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- Autism does not always mean that a person will need additional support to work, have relationships, or enjoy hobbies. But, many autistic people do need additional understanding. This can help them overcome the challenges caused by having autistic traits in a society where most people don’t have them. Every autistic person has different needs.
www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/brain-nerves-and-spinal-cord/autism/supporting-an-autistic-person/
Some autistic people will have high support needs, which may mean that they require full time care and support. Some people may need a bit of support with day to day activities, while others live fully independent lives.
Jun 24, 2024 · Being in a supportive environment makes a big difference to an autistic person’s wellbeing and quality of life. Autism does not always mean that a person will need additional support to work, have relationships, or enjoy hobbies. But, many autistic people do need additional understanding.
Sometimes, autistic people will want or need more formal help, such as therapy or medical support. We use the word ‘intervention’ here to describe this kind of support. There are a huge range of interventions for autistic people, including some that are communication-based, behavioural, educational or medical.
This framework outlines three tiers of capabilities (i.e., skills, knowledge and behaviours) that anyone working within any health or social care setting need to support autistic people. Tier 1 capabilities are for people who require a general understanding of autism as they may interact with autistic people, but are not involved in care ...
- Foreword from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
- In memory of Rt Hon Dame Cheryl Gillan DBE MP
- Joint ministerial foreword
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Our roadmap for the next 5 years
- 3. Improving understanding and acceptance of autism within society
- 4. Improving autistic children and young people’s access to education, and supporting positive transitions into adulthood
- 5. Supporting more autistic people into employment
As a society, we’ve come a long way since the landmark 2009 Autism Act. We’ve never had a greater public awareness of hidden disabilities like autism. That awareness is increasingly reflected in how our country is run, from the NHS to local government services.
Although we’ve come so far over the last decade, there must be no limit to the ambitions of autistic people; they should have the same opportunities as everyone else in society.
For me, our goal must be nothing less than making sure autistic people from all backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, sexualities and ages – in all parts of the country – get the support they need to live full and happy lives.
I’m painfully aware that the pandemic has been a setback in our efforts to reach this goal. People are having to wait longer for autism assessments and diagnosis, and the restrictions have been a barrier to access for important services like day centres and community mental health services, which help keep people well. In addition, we know that wider pressures on the labour market may make it even harder for autistic people to get into and stay in work.
I want to underline my thanks to everyone who played their part in helping us keep each other safe. I understand just how much this disruption has taken its toll on autistic people’s livelihoods and mental health.
We’ve also learned some valuable lessons from the pandemic, from the benefits of flexible working to new ways of providing community support online, and the need to improve data collection about autism so we have a deeper understanding of people’s experiences across health and care services.
This new strategy honours and marks the contribution of Dame Cheryl Gillan, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA), and long-standing champion for autistic people and their families. Dame Cheryl, who died in April 2021, was instrumental in tackling the inequalities autistic adults face, when, in 2009, she brought forward the Private Member’s Bill on autism. Since its inception, the Autism Act has made an important difference to many autistic people and their families’ lives.
In addition, Dame Cheryl made significant progress in improving Parliamentarians’ understanding of autism by introducing autism understanding training, which over 100 MPs have undertaken. We have both completed this training and will be encouraging other Ministers and parliamentarians to do so going forward.
The introduction of the Autism Act 2009 was ground-breaking because it was the first disability-specific piece of legislation in England. Over the decade since its inception, it has resulted in improvements in support for autistic adults across the country, and greater awareness of autism in society. However, we know that more still needs to be done to improve autistic people’s lives.
Before the Autism Act, autism was often misunderstood by the public and professionals, and too many autistic people faced significant barriers to living full and rewarding lives in the community. It was clear that action was needed to improve services and support for autistic adults and their families, and to improve society’s awareness of autism. The first 2 strategies, published in 2010 and 2014, set out actions to this end and, since then, we have been able to make significant headway in tackling the inequalities people face over the last 10 years.
Working together with the National Health Service (NHS) and local authorities at both the national and local level, we have been able to increase the availability of autism diagnostic services across the country, with a 2018 survey of local authorities on the implementation of the autism strategy showing that all areas now have these services.
