November 1st, 2011
This guide from SCIE looks at how social care services can improve access to adults with autism. It is based on research that explores the barriers to services experienced by people with autism. It covers people with autism, whether or not they also have a learning disability. The guide suggests ways services can improve, identifying how best to meet the goals of the government’s autism strategy.
http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide43/index.asp
October 12th, 2011
New Autism skills and knowledge list launched
News release from Skills for Care – 22 September 2011
A new knowledge list to support social care and health service providers working with people with autism has been launched after extensive consultation across both sectors.
The Autism skills and knowledge list has been developed jointly by Skills for Care, Skills for Health and the National Autistic Society after consultation with over two thousand people including health and social care professionals, commissioners and managers.
The consultation included around 150 people who have autism and over 800 family carers who made their views known by completing a survey, attending focus groups or commenting on draft materials.
The list will enhance, across both settings, awareness of autism and improve skills among workers in generic health and social care services. This work is part of a wider range of on-line training resources funded by the Department of Health to increase awareness and understanding of autism across all public services.
Individual workers, or services and teams, can use the list to work out whether they have the knowledge and skills needed to provide a good service to people who have autism.
It will also be useful for people who are arranging or providing training to workers. The list will support people with no knowledge and experience of autism, as well as those with existing knowledge about autism including lived personal experience of having autism or being a family carer to a person with autism.
Professionals in the training field will also find an accompanying document, Implementing the autism skills and knowledge list through staff training and development, useful in helping them to co-ordinate future activity in this area.
Getting it right for people with autism – the research behind the “Autism skills and knowledge list”, describes the process followed to develop the skills list and is now available.
http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/developing_skills/autism/autism_skills_and_knowledge_list.aspx
April 19th, 2011
How to support people with Autism
Produced by RCN Publishing in partnership with: BPS, DH, NAS, RCGP, RCN, RCPsych,
Skills for Care, Skills for Health, SCIE, University of Oxford
Adapted with kind permission from a poster provided by the Estia Centre
December 21st, 2010
In line with the requirements of the Autism Act 2009, the Department of Health has issued Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives, statutory guidance for health and social care bodies.
The purpose of the guidance is to secure the implementation of ‘Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives: The strategy for adults with autism in England’ by giving guidance to local authorities, NHS bodies and NHS Foundation Trusts around training of staff, the diagnosis of autism and the leadership and planning of services. Follow the attached links to the Department of Health:
FULFILLING AND REWARDING LIVES
September 9th, 2010
Valuing People Now is the Government’s three-year strategy to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities and their families.
It covers all aspects of life, including health, housing, getting a paid job, personalisation, transition, advocacy, hate crime and relationships.
The delivery plan sets out the governance structure and the actions, with timescales and responsibilities, that will be taken to support the implementation of Valuing people now. Click on the links below to view the delivery plan
June 30th, 2010
Sandy Howarth’s book “No Matter What” (Autism) has been honoured as an award winning finalist at the 2010 International Book Awards.Sandy is a mother of a fifteen year old Autistic boy. My child Steven was diagnosed as being severely Autistic with a severe receptive language disorder at two and a half years of age. My book outlines the first hand experience that has been gained from my son Steven. The book has been written to assist and offer support to families, to create awareness of the subject of Autism and to demonstrate the complexities in brain development by comparing ‘typical’ development with ‘Autistic’ development.
The book covers the diagnostic process, concerns of parents, coping strategies, teaching methods, behaviour strategies, research being carried out on the subject, recognising educational needs, my child’s developmental history and my approach to Autism. It also talks of finding an appropriate educational environment and offers practical guidance in this area. It offers guidance in teaching body awareness, developing life skills, building an understanding of the environment and everyday situations.
I gave up my career as an Interior Designer in Dubai to devote my time to Steven and used my creative skills to produce materials to further encourage his learning. I educated myself on the various strategies and the subject of Autism. Seeing some progress in Steven’s abilities, I returned to the UK hoping it was the correct decision for him. Unfortunately, I have found that what I had hoped for Steven from the UK educational system wasn’t what it turned out to be. I battled with the Local Education Authority to obtain the provision that Steven needed and felt frustrated at the lack of educational support that he received. Steven has been in an educational setting provided by the LEA for the past eight years and made no progress. Therefore, I have decided to teach him at home myself again on a full time basis. This is not an easy option for me but I feel that the system has failed him and I wish to provide Steven a chance to live and to show how much he is capable of achieving.
