March 2013
Autism News Welcome to the fourth edition of Autism News!
Developing
Adult Autism Strategy
an
Over the last three months we have been talking to people about the priorities that should be in our local Adult Autism Strategy. The Strategy focuses on five key areas:
Adult AUTISM
Strategy
for
Increasing awareness and understanding of autism Developing a clear and consistent pathway for diagnosis Improving access to the services and support people need to live independently within the community Employment Enabling local partners to develop relevant services to meet identified needs and priorities.
Around 30 adults with autism, their families and carers came to an event in November at Walthew House. Others phoned in their comments, or completed feedback forms. People told us that increasing awareness and understanding of autism and increased access to employment and better access to services and support, particularly through improving advice and information were most important to them.
Stockport
In January, we invited agencies and organisations from across Stockport to come together to tell us:
What makes an agency autism friendly? What information and resources they need to become more accessible to all adults with autism? How can we work together to develop a wide ranging Adult Autism Strategy for Stockport?
More than 50 people came to the event, representing around 40 agencies. Most found it a very useful morning and particularly liked talking about autism with other enthusiastic people. A number of important recommendations were made about how to make progress together. We asked people to make a pledge about the action they would take in their workplace, and what they would encourage their agency to do.
Adult Autism Strategy - what happens next? We’ve put the feedback from the events on the Council website www.stockport.gov.uk/ autismstrategy We’ve already started to contact people about training and awareness raising. We will set up meetings to take forward the recommendations made on the day. We will prepare a draft Adult Autism Strategy, using the feedback from the events, which we will put on the Council website for people to comment on.
Following their very successful exhibition last year, ArtismUK are running a second show from 3 to 30 March at Vernon Park Art Gallery. Next year the ArtismUK exhibition will take place on a narrowboat that Brin Morris, founder of Artism, and friends are in the process of converting into a floating gallery and workshop space. Follow Brin on twitter @artismafloat www.artismuk.com artismuk@hotmail.com Vernon Park Art Gallery is on Turncroft Lane, Offerton, Stockport SK1 4AR. To check opening and workshop times phone 0161 474 4460. Please note there is no wheelchair access to the exhibition.
Reviewing Aspergers and HFA We’ve been reviewing a range of services for people with Asperger’s and High Functioning Autism (HFA). As part of the review, we held two consultation events at Disability Stockport - one for adults who use the Brothers of Charity Monday night Drop In, the other for people who use the Aspirations Service based in Manchester. We also gathered information from people who use the employment support provided by Pure Innovations.
Hope4Disability is a new Stockport based organisation run by two parents who are also carers. They are providing a service that helps vulnerable adults, including people with autism, to find a home and someone to share with. For some, this will include providing support through the social care assessment process, help with securing an Individual Budget and support in the writing of a Person Centred Review. For others, it will include introductions to Welfare Benefit Officers so that they can ensure they are receiving any benefits they might be entitled to, including Housing Benefit. The key to the service is the help Hope4Disability can offer to find a house or flat, find someone to share with and to find an organisation to provide any support that might be needed.
People told us what they liked and didn’t like about services, and made a range of If you would like more information, you can contact Cath and suggestions about how to improve support for adults with Marcia at: autism in the future. We are www.hope4disability.org.uk now preparing a report which enquiries@hope4disability.org.uk will include a series of recommendations. As soon as 0161 480 3001 or 07503 766182 the recommendations are agreed, we will be able to let people know what the plan is for the future. Page 2
Let’s talk Autism in the Workplace! One of the things highlighted by the Autism Act was how little most Councils - including Stockport - know about the children and adults in their area who have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Every Council is required by law to have a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) which aims to ensure that current and future health and wellbeing services are planned effectively in line with local need. Information about people with ASD was identified as a gap in the most recent JSNA. Over the last 12 months, we have been working closely with health colleagues to pull together all the information we have about autism. The JSNA predicts that there are around 2,600 people of all ages living with ASD in Stockport. Of these, around 600 people will also have a low IQ or a learning disability; 1,000 people will have Asperger Syndrome and 1000 people will have other forms of high functioning autism. It also predicts that of the 2,600 people 753 will be aged 0-24 and 1,811 will be aged 25+. The first Stockport JSNA for people with ASD is nearly complete and will soon be available for anyone to see on the autism pages of the Council website: www.stockport.gov.uk/ autism Ambitious about Autism are running a second Autism Film Club throughout April to celebrate World Autism Awareness Month. The films are available to view for free on the Ambitious about Autism website from 9am for 24 hours on each Wednesday in April. The films are:
Fly Away – 3 April A Different Kind of Cool – 10 April Too Sane for this World – 17 April George – 24 April
The films will be available to stream on the Ambitious about Autism website for free - you just need to register and visit the links you are sent on the chosen dates. Each of the films will be followed by a live online Q&A with the director of the film. Ambitious about Autism would like as many people as possible to take part in the Autism Film Club screenings. So please tell everyone you know and encourage friends and family to get involved! www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/ page/get_involved/autismfilmclub.cfm Page 3
The last edition of Autism News included a front page feature on Autism and Employment. From the consultation events we held last year, we know that the majority of people with autism want a job. Despite this, the National Autistic Society (NAS) estimate that only 15% of adults with autism in the UK are in full time employment. And we know that people with autism have a range of strengths that employers value including accuracy, a good eye for detail, reliability and the ability to thrive in a structured, well organised work environment.