This means that more autistic people can access a diagnosis that is often vital in unlocking the right services, support and adjustments they need to live a healthy and full life. In 2019, we included autism as one of the priorities in the NHS Long Term Plan, in recognition of the work that needs to be done to improve autistic people’s access to healthcare. Delivering on the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitments will enable autistic people to live healthier lives.
Moreover, we have been able to transform society’s awareness of autism, as an estimated 99.5% of the public have heard of autism according to the National Autistic Society (The Autism Act, Ten Years On), which is so important in autistic people being able to feel included as part of their community.
While we have made these important improvements, there is still much more to do to ensure that autistic people across the country have equal opportunities to the rest of society, access to the services they need to have good health and wellbeing and to participate fully in their communities.
About autism
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive, communicate and interact with others, although it is important to recognise that there are differing opinions on this and not all autistic people see themselves as disabled. With an estimated 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK – approximately 1% of the population – most people probably know someone who is autistic. In addition, there are an estimated 3 million family members and carers of autistic people in the UK (National Autistic Society). Autistic people see, hear and feel the world differently to other people. Autism varies widely and is often referred to as a spectrum condition, because of the range of ways it can impact on people and the different level of support they may need across their lives. While autism is not a learning disability, around 4 in 10 autistic people have a learning disability (Autistica). Some autistic people will need very little or no support in their everyday lives while others may need high levels of care, such as 24-hour support in residential care. People may need help with a range of things, from forming friendships, coping at school, managing at work, or being able to get out and about in the community. In this strategy, we also talk about neurodiversity, which refers to the different ways the brain can work and interpret information. It is estimated that around 1 in 10 people across the UK are neurodivergent, meaning that the brain functions, learns and processes information differently (Embracing Complexity Coalition, 2019).
Why a new autism strategy is needed
This document is the government’s refreshed national strategy for improving the lives of autistic people and their families and carers in England. It builds on and replaces the preceding adult autism strategy, Think Autism, which was published in April 2014 and related to adults. It extends the scope of the strategy to children and young people for the first time, in recognition of the importance of ensuring that they are diagnosed and receive the right support as early as possible and across their lifetime. The strategy and its underpinning implementation plan are issued pursuant to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s powers under section 1 of the Autism Act 2009. The Autism Act (2009), which only applies to adults, was enacted over 10 years ago with the aim of addressing the multiple social disadvantages and health and care inequalities autistic adults faced. Since then, we have published 2 adult autism strategies, which have resulted in greater awareness of autism across society and significant improvements in the priority placed on autism across government. This new strategy aligns with the existing statutory guidance on implementing the Autism Act for local authorities and NHS organisations to support implementation of the Adult Autism Strategy (2015). This sets out local authorities’ and NHS organisations’ duties to support autistic adults and remains in force, which means that local systems should continue to deliver on existing requirements, including having active Autism Partnership Boards in local areas. This guidance will be reviewed in subsequent years of the strategy, to ensure it aligns with actions we take in implementation plans for years 2 and beyond. Meanwhile, for children, the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice (2015), continues to place duties on local authorities, NHS organisations and schools in respect of autistic children and young people. In 2019, we committed to a review of the existing autism strategy, Think Autism. to ensure it is still fit for purpose. We launched a public call for evidence on 14 March 2019, involving autistic people, their families and carers, professionals and voluntary organisations. This call for evidence, published alongside this strategy, received 2,700 responses and has shaped our understanding of the issues autistic people and their families face across their lives. This, as well as the findings from the APPGA inquiry into the Autism Act, has shaped the focus and actions we are taking in this strategy. This strategy aligns with wider government work underway, for example the National Disability Strategy, which will also impact on autistic people and their families. We will ensure issues relevant to autistic people are considered as part of these programmes of work.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
This strategy takes into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on autistic people and their families’ lives, as we know this has been very challenging for many. In summer 2020, we commissioned the Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit (London School of Economics) to undertake rapid research to improve our understanding of autistic people’s experiences during this time, and our ability to respond appropriately. The final report from this rapid research is published alongside this strategy. The research showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated challenges many autistic people already faced, such as loneliness and social isolation, and anxiety. While reasons for this vary, the research found that many autistic people have struggled with understanding restrictions and practicing infection control measures. In addition, the pandemic has created new issues for autistic people, for example in being able to shop at supermarkets due to new social distancing measures. At the same time, the research also showed the benefits of lockdowns for some autistic people, who have been better able to engage in virtual spaces, have felt less societal pressure and have been able to avoid anxiety-inducing activities like using public transport. This has also provided learning about what works for autistic people as we move out of the pandemic. Findings from this research have enabled us to take action to protect autistic children and young people, adults and their families from being disproportionately affected by the pandemic across the areas