if only it were that
:15:21. > :15:25.easy. And you can find out how Jamie got
:15:25. > :15:28.on with his weight-loss and fitness regime on Jamie Owen: Fat and
:15:29. > :15:38.Forty-Something, here on BBC One Wales tonight at 8.30pm.
:15:38. > :15:41.Still to come in the programme. Rehearsals for the choir's
:15:41. > :15:50.performance on Monday, marking the centenary of Britain worst mining
:15:50. > :15:54.disaster at Senghenydd. With plenty of speculation about his
:15:54. > :15:58.future, it's a crucial night for Wales boss Chris Coleman tonight.
:15:58. > :16:05.Claire's at the Cardiff City Stadium for us tonight ahead of kick off.
:16:05. > :16:08.Good evening. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are the
:16:08. > :16:14.opponents tonight in what is a must-win game for Wales. Chris
:16:14. > :16:19.Coleman's side are bottom of their World Cup qualifying group with two
:16:19. > :16:25.games to go. More on that in just a minute. First, here at the home of
:16:25. > :16:30.Cardiff City it's fair to say it's been a difficult week for the club.
:16:30. > :16:33.There's been strong reaction to the decision to replace head of
:16:33. > :16:49.recruitment Iain Moody, known to be manager Malky Mackay's right hand
:16:49. > :16:55.man. We have not heard from the club. But they have released a
:16:55. > :17:06.statement. What are Cardiff city saying? Ian Moody has left the
:17:06. > :17:11.club. They will be an interim acting head. It says ultimate recruitment
:17:11. > :17:14.decisions at the domain of the manager and the majority shareholder
:17:14. > :17:20.but the key line in the statement is a quote from the owner who says I
:17:20. > :17:28.have every faith in mocking Mackay and his team to leaders through the
:17:29. > :17:38.challenges of the premiership. -- Malkay. He has been unsettled by the
:17:38. > :17:42.loss of his right-hand man. Talking to fans tonight, that is what they
:17:42. > :17:46.are concerned about that the manager must stay. You know how passionate
:17:46. > :17:54.he is as a man about loyalty. The question is, can he get over this?
:17:54. > :18:00.If he is going to stay he will have two. He has made it clear he will
:18:00. > :18:05.not resign but I think the key point here is the rest of football now
:18:05. > :18:09.knows what the situation is with him at Cardiff city and if other jobs,
:18:09. > :18:14.bash particularly in the Premier league, he is a highly respected
:18:14. > :18:24.manager. He will be a prime candidate should any of the jobs, in
:18:24. > :18:28.the near future. But the night it is all about Wales and the manager who
:18:28. > :18:31.is under pressure. Chris Coleman knows his job is on the line and
:18:31. > :18:41.with so many players missing he knows he has a difficult task ahead.
:18:41. > :18:44.It is the ground where he had his best moment as Wales manager and
:18:44. > :18:48.Chris Coleman must be praying for something special at the Cardiff
:18:48. > :18:52.city Stadium tonight to end the speculation about his future. This
:18:53. > :18:56.time it is no Gareth Bale, no Ashleigh Williams or Ben Davis. 15
:18:56. > :19:07.players and available through injury. There is added pressure. My
:19:07. > :19:12.future is on the line. My contract is up in November, we have two games
:19:12. > :19:19.remaining. The next game is massive. It is tough because we're missing a
:19:19. > :19:26.lot of players. The big who half when we lost to Macedonia, it'll be
:19:26. > :19:30.a big tough. The boys we have got to get great experience from it. It'll
:19:30. > :19:35.be a big surprise if Wales got anything from the final qualifier in
:19:35. > :19:41.Belgium on Tuesday. If they win they could end up fourth or fifth. Better
:19:41. > :19:45.than the official seeding. That oozed Chris Coleman's chances of
:19:45. > :19:52.leading Wales into the next qualifying campaign. -- that will
:19:52. > :19:57.boost. We can't keep chopping and changing managers. This is the way
:19:57. > :20:04.we are going to go. This is the way we're going to set up and play. We
:20:04. > :20:09.need to see through. Craig Bellamy will play his final game at home for
:20:09. > :20:13.Wales before in -- retiring from international duty. He will want to
:20:14. > :20:16.say goodbye in style. After all the political wrangling
:20:16. > :20:19.over European rugby, this season's campaign kicks off tonight. The
:20:19. > :20:26.Dragons face Italian side Mogliano at Rodney Parade in the Amlin
:20:26. > :20:29.Challenge Cup. In the Heineken Cup tomorrow, the Ospreys welcome
:20:29. > :20:34.Leinster and the Scarlets are away to Harlequins. On Sunday, the Blues
:20:34. > :20:41.travel to Exeter. So can Chris Coleman take some
:20:41. > :20:44.pressure off tonight? The match is live on BBC Radio Wales and
:20:44. > :20:49.highlights in Match of the Day Wales, at 11.05pm on BBC Two Wales.
