Dear
Minister,
Next month you
will publish a review of the English Autism Strategy. In the run up to that
publication Act Now for Autism would like to make you aware of the reality of
living with autism in 2014:
On 13th
March last year you attended an All Party Group for Autism meeting where you
sai:
“We would never tolerate someone with cancer
getting the wrong care or treatment…and we should not tolerate someone with
autism or Asperger’s Syndrome getting the wrong care or treatment or not
getting any care at all.”
In February
2014 there are far too many adults with Asperger’s Syndrome who are getting the
wrong care, treatment or no care at all. We simply do not have enough
professionals with the required understanding and knowledge of autistic
disorders to make a difference to the lives of those living with the condition.
In January NICE published the Autism Standard
(QS51) and stated that the quality of care for people with autism is poor and varies across England and there
is a real variation in the type and quality of care that people receive with many
autistic patients living with other conditions that go undiagnosed. Nice called
for clearer standards to ensure consistent treatment across the country.
Local Authorities and Health Service providers continue to do nothing for some of the most vulnerable people in their regions. In the years since the Autism Act and the roll-out of the Adults Autism Strategy, there has been a great deal of talk about services and provision for people with autism, but almost no action.
Our supporters tell us that although their Local Authority does now have an Autism Action Plan, they continue to report back to central government that their plan is ‘in progress’.
Having a plan that has been ‘in progress’ for
more than three years with no actual progress is a failure and just not good
enough.
There has to
be some way of accurately measuring the progress that Local Authorises have
made and holding them accountable.
It was very positive that the latest self
assessment sought to include adults with autism who you asked to comment about
the performance of their Local Authority. Many of the adults who speak to us on
a regular basis, who are active within their Local Authorities, were totally
unaware that their Local Authority had been asked to have their self assessment
signed off by adults with autism.
Concerns are being voiced to us by adults
with autism and parents and carers, who are active within their local
partnership boards and working groups, that meetings with their boards and
groups are now very infrequent and are often cancelled at the last moment due
to a high number of apologies. Assurances are being given to stakeholders that
meetings will be held to amend draft action plans, only for them then to find
out that the action plan has already been signed off.
The problems that people with autism face are
real, and far from their quality of life improving over the last three years, for
many services have been slashed or stopped altogether. With further cuts to
come and changes to benefits, where does that leave them?
Autism does not fit neatly into any one box
and because of this it has become a hot potato that is being passed from one
provider to another. It is in fact
adults with autism who remain unsupported and in need who are at the end of the
line. They are the ones left holding the hot potato.
Adults are telling us that without an
assessment being carried out they are being told by social care providers that
their difficulties are mental health related. How is it possible to come to
that conclusion without an assessment being carried out? Adults who have
communication and socialisation impairments are being asked to go into detail
about their own condition and how it is impacting on their lives, with people
they have never met or over the phone. It is simply not acceptable to expect
autistic people to communicate their needs this way.
We fully
understand that adults with autism can and do have mental health issues, however
we are concerned that assumptions are being made by professionals who often
lack a depth and breadth of understanding about autistic conditions.
Mainstream
mental health services are not equipped to deal with adults who have autism.
Long standing diagnoses are being questioned by people within mainstream mental
health creating increased anxiety for the adults who are trying to access
support.
Adults with
autism are being told that there first point of contact for their difficulties
must be their GP who will then signpost them on to the correct services for
them. In 2009 a national audit office report stated:
“Four out of five GPs (80%) indicate
that they require additional guidance and training to identify and manage
patients with ASD more effectively.
Seven out of ten GPs (71%) do not
provide specific ongoing support, monitoring or condition management for
patients diagnosed with autism. “
In 2012 the
National Audit Office published a report ‘Progress in implementing the 2010
Adult Autism Strategy’ in that report they concluded:
“Less progress has been made in
improving access to social care assessments, personal budgets and diagnostic
services in local authorities, which can all help adults with autism to access
services and support.”
And that:
“Effective local services and support
are crucial in improving outcomes for people with autism.”
There were
many areas in their report which were marked as ‘not achieved’.
Not
achieved.
Ensure that autism awareness training
is available to everyone working in health or social care and work with
partners to develop effective training modules which can be used by local
authorities and primary care trusts to create local training programmes.
When the autism
strategy was rolled out in 2010 adults with autism were not being asked to
account for themselves in face to face benefit assessments in the way in which
they are now.
A revised strategy is urgently needed
to reflect the impact that benefit assessment and reassessments are having on
adults with autism.
Advocacy and
not being able to access a suitably trained autism advocate to enable an adult
with autism to communicate effectively during an assessment remains one of the
biggest concerns for Act Now for Autism. Another burning issue relating to the
benefit assessment and reassessment process - who exactly are adults with
autism meant to go to for supportive information about their condition?
There are
literally thousands of adults with autism who have seen no one in relation to
their autism after being signed off from children’s services. Who can these
adults turn to as a matter of urgency if they require supportive evidence?
The
assessment process is contained within time restraints making it all but
impossible for adults with autism to access the professionals they need to
enable them to produce supportive evidence.
As we have
already explained adults with Asperger 'sSyndrome and High Functioning Autism do
not meet the criteria to enable them to access support.
During the
last three years it has become clear to us that adults with Asperger's Syndrome
are caught up in a truly vicious circle with no way of being able to get out of
it.
We need
someone or some process to monitor and evaluate the progress of the autism
strategy to ensure that progress really is being made. We also need to record
outcomes.
Without
these things being in place we are very concerned that when the next review
comes along we will find adults with autism and their parents and carers with
exactly the same as they have right now: NOTHING.
We thank you
for taking the time to read our letter.
Sincerely
Act Now For Autism
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