that affect their lives. We have put in place specific exemptions for autistic people where restrictions have adversely impacted them, for example enabling people to leave their homes more than once a day and putting in place exemptions on face covering rules. To prevent autistic people from becoming more lonely and isolated, they have been able to access support groups during lockdown. In total since the start of the pandemic, over £34 million of the £750 million VCSE funding package has gone specifically towards reducing loneliness. Moreover, we have provided £1.6 million to charities supporting autistic people and people with a learning disability to enable them to provide virtual peer support and boost helpline capacity. In addition, we have taken wider actions that have also supported autistic people during the COVID-19 pandemic across education, health and social care. Throughout the pandemic, children and young people who are vulnerable, including anyone with an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, have been able to attend school as normal. In February, we also announced an additional £700 million for schools and providers of 16 to 19 education to support students during the pandemic. We have also provided over £1.3 billion of specific adult social care sector funding through the Infection Control Fund during the pandemic, and provided £500 million of funding to support the Mental Health and Wellbeing Recovery Action Plan in March 2020. This plan includes £31 million specifically for autistic people and people with a learning disability. This research, as well as autism charities’ Left Stranded report, have informed our focus for this new strategy, and particularly the actions we are taking in the first year. For example, the pandemic highlighted gaps in data relating to autistic people and reinforced the need to improve collection and reporting across health and social care, as well as other areas. That is why we are committing to develop a cross-government action plan on improving data in the first year of the strategy.
How we will make our vision a reality
Below, we set out our vision for what we want autistic people and their families’ lives to be like in 2026 across 6 priority areas, and the steps we as national and local government, the NHS and others will take towards this within the first year of our implementation plan (2021 to 2022). We will refresh this implementation plan for subsequent years of the strategy, setting out further actions we will take across government, working in partnership with local authorities, the NHS and the voluntary sector, as well as autistic people, to enable us to move closer towards our vision. We will set measures of success for each of the priority areas in the strategy to make sure we can effectively monitor progress in year one and beyond, being clear about what we expect to achieve by 2026. This is important in knowing and demonstrating that we are making a difference to autistic people and their families’ lives. By the end of this strategy, we want life to be fundamentally better for autistic people, their families and carers. We want to be able to demonstrate that we have transformed autistic people and their families’ lives by: Improving understanding and acceptance of autism within society We will significantly improve the public’s understanding and acceptance of autism, and show that autistic people feel more included and accepted in their communities. We also want the public to understand how autism can affect people differently, including the difference in how autistic women and girls present, and to help change people’s behaviour towards autistic people and their families. We want many more businesses, public sector services and different parts of the transport system to become more autism-inclusive, so that autistic people can access these spaces and services, just like everyone else. Improving autistic children and young people’s access to education and supporting positive transitions into adulthood We want the SEND system to enable autistic children and young people to access the right support, within and outside of school. We want schools to provide better support to autistic children and young people, so they are able to reach their potential, and to show that fewer autistic children are permanently excluded or suspended from school due to their behaviour. We will make improvements to the support autistic people get in their transitions into adulthood, so that more autistic people can live well in their own communities, find work or higher education or other opportunities. This is important in preventing more young people from avoidably reaching crisis point or being admitted into inpatient mental health services. Supporting more autistic people into employment We will make progress on closing the employment gap for autistic people, ensuring that more people who are able and want to work can do so and that those who have found a job are less likely to fall out of work. We want more employers to be confident in hiring and supporting autistic people, and to improve autistic people’s experiences of being in work. Tackling health and care inequalities for autistic people We want to reduce the health and care inequalities that autistic people face throughout their lives, and to show that autistic people are living healthier and longer lives. In addition, we want to have made significant progress on improving early identification, reducing diagnosis waiting times and improving diagnostic pathways for children and adults, so autistic people can access a timely diagnosis and the support they may need across their lives. Building the right support in the community and supporting people in inpatient care We will achieve the targets set out in the NHS Long Term Plan to reduce the number of autistic people and people with a learning disability being admitted into inpatient mental health services. We will do so by improving the treatment of autistic people in mental health legislation to prevent people from being avoidably admitted to inpatient care and improving the provision of community mental health and crisis support. We will also improve the suitability and availability of housing support and social care. In addition, for people who do need to be in inpatient mental health settings, the quality of care will be better and more tailored to their individual needs and people will be discharged back into their communities as soon as they are well enough to leave. Improving support within the criminal and youth justice systems We will build a clearer understanding of how autistic people come into contact with the criminal and youth justice systems, and the type of support they may need across court, prison and under probation supervision. We will improve the police and wider criminal and youth justice system staff’s understanding of autism so that autistic people are more able to receive the right support, adjusted to their needs, as well as ensuring that different parts of the justice system – from prisons to courts – become more autism-inclusive.
