Growing in to Autism

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By 2026, we want the SEND system to enable autistic children and young people to access the right support, both within and outside of education settings. By the end of this strategy, we want transitions into adulthood to improve, so that more autistic young people are able to live well in their communities, find work or higher education opportunities. We want these improved transitions to result in fewer mental health crises and admissions into inpatient care. For some time, I sat with my self-diagnosis. I didn’t seek a formal diagnosis because I couldn’t see how it would be beneficial; I was too old for any kind of intervention or support. I was also concerned it would affect my career, given the stigma and stereotypes around autism I had experienced so often in my children’s lives. The abilities and needs of autistic people vary and can evolve over time. While some people with autism can live independently, others have severe disabilities and require life-long care and support. Autism often has an impact on education and employment

Flo Yeah, all through my childhood and my teenage life and my adult life you’ve been so accepting, I’m going to cry, of everything that I am. People with autism have the same health problems as the general population. However, they may, in addition, have specific health-care needs related to autism or other co-occurring conditions. They may be more vulnerable to developing chronic noncommunicable As a society, we’ve come a long way since the landmark 2009 Autism Act. We’ve never had a greater public awareness of hidden disabilities like autism. That awareness is increasingly reflected in how our country is run, from the NHS to local government services. Available scientific evidence suggests that there are probably many factors that make a child more likely to have autism, including environmental and genetic factors. take action to strengthen and promote pathways to employment, such as Supported Internships, Traineeships and apprenticeships, and work to support all local areas to develop Supported Employment ForumsCommissioners need the right skills and tools to develop services that work for autistic people. To improve their capabilities, the Local Government Association ( LGA), Skills for Care and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services ( ADASS) will roll out their qualification for commissioners who work with autistic people and people with a learning disability to a further 120 NHS and Local Authority commissioners. In addition, we commissioned Skills for Care and the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) to develop guidance to help commissioners identify local demand and develop the right services for autistic people. This guide is published alongside the strategy.

I thought I had likely done such a good job of masking in front of him that he would reject the suggestion as ludicrous. At the end of one of our sessions, and with my husband there for moral support, I asked the “hand on the doorknob” question: “Do you only do diagnostic assessments for children, or do you diagnose adults as well?” We will take action to support children with SEND, including autistic children and young people in schools, as we move out of COVID-19 restrictions over the academic year 2021 to 2022. So far, we have published a range of guidance to support remote education, including specific support for children and young people with SEND. We recognise that some autistic children and young people have benefitted from access to remote learning which can be personalised and accessed flexibly and we will continue to personalise support for individuals as we move into recovery. We have also provided a hub of guidance and resources for families, teachers and other professionals aimed at supporting autistic children and young people during COVID-19. Our commitments in the first yearExtensive research using a variety of different methods and conducted over many years has demonstrated that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine does not cause autism. Studies that were interpreted as indicating any such link were flawed, and some of the authors had undeclared biases that influenced what they reported about their research (2,3,4). In addition, we know the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on autistic people and their families’ lives. We commissioned research on the impact of the pandemic, and have also heard concerning findings from autism charities’ Left Stranded report. These reports have shown that the pandemic exacerbated many of the inequalities autistic people already faced, like loneliness, anxiety and exclusion from public spaces, as well as creating new challenges like problems with shopping for food and understanding social distancing measures. The pandemic also risks making it harder for autistic people to get into work due to wider challenges in the labour market. By the end of the strategy, we want many more organisations, businesses and public sector services to have become autism-inclusive, so that autistic people can engage in their communities, just like everyone else. This will mean taking part in initiatives like Autism Hour, the Autism Friendly Award or taking other steps to become more autism-aware. In 5 years’ time, we want to show that autistic people feel more able to take part in their communities than they do today, including feeling more comfortable using public transport. To monitor our progress on reducing waiting times, we will continue to collect and improve data on autism diagnosis waiting times and identify areas that are not meeting the NICE-recommended 13 weeks between referral and assessment ( Autism waiting times statistics, NHS Digital). In addition, we are developing an action plan with NHSE/I and NHS Digital to enable us to report on diagnostic waiting times for children and young people. Current data on diagnostic waiting times is based on reporting of diagnoses by mental health organisations, while community services where children are usually diagnosed are not reported. Improving health and care professionals’ understanding of autism

As government, we will lead the way in becoming more inclusive to autistic people and will improve ministers’ and policy makers’ understanding of autism. We will do so by encouraging ministers across departments to undertake the APPGA’s Understanding Autism sessions, and increasing recognition and representation of neurodiversity across government departments. To raise the profile of neurodiversity including autism, across the Civil Service we will encourage the establishment of a neurodiversity priority for Disability and Inclusion Champions within government departments. These champions, who are senior civil servants, will increase awareness of neurodiversity and engage with neurodivergent staff through staff networks to ensure their needs are being considered and heard. Moreover, we have been able to transform society’s awareness of autism, as an estimated 99.5% of the public have heard of autism according to the National Autistic Society ( The Autism Act, Ten Years On), which is so important in autistic people being able to feel included as part of their community. We want to prevent autistic people from being avoidably admitted to inpatient care, which is why we are seeking to make legislative changes through the Mental Health Act white paper. Specifically, we are proposing to change the detention criteria so autistic people can only be admitted if there is a probable mental health need. opportunities. In addition, the demands on families providing care and support can be significant. Societal attitudes and the level of support provided by local and national authorities are important factors determining the quality of life ofIn September 2020, we published our Plan for Jobs to protect, support and create jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this plan, we outlined a number of actions that will also benefit autistic people, including increasing the number of Work Coaches, who provide help to people who are newly unemployed and making sure that Jobcentres continue to be open to help customers who really need face-to-face support. We will continue to review how our provision meets the needs of autistic people as we move out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and tailor our response based on this. In addition, we will continue to ensure that job programmes are accessible to autistic candidates. Our commitments in the first year As COVID-19 restrictions ease, we will be able to continue making our Jobcentre network more welcoming and supportive to autistic customers. We will continue to upskill staff and increase the number of Disability Employment Advisers to support our Work Coaches. We are also looking at ways of adapting physical spaces and ways of working to better support autistic people. We will be taking this forward through our Health Model Offices, which are Jobcentres that provide more intensive support to disabled people and test innovative approaches to disability employment support. In addition, we will continue to promote the Autism Centre for Research on Employment’s (ACRE) free Autism Employment Profiling Service, which went live in October 2020 and enables Jobcentres to signpost and provide appropriate support to autistic people without a learning disability. This strategy takes into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on autistic people and their families’ lives, as we know this has been very challenging for many. In summer 2020, we commissioned the Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit (London School of Economics) to undertake rapid research to improve our understanding of autistic people’s experiences during this time, and our ability to respond appropriately. The final report from this rapid research is published alongside this strategy. All people, including people with autism, have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. This research, as well as autism charities’ Left Stranded report, have informed our focus for this new strategy, and particularly the actions we are taking in the first year. For example, the pandemic highlighted gaps in data relating to autistic people and reinforced the need to improve collection and reporting across health and social care, as well as other areas. That is why we are committing to develop a cross-government action plan on improving data in the first year of the strategy. Approach to this strategy