Designing Environments for Children & Adults with ASD
Mark Lever Chief Executive National Autistic Society mark.lever@nas.org.uk
Recent legislative and policy developments in the provision of services for ASD
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Outline •
Autism Act
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Autism strategy
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Statutory guidance
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How to respond in a practical way
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How Did We Get Here?
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Background: Autism Act •
Autism Act passed in October 2009: – Put a duty in legislation on the Government to produce a strategy by April 2010 – Put a duty on Government to produce statutory guidance for health and social care bodies by December 2010
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The Act covers services for adults with autism and young people at transition
Adult Autism Strategy and Statutory Guidance •
Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives published on 2nd March 2010 by the previous Government
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New Government have stated their commitment to it: Care Services Minister Paul Burstow chairs the Programme Board,
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The Government published the statutory guidance in December 2010.
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Act, publication of strategy and the guidance are landmark events with potential to deliver real change on the ground
BUT Change will not happen by itself. The strategy and statutory guidance are tools for change ga architects
What does the strategy cover 1.
Increasing awareness and understanding of autism
2.
Developing a clear, consistent pathway for diagnosis
3.
Improving access for adults with autism to the services and support they need
4.
Helping adults with autism into work
5.
Enabling local partners to develop relevant services to meet need
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Some key provisions •
Improved training of all frontline professionals in autism
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Actions for better planning and commissioning of services, including involving people with autism and their parents/carers in this process
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A recommendation to develop local autism teams
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Actions for improving access to diagnosis.
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Leadership structures at national, regional and local levels to support delivery
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Proposals for reviewing the strategy to make sure that it is working
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Seven quality outcomes that will show progress for adults with autism • • • • • • •
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Better health outcomes Included and economically active Living in accommodation that meets their needs Benefiting from the personalisation agenda in health and social care, and can access personal budgets No longer managed inappropriately in the criminal justice system Satisfied with local services Involved in service planning
Three key ambitions to enable local communities assess how services are moving towards achieving outcomes 1. 2. 3.
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Local authorities and partners know how many adults with autism live in the area A clear and trusted diagnostic pathway is available locally Health and social care staff make reasonable adjustments to services to meet the needs of adults with autism
Feedback from Autism Legal Network • • • • •
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Local areas ‘should’ develop specialist training for key professionals and ‘should’ seek ways to make autism awareness training available to all staff working in health and social care Community care assessments ‘should’ be carried out by ‘trained practitioners’ as far as possible Each area ‘should’ put in place a clear diagnostic pathway NHS bodies ‘should’ request community care assessment Every area ‘should’ appoint a lead professional for diagnosis and assessment
Feedback from Autism Legal Network (contd.) • • •
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Autism specific health services should not be ‘overlooked’ Transition plans ‘should’ be individually ‘tailored’ and ‘updated each year’ Mental health transition protocols ‘should’ be in place
10 Practical steps to progress 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. ga architects
Appoint a local autism lead Include autism within key procedures Collect and collate relevant data about adults with autism Develop an integrated commissioning plan around services for adults with autism Develop a plan to deliver appropriate levels of training to front-linestaff Map local employment services that support adults with autism Map local voluntary services and groups that support adults with autism Involve adults with autism, their families and carers in service design and planning Develop and implement a staff survey about working with adults with autism Learn from and share best practice
Thank you
Mark.Lever@nas.org.uk
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