Our vision
By 2026, we want to demonstrate that we have significantly improved public understanding and acceptance of autism, and that autistic people feel more included in their communities and less lonely and/or isolated. We want the public to have a better understanding of autism and to have changed their behaviour towards autistic people and their families. By the end of the strategy, we want many more organisations, businesses and public sector services to have become autism-inclusive, so that autistic people can engage in their communities, just like everyone else. This will mean taking part in initiatives like Autism Hour, the Autism Friendly Award or taking other steps to become more autism-aware. In 5 years’ time, we want to show that autistic people feel more able to take part in their communities than they do today, including feeling more comfortable using public transport. Since the inception of the Autism Act (2009), awareness of autism has increased substantially, with the National Autistic Society estimating that 99.5% of the public are now aware of autism. There are many reasons for this, including increasing representation of autism in public life and the media, as well as the Autism Act itself, as this raised the profile of autism both locally and at a national level. While this is an important change, evidence from the APPGA’s The Autism Act, 10 Years On report found that there is still a significant lack of understanding about autism among the public, including what it means to be autistic and the diversity of the autistic community. The APPG report highlighted that just 24% of autistic adults and 26% of family members think public understanding has improved since the introduction of the Act. Over the last few years, we have seen many public sector services and organisations taking steps to become autism-inclusive, with many becoming autism-accredited or taking other steps to improve how they support autistic people. However, we know that many autistic people still feel excluded from public spaces and civil society because these can be overwhelming, busy or noisy and because staff or the public may react negatively to autistic people’s behaviour or support needs. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic autistic adults reported higher levels of loneliness than the general public. Evidence from the LSE research we commissioned into the impact of the pandemic has shown that autistic people may be at risk of further exclusion, due to the challenges many have faced with social distancing restrictions and changes to support networks. This has affected their confidence with getting out into their communities. The National Autistic Society Left Stranded report found that compared to the general public, autistic people were seven times more likely to be chronically lonely during June and July 2020. Transport is a key enabler to autistic people and their families being included in their communities and being able to find employment, but anecdotal evidence tells us that many find this inaccessible because of how anxiety-inducing noisy and busy environments can be. Many autistic people also struggle with unanticipated changes to their journeys, including cancellations and delays. We need to do more to make transport accessible to autistic people as this is important in improving inclusion. Doing so is even more important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many autistic people will feel even more anxious about getting back on public transport – in particular due to changes to the system put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
How we will work towards this in 2021 to 2022
Improving public understanding of autism and inclusion across the public sector We will develop and test an autism public understanding and acceptance initiative, working with autistic people, their families and the voluntary sector. We want this initiative to help the public adapt their behaviour towards autistic people and recognise the diversity of the autistic community; that every autistic person is different. This includes improving understanding of the strengths and positives of being autistic, as well as the challenges people might face in their daily lives and how distressed behaviour can manifest itself. We will also ensure this covers the diversity of the autistic community, including the presentation of autism in women and girls, the LGBT community and autistic people from ethnic minority groups. As government, we will lead the way in becoming more inclusive to autistic people and will improve ministers’ and policy makers’ understanding of autism. We will do so by encouraging ministers across departments to undertake the APPGA’s Understanding Autism sessions, and increasing recognition and representation of neurodiversity across government departments. To raise the profile of neurodiversity including autism, across the Civil Service we will encourage the establishment of a neurodiversity priority for Disability and Inclusion Champions within government departments. These champions, who are senior civil servants, will increase awareness of neurodiversity and engage with neurodivergent staff through staff networks to ensure their needs are being considered and heard. We will also review cross-Civil Service learning and development to ensure that neurodiversity is an integral part of courses, to enable managers to recruit and support neurodivergent employees. Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) continues to work towards the Autism Friendly Award at the MoJ headquarters, to improve accessibility and support for autistic visitors and staff. The MoJ will share learning with other government departments. Making transport and communities more autism-inclusive We are taking a number of steps to improve the accessibility of transport for autistic people as we move out of the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2018, we published the Inclusive Transport Strategy, as part of our ambition to ensure equal access for disabled people, including autistic people, using the transport system by 2030. As part of this, in December 2020, we launched our disability equality training for transport operators, which is vital in enabling them to understand the types of adjustments people might need. In addition, we resumed our ‘it’s everyone’s journey’ campaign on the 25 May 2021, which is aimed at helping the public to be more mindful of passengers, including those who are autistic, and the challenges they may face when using transport. As we move out of restrictions, we will support disabled people returning to the transport system by ensuring that rules around face covering exemptions are well understood, that the decision to carry an exemptions card is entirely a matter for individuals, and that people should be supported not to feel uncomfortable or intimidated where they do not wear a face covering, or are unable to socially distance. We want to encourage businesses and organisations across the country to take steps to become more autism friendly as this is important in tackling exclusion, loneliness and social isolation. In this first year and, as we move out of COVID-19 restrictions, we want to enable more autistic people to take part in sports, culture and the arts. For example, Sport England’s new strategy, launched in January 2021, is working to enable more people, including autistic people, to be physically active. They are working to tackle the inequalities and barriers that exist within sport and physical activity, and to unlock the benefits of being active for everyone, regardless of background or ability. As part of this effort, Sport England will be working with key partners to engage more autistic people at all levels and in all forms of sport and physical activity, including across volunteering and coaching. In addition, we are ensuring that organisations in arts, heritage and culture increase participation and take steps to make their environments more accessible, including for autistic people.
Our commitments in the first year
In the first year, our key commitments will be to: develop and test an autism public understanding and acceptance initiative, working with autistic people and their families, and the voluntary sector continue to promote our disability equality training package for transport operators resume the ‘it’s everyone’s journey’ campaign to create a more inclusive and supportive public transport environment for disabled people The full list of actions we are taking in 2021 to 2022 is set out in our implementation plan (Annex A).
Our vision
By 2026, we want the SEND system to enable autistic children and young people to access the right support, both within and outside of education settings. By the end of this strategy, we want transitions into adulthood to improve, so that more autistic young people are able to live well in their communities, find work or higher education opportunities. We want these improved transitions to result in fewer mental health crises and admissions into inpatient care. We want education settings to provide better and more inclusive support to autistic children and young people so that autistic people are better able to achieve their potential. We want more teachers and educational staff to understand the specific needs of their autistic pupils, ensuring that more school placements can be sustained. We also want to demonstrate that more autistic children have had their needs identified early on and that they are having positive experiences in education settings. A growing number of children and young people are being diagnosed as autistic, with special educational needs data suggesting that 1.8% of all pupils in England now have an autism diagnosis. In spite of this, we know that many autistic children and young people are still having poor experiences within school, are not reaching their potential and are struggling in the transition to adult life. The APPGA’s The Autism Act, 10 Years On report showed that autistic children and young people often find it difficult to get the help they need at school due to poor understanding of autism among education staff. It also highlighted that less than 5 in 10 were confident about supporting autistic children and young people, and this can result in missed opportunities to help children reach their potential or prevent children’s needs or distressed behaviour from escalating. Many autistic children find school environments overwhelming and evidence from the APPGA shows they often feel misunderstood or judged by their peers because of their behaviour, which can impact their ability to engage and succeed in education. In addition, the research highlighted that autistic children and young people often struggle to get support they need through the SEND system more generally, including being able to access support early enough from health and social care, as well as education. We also know that many autistic young people find transitions into adulthood difficult because this is a period of heightened uncertainty and can result in changing access to services and support. Evidence from the APPGA’s Autism and Education in England in 2017 report points to staff often lacking the skills needed to put in place the right plans and support for autistic young people, which can result in them missing out on opportunities. In addition, we know that many autistic children may benefit from support to get into higher education or find employment opportunities as they become adults but struggle to access this.
