1. Adult Autism Strategy for England Sarah Lambert Head of Policy Sarah.lambert@nas.org.uk

2. Outline Autism Act Autism Strategy What next?

3. How Did We Get Here?

4. Background: Autism Act End of 2008: Cheryl Gillan agreed to take forward the Autism Bill as a private member’s bill Negotiations in Parliament led to Government support for the Bill Autism Act passed in October 2009: –Puts a duty in legislation on the Government to produce a strategy by April 2010 –Puts a duty on Government to produce statutory guidance for health and social care bodies by December 2010 The Act covers services for adults with autism and young people at transition

5. Adult Autism Strategy and Statutory Guidance Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives published on 2 nd March by the previous Government New Government have stated their commitment to it: Care Services Minister Paul Burstow chairs the Programme Board, The Government have recently finished consulting on the statutory guidance and a final version has to be published by the end of the year 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. We need to use the strategy and statutory guidance as a tool for change

6. What does the strategy say? Five main chapters: –Increasing awareness and understanding of autism –Developing a clear, consistent pathway for diagnosis –Improving access for adults with autism to the services and support they need –Helping adults with autism into work –Enabling local partners to develop relevant services to meet need Also sets out existing policies that apply to adults with autism

7. Some key headlines Improved training of all frontline professionals in autism Actions for better planning and commissioning of services, including involving people with autism and their parents/carers in this process A recommendation to develop local autism teams 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

8. Increasing awareness and understanding of autism Autism to be included in the core training curricula for doctors, nurses and other clinicians Autism training to be part of training for staff carrying out community care assessments Autism training for staff in the criminal justice system Autism awareness training for all working in the public sector Programmes of work to support training at a local level £500,000 to fund the development of training programmes to improve understanding of autism among frontline professionals in health and social care Training in autism for all Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs)

9. Developing a clear, consistent pathway for diagnosis “A diagnostic service should be easily accessible for all areas” Local appointment of a lead professional to develop a local diagnostic and assessment services for adults with suspected autism National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop model care pathways to form the foundation of local referral and care pathways A diagnosis of autism will trigger a community care assessment and a carer’s assessment Statutory guidance to set out the type of information that should be provided to adults with autism and their parents/carers once they have been diagnosed

10. Improving access for adults with autism to the services and support they need DH to develop guidance for mental health and learning disability services on “reasonable adjustments” for adults with autism DWP to ensure JCP advisors aware of suitable adjustments that should be made Personal budgets to be made available for all adults with autism who are FACS eligible Local authorities to work with the third sector to support development of advocacy and buddying schemes Travel training to be made available nationwide for all adults with autism Work to ensure transition planning gives people with autism the right start in adult life Clarification of types of support that students with autism can pay for with Disabled Students Allowance

11. Helping adults with autism into work Training in autism for all Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs) DWP is seeking to set out how JCP customer services and benefits processes address the issues highlighted by the consultation and the NAS’s “Don’t Write Me Off” campaign Many of the measures in Valuing Employment Now are designed to meet the needs of people with autism who also have a learning disability New actions and initiatives from Work, Recovery and Inclusion to be available to support adults with autism Work to increase employer awareness

12. Enabling local partners to develop relevant services to meet need Each local area to develop a local commissioning plan JSNA core dataset to be updated to include autism DH work with regional partners to develop regional delivery plans Local authorities to appoint a lead with responsibility for autism Recommendation for local planning groups Recommendation for local autism teams Involvement of adults with autism and parents/carers DH to develop “protocol” on recording and sharing information Capacity building around user led organisations Homes and Communities Agency include autism in forthcoming guidance on housing standards

13. What next? Consultation on the statutory guidance has now closed. The final guidance has to be published by the end of 2010. It will cover:  (a) diagnosis  (b) the identification of adults with autism  (c) the assessment of the needs of adults with autism for relevant services  (d) transition  (e) other planning in relation to the provision of relevant services  (f) training  (g) local arrangements for leadership in relation to the provision of services June 2012: NICE guidance published 2013: Review of strategy

14. Discussion What is happening in your area? What can we all do to promote the strategy and make sure that action is being taken forward locally?

15. Questions?