Autism: Parenting Support Programmes
Debate between Baroness Blake of Leeds and Baroness Leaman
Baroness Leaman
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the availability of parenting support programmes for families following a child’s diagnosis of an autism spectrum condition; and what plans they have to improve access to support.
Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Blake of Leeds) (Lab)
My Lords, we fully recognise the difficulties that families face in accessing the right support following a child’s autism diagnosis. In local areas, post-diagnostic support may be accessed via health, social care, education, and voluntary and community services, depending on what the individual needs. Alongside local support offers, a national peer education programme, Autism Central, is available for families and support networks of autistic people. The Government are reforming the SEND system to improve access to earlier support.
Baroness Leaman (LD)
My Lords, I thank the Minister, although her Answer confirms that no assessment has been made of the adequacy of parenting support programmes and that data is not held centrally. Earlier this year, Open University research found that only one in four parents of neurodivergent children feel confident in the advice they receive. Will the Minister commit to collecting national data on waiting times and capacity so that progress can actually be measured?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
The noble Baroness raises a very interesting point. One of the most important directions of travel is that we robustly increase capacity at a local level, to bring together all the key people so that we get an accurate picture of what is happening. That can then be collated up to national level, but it is local decision-making, and the involvement of families themselves, who can bring so much information to the table, that is key.