Research released on Wednesday shows parents experience many problems accessing services for their autistic children and feel people generally do not understand how difficult their daily lives are.

Mr Barilaro said he planned to meet NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli in Sydney on Friday to discuss the four-year battle waged by Nick and Janet Smith, who have two profoundly autistic sons, Kye, 12, and Zac, nine, but have been denied access to a cross-border bus.

The MP has also spoken about their case with the NSW Cross Border Commissioner Steve Toms, who was appointed by the O'Farrell government last year to deal specifically with issues affecting NSW border regions.

Mr Barilaro said he wanted some relief for the family and a review of the process by the NSW Education Department in deciding which families were given access to a bus service running between NSW and the ACT for students with disabilities.

''I think the process must be flawed when people such as Janet and Nick can go through it and on four occasions the department rules they don't have a case,'' he said. ''There's something not right.

''I think from the minister's point of view, he'll come back and say, 'Well this is the process.' My comment to him will be, 'Well, the process needs to change.'''

Mrs Smith drives her sons from her home in Queanbeyan to the Malkara School in Garran under the constant threat that Kye will lash out and physically attack her, the boy often kicking her, punching her or pulling her hair.

The Smiths have requested that Zac be allowed to travel on the cross-border bus because he gets upset by his brother's behaviour, does not lash out and is socially more attuned.

The department has previously ruled the family is not eligible for the bus partly because Mrs Smith has ''demonstrated capacity to transport her children as she works in Canberra and drives past the school on her way to work''.

Mr Barilaro said that explanation did not wash. ''People in those sort of circumstances, families will always find a way around their issue. That doesn't mean they have 'capacity'. They do whatever they have to do for their children. And I'm not happy with that sort of remark from the department,'' he said.

Mr Barilaro also questioned why the department said interstate transport was ''only offered in exceptional circumstances'' and the Smiths did not meet that benchmark.

''We've got a situation where a mum has to transport her children to school when there are issues that happen in the car and can cause safety issues for herself, her kids and other road users,'' he said.

Autism Aspergers ACT chief executive Peter Brady said the Smiths' case was a tragic one. ''It's difficult enough as it is, without putting roadblocks in their way,'' he said.

A study funded by Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) and released on Wednesday questioned adolescents with autism and their children about their lives. It found 86 per cent of parents reported a shortage of practical support, 75 per cent reported a lack of appropriate services in their area and 71 per cent reported poor service co-ordination.

The study also found 66 per cent of parents believed educators were not well informed about autism spectrum disorder. Debra Costley, director of Aspect Practice for Autism Spectrum Australia, said: ''People don't understand autism. They've all heard of it but don't understand what parents have to go through on a day-to-day basis.''