Autism: Health Education

(asked on 26th March 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the 2018 finding of the National Autistic Society that half of autistic people report not leaving the house because they are worried about society's reaction to them, what steps the Government is taking to increase awareness of autism.


Answered by
Caroline Dinenage Portrait
Caroline Dinenage
This question was answered on 1st April 2019

The Government is committed to raising awareness and understanding of autism in line with the autism strategy and Autism Act (2009). On 21 March 2019, I responded to the backbench business debate on autism services on behalf of the Government. This debate has helped to raise awareness and understanding of autism ahead of Autism Awareness Week 2019.

On 13 February 2019, the Department launched an eight-week consultation on learning disability and autism training for health and care staff. We are consulting on proposals for introducing mandatory learning disability and autism training to ensure that staff across health and social care have the right skills and we have overall the right culture, to provide better support. The consultation is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/778129/Learning_disability_and_autism_training_for_health_and_care_staff_consultation_document.pdf

Government Departments are taking forward actions and strategies to raise awareness and understanding of autism, and to adjust services to make them more accessible to autistic people. For example, these include:

- In July 2018, the Department for Transport published its, ‘Inclusive Transport Strategy: Achieving Equal Access for Disabled People.’ The Department for Transport is committed to ensuring that disabled people and those with hidden impairments such as autistic people have the same access to transport and opportunities to travel as everyone else; and

- Through the Disability Confident scheme, the Department for Work and Pensions is engaging with employers, offering guidance and helping to promote the skills, talents and abilities of autistic people and associated hidden impairment conditions. Over 11,000 employers have signed up. A Disability Confident Toolkit has also been developed to provide comprehensive information on autism and hidden impairments, as well as guidance on employment and local authority services. In addition, Access to Work has a hidden impairment support team that aims to give advice and guidance to help employers support employees with conditions such as autism, learning disability and/or mental health conditions and it offers eligible people an assessment to find out their needs at work and help to develop a support plan

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