:20:50. > :20:54.Monday marks the centenary of Britain's worst mining disaster.
:20:54. > :20:56.More than 400 men were killed in an underground explosion at the
:20:56. > :21:00.Universal Colliery in Senghenydd near Caerphilly. A century on, the
:21:00. > :21:04.community has come together to help raise funds for a memorial garden
:21:04. > :21:14.and a new sculpture will be unveiled as The Wales National Mining
:21:15. > :21:17.Memorial. Nick Palit reports. Choir practice at Senghenydd
:21:17. > :21:26.Workingmen's Club for what promises to be an emotional performance on
:21:26. > :21:32.Monday. That's the centenary of Britain's worst mining disaster. On
:21:32. > :21:34.the 14th of October 1913 a massive underground explosion at
:21:34. > :21:36.Senghenydd's Universal Colliery killed 439 men and affected
:21:36. > :21:51.virtually every family in the village. It means a great deal to a
:21:51. > :21:57.lot of people including myself and the members who had relatives who
:21:57. > :22:01.worked at the colliery in 1930. My two grandfathers worked there. On
:22:01. > :22:03.Monday, exactly a century on, a specially commissioned statue will
:22:03. > :22:08.be unveiled and the community has been involved in fundraising to meet
:22:08. > :22:12.the cost. Nant y Parc School stands on the site of the pit and many
:22:12. > :22:17.pupils here, like Phoebe and James, lost relatives in the disaster.
:22:17. > :22:21.They've been making miners lanterns to hold in a parade through the town
:22:21. > :22:25.and two of the pupils will get the honour of unveiling the statue. It's
:22:25. > :22:30.a history lesson that's made them realise they're much better off than
:22:30. > :22:36.their ancestors. It'll be really scary because oil is not older than
:22:36. > :22:40.as with down the mine, working. Concerts like this have boosted the
:22:40. > :22:48.memorial fund. But a special CD has also gone on sale produced by a
:22:48. > :22:53.local couple. Dan and Laura Curtis enrolled the help of a whole host of
:22:53. > :22:56.Welsh celebrities to sing. Some of the stars were in Hollywood and
:22:56. > :23:12.recorded their voices on their phones. Ioan Gruffudd is on the CD.
:23:12. > :23:18.He put so much passion into it. The new statue is still very much under
:23:18. > :23:21.wraps until Monday. It sits in a new memorial garden, where a century on,
:23:21. > :23:23.this community steeped in mining can reflect on the sacrifices their
:23:23. > :23:26.families made. And we'll be reporting live from the
:23:27. > :23:31.village of Senghenydd on Monday when that new national mining memorial
:23:31. > :23:32.will be unveiled. Back to this evening, and Derek is
:23:33. > :23:41.here with the weekend forecast. There is a little rain in the
:23:41. > :23:45.forecast but I can promise you some dry weather as well. If you need
:23:45. > :23:49.some sunshine had to north-west Wales. A few spots of drizzle here
:23:49. > :23:55.and there but otherwise try and clear in the west and south-west.
:23:55. > :24:01.There was some ground frost last night. He is the picture for eight
:24:01. > :24:05.in the morning. A lot of cloud, damp and the little rain and drizzle in
:24:05. > :24:09.Powys and parts of the north and north-east. Better conditions in the
:24:09. > :24:16.west, dry and breezy especially on exposed coasts. A little rain and
:24:16. > :24:20.drizzle tomorrow, most of that in Powys and on the Brecon Beacons.
:24:20. > :24:23.Part of the west are faring better, dry and brighter with a little
:24:23. > :24:29.sunshine in the north-west. Temperature wise, 12-15 Celsius. The
:24:29. > :24:36.win not as strong as today. Tomorrow, dry and breezy with some
:24:36. > :24:43.sunshine. Tomorrow night, a little rain in places. The wind easing with
:24:43. > :24:46.some mist and fog in Monmouthshire. On Sunday, that is a risk of a
:24:46. > :24:58.little rain in places but the forecast is not set in stone.
:24:58. > :24:59.Many thanks. That is it. Good week -- goodbye.