With our partners in the Greater Manchester Autism Consortium, we are planning three breakfast events for employers in Stockport, Trafford and Bolton called ‘Let’s talk about Autism in the Workplace’. The Stockport event will be in early July and will inform employers about the benefits of employing people with autism, how to make reasonable adjustments and what kind of support is available for them and their employees. We will let you know how we got on in the next edition of Autism News.
World Autism Awareness Month April is World Autism Awareness Month and Tuesday 2 April is World Autism Awareness Day. On 1 November 2012, The National Autistic Society (NAS) launched a social media campaign to dispel common myths surrounding autism. A myth about autism is being tweeted, closely followed by a corresponding fact, on each day in the run up to World Autism Awareness Day. See the NAS website for more information www.autism.org.uk/aboutautism/myths-facts-andstatistics/myths-andfacts.aspx and follow NAS on twitter If you or your group are planning any events in April, please let us know and we will send the information out to people on our mailing lists. We will be promoting World Autism Awareness Month within the Council and encouraging people to follow the NAS campaign.
Dates for your diary 3 - 30 March Artism UK Exhibition at Vernon Park Art Gallery, Turncroft Lane, Offerton, Stockport SK1 4AR. The exhibition is open Monday to Friday, 11am to 3pm; Saturday to Sunday, 11am to 4pm. Please note there is no wheelchair access to the exhibition. Wednesday 13 March Training and Awareness Raising Group, 2pm to 4pm at Signpost Stockport for Carers, The Heaton Centre, Heaton Moor, Stockport SK4 3LD Tuesdays 19 March, 16 April, 21 May, 18 June, 16 July Stockport Carers for Adults on the Autistic Spectrum meet at the Newbridge Centre, Cromer Street, Stockport SK1 2NY at 7.30pm. For more information phone 0161 439 0627. Wednesday 20 March Rise to the Challenge Disability Roadshow, 1pm to 7pm at Cheshire Conference Centre, Edgeley Park, Stockport SK3 9DD. Find out how simple lifestyle changes can help you to live healthier for longer. You can get advice and information on a wide range of services available in Stockport and join in taster activities like gentle exercise. Free refreshments. Tuesday 2 April World Autism Awareness Day. Please see the NAS website www.autism.org.uk for national and local events. Wednesday 1 May Raising Public Awareness of Autism event at Heaton Moor Library, Thornfield Road, Heaton Moor, Stockport, SK4 3LD. Times to be confirmed nearer the date. Wednesday 22 May Greater Manchester Autism Consortium Annual Convention, 9.30am to 4.30pm, Bredbury Hall Hotel and Social Club, Osborne St, Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2DH
Useful websites My Care, My Choice: www.mycaremychoice.org.uk Stockport Council: www.stockport.gov.uk FLAG (For Local Advice & Guidance): www.stockportflag.org.uk
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We want to hear from you!
If you have any comments or want to send us anything to include in the next edition, please email asc.comms@stockport.gov.uk
National Autistic Society: www.autism.org.uk Healthtalkonline: www.healthtalkonline.org/Autism Improving Health and Lives: www.improvinghealthandlives.org.uk British Psychological Society: www.bps.org.uk If you would like this information in easy read, large print, Braille, audio format or in another language please contact the Information & Knowledge Management Office on 0161 474 4616. Designed by Information & Knowledge Management, Adult Social Care, Stockport Council.