Doing it the Warwickshire way

Warwickshire County Council has introduced a monthly adult autism news bulletin, to keep partners, service users, carers and practitioners informed of activities and improvements to services.

Available on line and via email, the Adult Autism Strategy Update is mailed directly to members of the strategy implementation group, which had its inaugural meeting in January this year.

The group (or Partnership Board as it is referred to in the national strategy) is made up of individuals and families, social care workers and voluntary, community, and private sector representatives.

The update is also available on the council’s website.

Other council initiatives include compilation of a list of organisations and useful contacts. Anyone using the services listed are asked to comment on how well the organisation’s staff understood the needs of people on the autistic spectrum. Many of them are not autism specialists and can use the feedback to modify services and shape training.

The council’s adult autism team met with all disability employment advisers in Coventry and Warwickshire, with the aim of forging links and working together to help people find employment.

Contact: Simon Veasey, telephone: 024 7675 4035 email:simonveasey@warwickshire.gov.uk
Read more

Clinical guideline on the way

Development of a clinical guideline to help improve the care of adults with autism is underway, as part of the national autism strategy.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is developing the guideline to make diagnosis of autism clearer and consistent, and make it easier for people to receive services no matter where they live.

There are approximately 400,000 adults with autism in England, and around half have a learning disability.

The guideline is due to be published in June 2012.

Read more

Evaluating progress

Seven outcomes will be used to judge successful implementation of the Autism Strategy.

Detailed in ‘Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives’: Evaluating Progress, they are:
1. adults with autism achieve better health
2. are included and economically active
3. live in accommodation that meets their needs
4. are benefitting from the personalisation agenda in health and social care, and can receive personal budgets
5. are no longer managed inappropriately in the criminal justice system
6. families and carers are satisfied with local services
7. adults with autism are involved in planning services.

The outcomes have been developed with a number of partner organisations, including the Association of Directors of Social Care and the National Autistic Society, and are supported by three overall ambitions:

1. local authorities and partners know how many adults with autism live in the area
2. a clear and trusted process for diagnosis is available locally
3. health and social care staff make reasonable adjustments to services to meet the needs of adults with autism.

Outcomes and ambitions will be used to assess public sector progress in improving services.

Read more

Guidance to successful implementation

Statutory guidance issued by the DH details responsibilities and actions to be taken for successful implementation of the Autism Strategy.

Two areas targeted for action in ‘Fulfilling and rewarding lives’ statutory guidance for local authorities and NHS organisations to support implementation of the autism strategy are: improving the way needs of adults with autism are identified, and effective inclusion of their needs in planning and commissioning of local services.

To achieve this, authorities will have to:

• raise awareness and train staff in identifying potential signs of autism; and equip them with skills needed to make adjustments to services, in the way they behave and the way they communicate
• arrange for effective identification and diagnosis of autism in adults, followed by an assessment of their needs for services
• plan services to assist transition from childhood to adulthood
• ensure local planning and leadership of services for adults with autism

Key responsibilities for local authorities involve:

• appointing a lead professional to develop diagnostic and assessment services in their area. The Director of Adult Social Services is responsible for making sure correct processes are in place for carrying out needs assessments, sharing information between relevant parties, and informing people of their entitlements
• compliance with existing obligations to plan for transition from childhood to adulthood, as set out in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice
• allocation of responsibility to a named joint commissioner/senior manager for commissioning community care services for adults with autism.

DH suggests local organisations may want to establish a local autism partnership that sets a clear direction for improving services.

Read more

Autism strategy breaks new ground

England’s first ever national Autism Strategy commits local authorities and the NHS to raising awareness of adults with autism, as well as improving diagnosis of the condition, and making services more accessible.

‘Fulfilling and rewarding lives’, the strategy for adults with autism in England, is focused on helping adults with the condition to live independent fulfilling lives and find work.

The strategy, published in March 2010, includes plans for a National Autism Programme Board, training for health and social care practitioners (supported by £500,000 of investment), guidance on making public services more accessible, plus plans for making diagnosis of the condition clear and consistent.

Among targets to be met in the first year of rolling out the strategy, is agreement of regional action plans.

The strategy will be reviewed in 2013.

Read more

Gathering relevant data

Results from research into the prevalence of adults with autism in England, will be made available to local commissioners to help with planning and purchasing of services.

The study has been commissioned by DH and is being led by researchers at the University of Leicester. Final results are due later this year.

Under the national autism strategy commissioners are required to gather information about the:

• number of adults known to have autism in their area
• range of need for support to live independently
• age profile of people with autism.

Local authorities and the NHS are expected to collect this information as part of their existing duties under disability and equalities legislation.

For effective implementation of the autism strategy, service commissioners will also find it useful to know the numbers of adults with autism in their area who are:

• in employment
• likely to need support to find work
• placed in their area and funded by other local authorities
• placed out of their own area
• in hospital or living in other NHS funded accommodation
• resettled from long stays in hospital or NHS residential campuses, to a community set up
• living at home on their own, or with family members, and not receiving health or social care services
• living with older family carers.

Results from the first phase of the study into the prevalence of adult autism, show not a single person identified with autism or Asperger’s syndrome during a community survey in England, knew they had the condition.

The research has also revealed autism is more common in males, as well as people living in social housing, and individuals without higher educational qualifications.

Read more

Facts about autism

The National Autistic Society describes autism as a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also shapes the way they make sense of the world around them.

It is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways.

Some people with autism are able to live relatively independent lives but others may have accompanying learning disabilities and need a lifetime of specialist support. People with autism may also experience over- or under-sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours.

Asperger syndrome is a form of autism. People with Asperger syndrome are often of average or above average intelligence. They have fewer problems with speech but may still have difficulties with understanding and processing language.


Facts and figures

• Autism is a serious, lifelong and disabling condition. Without the right support, it can have a profound - sometimes devastating - effect on individuals and families
• It is much more common than many people think. There are over half a million people in the UK with autism - that's around 1 in 100.
• Autism doesn't just affect children. Children with autism grow up to be adults with autism
• Autism is a hidden disability - you can't always tell if someone has it
• While it is incurable, the right support at the right time can make an enormous difference to people’s lives
• Nearly two-thirds of adults with autism in England do not have enough support to meet their needs
• At least one in three adults with autism experiences severe mental health difficulties due to a lack of support
• Only 15% of adults with autism in the UK are in full-time paid employment
• 51% of adults with autism in the UK have spent time with neither a job, nor access to benefits, 10% of those having been in this position for a decade or more
• 61% of those out of work say they want to work
• 79% of those on Incapacity Benefit say they want to work

Read more