How we will work towards this in 2021 to 2022
Improving educational professionals’ understanding of autism and inclusive cultures within schools We are taking a number of steps to improve understanding of autism among educational professionals, including providing £600,000 of funding for staff autism training and professional development in schools and colleges. We will work with our training partners to develop materials and resources and will consider the issue of identification and support for autistic girls within this. In addition, we will embed autism as a priority for educational leadership as this is important in developing autism-inclusive cultures and we will share good autism practice within education settings, focusing on mainstream schools. This will encourage the provision of early support for autistic children and young people, setting out the benefits of this in preventing escalation of needs, sustaining school placements and ensuring more autistic children and young people can achieve their potential. We want schools to become more inclusive to those with protected characteristics, including autistic children and young people, which is why we will launch a new anti-bullying programme. This will be important in making schools more welcoming and understanding, improving autistic children’s experiences of education as well as their ability to succeed. We expect this new programme to begin in September 2021. In recognition of the role that mental health can play in determining children and young people’s experiences in schools, we are also putting in place new Mental Health Support Teams and training for Designated Senior Mental Health Leads within schools, which will also benefit autistic pupils who are more likely to experience poor mental health. We are aiming to start rolling this training out in the next academic year 2021 to 2022. More broadly, we have worked with experts in SEND and organisations to develop a qualification for early years staff who want to specialise in SEND. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic we have broadened our funding for the voluntary sector to support parent and child mental health and wellbeing, to help early years providers identify special educational needs and catch up children who may be falling behind, including autistic children. Improving how the SEND system supports autistic children and young people We want to improve how the SEND system works for children with special educational needs, including autistic children and young people, and their families. This will include putting forward proposals to improve early identification of children and young people’s needs, and making sure that the health, social care and education systems work together to support children holistically before their needs escalate. We will be putting forward proposals to improve the system in the SEND review, which we will publish as soon as possible. It is important that autistic children, as well as other children with special educational needs, get the right school placement, and some will need special school provision to reach their potential. To this end, we have committed to opening 37 new special free schools across the country, of which 24 have provision specifically for autistic children and young people. We will move forward with plans to open these schools, which are expected to start operating from September 2022. This will enable more children to get the right school placement closer to home. We want the right services to be available for children and young people with special educational needs and their families in the community, including those who are autistic. To improve the availability of these services we will promote guidance on planning and commissioning provision for autistic children and young people as outlined in chapter 6. We will also improve the engagement of families and children and young people in planning SEND services and policies at the local level, as we know this makes a difference in meeting people’s needs. To this end, we are providing a further £8.6 million to facilitate engagement, including supporting up to 152 Parent Carer Forums, to strengthen the engagement of parents and young people in the SEND system. Supporting positive transitions into adulthood To improve transitions into adulthood, we will continue our work to ensure education staff have the skills required to support autistic young people during this time. That is why we are including transitions as a topic within our programme of school and college workforce training and development on SEND. As part of this work, we are ensuring that preparation for adulthood is discussed much earlier in young people’s school careers to ensure that they are given appropriate information, advice and guidance. Some autistic young people need support to get into employment, and we want to ensure more people can get this. That is why we are strengthening and promoting pathways to employment, such as Supported Internships, traineeships and apprenticeships. To make this happen, we are working to support all local areas to develop Supported Employment Forums bringing together employers, Jobcentres, education providers, local authorities, young people and their parents to discuss employment opportunities for young people with SEND in their local areas. These forums will focus local skills provision on local employment needs, publicise opportunities for young people with SEND, including to employers, and create work placement opportunities for autistic young people. We also want to build on our success in increasing the representation of disabled people, including autistic people, in apprenticeships – ensuring that disabled people not only access apprenticeships, but go on to succeed in their apprenticeship. We will do this by engaging with employers, providers, apprentices and the disability sector to determine what works and how best to disseminate this. Continuing to support autistic children and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic We will take action to support children with SEND, including autistic children and young people in schools, as we move out of COVID-19 restrictions over the academic year 2021 to 2022. So far, we have published a range of guidance to support remote education, including specific support for children and young people with SEND. We recognise that some autistic children and young people have benefitted from access to remote learning which can be personalised and accessed flexibly and we will continue to personalise support for individuals as we move into recovery. We have also provided a hub of guidance and resources for families, teachers and other professionals aimed at supporting autistic children and young people during COVID-19.