I will be picking up from where we left off when he was taught at home at the age of seven and through this book I want to help other parents to appreciate what they can achieve with their children through perseverance and love.
Sandy Howarth
April 21st, 2010
On 22 April at 9pm, BBC3 will launch a new season of autism programmes. The season has come about due to the popularity of ‘The Autistic Me’, a documentary first broadcast last August.
The first film is a follow-up to ‘The Autistic Me’, called ‘The Autistic Me: One Year On’. It revisits the people who were in the original documentary to see how their lives have progressed.
Scenes in the documentary include a meeting with MP Theresa May at Westminster to discuss the NAS ‘Don’t Write Me Off’ campaign and a session at the National Autistic Society Hertfordshire Resource Centre.
Other programmes include:
The Autistic Driving School: Thursday 29 April, 9pm
Autism, Disco and Me: Thursday 6 May, 9pm
Autistic Superstars: Thursday 13 and 20 May
For more information about the BBC autism season,visit the BBC website.
‘Young, Autistic and Stagestruck’, currently airing on Mondays at 8pm on Channel 4, follows a group of young children and teenagers with autism as they are brought together to produce a drama production. It also follows them and their families at home and while going about their daily lives.
You can find out more about ‘Young, Autistic and Stagestruck’ on the Channel 4 website.
April 13th, 2010
Towards fulfilling and rewarding lives: the first-year delivery plan sets out the governance structure and the actions, with timescales and responsibilities, that will be taken in the first year to support the implementation of ‘Fulfilling and rewarding lives’: The first year delivery plan for adults with autism in England
The Government’s vision is that ‘All adults with autism are able to live fulfilling and understands them. The first autism strategy for England states – They can get a diagnosis and access support if they need it, and they can depend on mainstream public services to treat them fairly as individuals, helping them make the most of their talents.’: The strategy for adults with autism in England (2010)
March 15th, 2010
The Autism Bill has made it through its final parliamentary stage and will now become the Autism Act. The Act is the first ever disability-specific law in England.
The Autism Act started out as a Private Members Bill, drafted by The National Autistic Society (NAS) and taken forward by Conservative MP Cheryl Gillan. The Bill was backed by a coalition of 16 autism organisations and had overwhelming parliamentary support, being backed by all the main political parties.
The adult autism strategy
Download a copy of the Autism Act here
The Autism Act will guarantee the introduction of the first-ever adult autism strategy, which will set out how local services should be improved to meet the needs of adults with autism.
The strategy will cover a range of issues including health, social care, employment and training and, crucially, will be accompanied by guidance which places a legal obligation on local authorities and NHS bodies to meet certain requirements.
The strategy will be published by April 2010 and the accompanying legal guidance no later than December 2010.
March 15th, 2010
The adult autism strategy, which will be published early in 2010, will set out the Government’s plans to tackle the isolation, discrimination and inequality routinely experienced by many adults with autism.
Download a PDF of the adult autism strategy for England here.
The strategy sets out a number of key actions and recommendations for central Government as well as for local authorities, the NHS and Jobcentre Plus.
In particular, we welcome the following aspects of the strategy.
■Improved training of frontline professionals in autism.
■The recommendation to develop local autism teams.
■Actions for better planning and commissioning of services, including involving people with autism and their parents/carers in this process.
■Actions for improving access to diagnosis.
■Leadership structures at national, regional and local levels to support delivery.
■Proposals for reviewing the strategy to make sure that it is working.
The adult autism strategy, which will be published early in 2010, will set out the Government’s plans to tackle the isolation, discrimination and inequality routinely experienced by many adults with autism. Download a PDF of the adult autism strategy for England here. The strategy sets out a number of key actions and recommendations for central [...]
The adult autism strategy, which will be published early in 2010, will set out the Government’s plans to tackle the isolation, discrimination and inequality routinely experienced by many adults with autism. Download a PDF of the adult autism strategy for England here. The strategy sets out a number of key actions and recommendations for central [...]
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