Our commitments in the first year
In the first year, our key commitments will be to: improve understanding of autism among educational professionals by continuing to provide funding for autism training and professional development in schools and colleges in 2021 to 2022 publish and consult on the SEND review as soon as possible carry out a new anti-bullying programme in schools, to improve the wellbeing of children and young people in schools, including those who are autistic provide a further £8.6 million funding in 2021 to strengthen the participation of parents and young people – including those who are autistic in the design of SEND policies and services and ensure that they are able to access high quality information, advice and support take action to strengthen and promote pathways to employment, such as Supported Internships, Traineeships and apprenticeships, and work to support all local areas to develop Supported Employment Forums The full list of actions we are taking in 2021 to 2022 is set out in our implementation plan (Annex A).
Our vision
By 2026, we want data to show that we have made progress on closing the employment gap for autistic people, drawing on the Labour Force Survey. We want more autistic people who can and want to work to do so, and to ensure that those who have found a job are less likely to fall out of work. We also want to show that employers have become more confident in hiring and supporting autistic people, and that autistic people’s experience of being in work has improved. By the end of the strategy, we will have improved the support autistic people can access to find and stay in work. This includes making sure that existing services and work programmes are more autism-inclusive and better able to help autistic people find the right employment opportunity for them. In addition, we will have improved welfare support for autistic people who are unable to work, so they can get the support they need to live well in their communities. Evidence shows that there is currently a significant employment gap for autistic people. Data published by the Office for National Statistics for the first time in February 2021 shows that as of December 2020, 22% of autistic people aged 16 to 64 are in employment, in contrast to 52% of disabled people, and 81% of non-disabled people. The APPGA’s The Autism Act, Ten Years On report found that there are many factors contributing to the scale of this gap, including struggling to get a job because of recruitment processes not being autism-friendly or difficulty accessing the support people might need to get into work or while in work. Employer awareness plays a crucial role in addressing many of these issues, both in enabling them to make the right adjustments to recruitment practices or identifying the adjustments their employees might need. A YouGov poll by the National Autistic Society in 2019 has shown improvements in employer awareness of autism, as well as confidence in recruiting autistic people (The Autism Act, 10 Years On, 2019). However, there is still more to do as 31% of employers surveyed said autistic employees would require too much support, and many reported needing more advice on how to support people. The COVID-19 pandemic may also cause further difficulty for autistic people trying to find work, given the considerable pressures on the labour market as a whole in the short-term. Some autistic people will have lost their jobs, while others are finding it even more difficult to get into work due to the increased competition for roles. To prevent the gap from widening further due to the pandemic, we will consider autistic people’s specific needs as we take wider actions to protect jobs and put in place support to get people into work. Some autistic people will require help to get into work, for example from Jobcentres. However, The Autism Act, Ten Years On report suggests many struggle to get the right support because they feel Jobcentre staff do not understand their needs or the adaptations they need to make to engage with autistic people. Some also feel the environment can be anxiety-inducing or distressing. Others are not able to work and need support from the welfare system in order to live healthy and independent lives, but struggle to access this because they feel health assessors may not understand autistic people’s needs, or because they find the assessments process difficult to engage with.
How we will work towards this in 2021 to 2022
In the first year of the strategy, we will drive improved employer awareness of autism, so they better understand the benefits of employing autistic people and are able to make the adjustments needed to recruit and properly support them. We will also continue to promote better access to employment support programmes for autistic people and move forward with our plans to improve the benefits system for disabled people to ensure this better supports autistic people who are unable to work. As we move out of COVID-19 restrictions, we will also continue our efforts to make Jobcentres more autism-inclusive, to ensure autistic people receive the help they need to move into employment or employment programmes. More broadly, supporting disabled people, including autistic people, will be a focus of our approach to labour market recovery as we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is vital in protecting autistic people from being disproportionately affected and preventing the employment gap from widening further in a challenging context. Improving employment support and the welfare system To improve employer confidence, we will continue to engage with employers through the Disability Confident Scheme. This provides advice and support to employers, and to promote the skills, talents and abilities of autistic people, as well as other disabled people. In recognition of the specific need to improve employer understanding of autism, we are currently holding webinars focused specifically on supporting autistic people in the workplace. We will also shortly publish the response to the Health is Everyone’s Business consultation, which looked at ways to support disabled people and people with long term health conditions at work. This response will discuss employer needs, including information and advice on health and disability that is easier to find and act upon, with design work this year to develop an improved support offer for employers. In addition, we want to ensure that autistic people can get the adaptations or extra support they need while in work, or to get into work. As government, we will lead the way in becoming a more autism-inclusive employer by expanding our Autism Exchange Internship Programme, which is aimed at providing more autistic people with experience of working in the Civil Service. We will also begin to collect data on the number of autistic people working in our departments to understand further improvements we may need to make to recruit and support autistic people. We will continue to promote the Access to Work scheme, which provides a range of practical and financial support to disabled people, including autistic people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this has been extended to ensuring those who are working from home can access equipment and support they need and will continue in the first year of this strategy. To enable those who need more intensive support to get into work, we will continue to ensure that the Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme (IPES) is open to autistic people who qualify. IPES provides personalised packages of employment support for people who are at least a year away from moving into work. People on the scheme have a dedicated key worker to help them overcome barriers that may be preventing them from entering work, and participants receive up to 15 months of flexible pre-employment support. As COVID-19 restrictions ease, we will be able to continue making our Jobcentre network more welcoming and supportive to autistic customers. We will continue to upskill staff and increase the number of Disability Employment Advisers to support our Work Coaches. We are also looking at ways of adapting physical spaces and ways of working to better support autistic people. We will be taking this forward through our Health Model Offices, which are Jobcentres that provide more intensive support to disabled people and test innovative approaches to disability employment support. In addition, we will continue to promote the Autism Centre for Research on Employment’s (ACRE) free Autism Employment Profiling Service, which went live in October 2020 and enables Jobcentres to signpost and provide appropriate support to autistic people without a learning disability. We also want to ensure that autistic people who are unable to work can access the benefits and support they might need. The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) forthcoming health and disability support green paper will consider how the welfare system can better meet the needs of disabled people, including autistic people, and how the DWP can improve the service it provides. Once published, this green paper will be subject to a 12-week consultation. Including autistic people in plans for restoration and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic In September 2020, we published our Plan for Jobs to protect, support and create jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this plan, we outlined a number of actions that will also benefit autistic people, including increasing the number of Work Coaches, who provide help to people who are newly unemployed and making sure that Jobcentres continue to be open to help customers who really need face-to-face support. We will continue to review how our provision meets the needs of autistic people as we move out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and tailor our response based on this. In addition, we will continue to ensure that job programmes are accessible to autistic candidates.
Our commitments in the first year
In the first year, our key commitments will be to: continue our work to ensure our Jobcentre network is welcoming and supportive to autistic customers, developing and testing new approaches through our Health Model Offices continue to ensure that through the Disability Confident Scheme, we promote the skills and abilities of autistic people, and signpost employers to resources on supporting autistic people continue to promote employment support programmes, including Access to Work and IPES to autistic people who are at least a year away from work continue to recognise the specific needs of autistic people during the COVID-19 pandemic, and take appropriate action to mitigate a disproportionate impact on autistic people The full list of actions we are taking in 2021 to 2022 is set out in our implementation plan (Annex A).
May 3, 2024 · Support for people living with autism. Depending on what’s offered by your NHS board and local organisations, there are different types of support to help overcome the challenges that you may experience. Possible support includes: help with communicating, both for yourself and the people in your life, so you can understand each other better.
Jul 21, 2021 · Published. 21 July 2021. This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government. The Autism Strategy aims to tackle the inequalities and barriers autistic people face so...
