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Written Evidence Submitted by Ambitious About Autism (MRS0300)

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Written Evidence Submitted by Ambitious About Autism (MRS0300) Written evidence submitted by Ambitious about Autism (MRS0300) Ambitious about Autism Ambitious about Autism is the national charity for children and young people with autism. We provide services, raise awareness and understanding, and campaign for change. Through TreeHouse School, Ambitious College and the Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust we offer specialist education and support. Our mission is to make the ordinary possible for more children and young people with autism. Ambitious about Autism welcomes the review of the national Autism Strategy Think Autism and its incorporation of children’s services. We hope that the renewed strategy will improve the differing services and outcomes for autistic children and young people. Key points: Autistic people have been significantly impacted by the illness, this has extended into all areas of education, employment, support, health and leisure. Autistic people have higher levels of inequality in these areas so are likely to have these inequalities increased when compared to non-autistic peers. How people have been affected by the illness or the response to it Autistic young people have been negatively impacted by the response to the virus. Education Those in education with an EHC Plan have been impacted through uncertainty between provision-based and home-based education which have upset routines and the support they are provided. This can be attributed to decisions that education providers have made using the SEND Risk Assessment Tool and the necessary decisions that providers have to make to prioritise vulnerable children and young people. The Out of Sight Report1 cites that child protection referrals are down 50% on typical numbers for this time period. For those currently waiting for a suitable education provision or those excluded from education who are waiting for an education placement this means that their time out of education has been extended as the priority has shifted to those in education settings. This will further increase the inequality of education access as these children and young people face longer waits to access an education in a provision that supports their needs holistically. Many already vulnerable children and young people are facing increased vulnerability at home as the usual safeguarding measures and procedures that education staff undertake are currently inaccessible. The reporting of safeguarding concerns is happening at a much- reduced rate as children are not as frequently seen by their teachers who may typically report concerns. Social care Autistic people are also impacted through their social care needs, those with social care personal budgets have been impacted by loss of carer support and increased reliance on unpaid care provided by family members. Those in supported living and care homes have been disadvantaged by a lack of testing in these settings, reduction in opportunity for community access and have less staff to support them meaning they may have experienced a reduction in quality of life for this period. Health 7 in 10 autistic children and young people have a mental health difficulty, this is a higher proportion than the general public. For those in the care of community mental health services they have found it more difficult to access mental health support whilst many have been pushed to crisis. More autistic young people are in crisis without adequate support as the strategies they may normally use to support better mental health are not available. Typically, these strategies may include routines, visiting favourite places or eating favourite foods which have all been harder to find and put into place as routines, places and food have been disrupted. Those with physical health needs and co-occurring conditions are currently unable to access assessment, diagnosis or condition management and are being held back in the treatment of co-occurring conditions. Many autistic people have at least one co-occurring conditions and other conditions which increase the complexity of their health2 and management of their health conditions. Employment Before this crisis autism and neurodiversity were high on the agenda for Diversity and Inclusion as autistic people are underemployed and underutilised for the skills they have to add to the employment sector3. Current figures suggest that only 16% of autistic people are in full time paid employment4 and many struggle to attain or maintain employment, a shift we were beginning to see this year. This employment crisis of underemployment, redeployment of skills and attention drawn away from the need to include autistic people into the work place will worsen the negative impacts autistic people already have experienced. Whether there may be unforeseen consequences to measures brought in to ease the burden on frontline staff, for example relaxing the measures under the Mental Health Act and Care Act The Mental Health Act relaxation currently means sectioning someone is much easier and the relaxation of the Care Act means that people may not be receiving the level of care that they need and LA's have a relaxed duty to ensure care. This can disproportionately impact autistic people who may be detained under the Mental Health Act due to misunderstandings of their behaviour or unavailability of appropriate community mental health support. Autistic people who may require regular health support from primary care, community or acute teams may not be able to access assessment, diagnosis or treatment which will have detrimental effects on their health and wellbeing. This extends from mental health care to physical health care as digital or telephony means of inclusion may not work for those who have additional needs. The increased perceived danger of accessing healthcare or sharing needs with professionals they normally have in their life may mean autistic children and young people have elevated vulnerabilities for longer periods of time Reviewing the measures The Government has said current measures will be reviewed in three weeks’ time, and measures in the Coronavirus Bill be voted on again in 6 months’ time. 1. What needs to change or improve, which could be acted on in three weeks’ time; Changes to the measures which allow people who are autistic, have a learning disability or both more flexibility surrounding leaving the house for exercise have been welcomed. We would like to see this continuing with further relaxation of the lockdown measures in response to feedback from parents and carers of autistic people as well as autistic people themselves. For children with additional learning disabilities the information currently being provided may not be accessible and important updates are often delayed in their conversion and publication to accessible formats. We ask that information is provided in accessible formats promptly and reviewed to ensure that those with differences in cognitive processing are able to understand the updates from the government. 2. What needs to change or improve, which could be acted on in 6 months’ time. Changes could be made around education for those who will have missed a substantial amount of education for this academic year. Due to missing out on large amounts of education provision the opportunity for extension to Education, Health and Care Plans who benefit those who would have moved on from education this year to further education, employment or training. By removing this cliff edge more autistic people concerning their education this could lessen the inequality they may face due to missing out on large periods of education during this pandemic and before. We cannot know all of the impacts and changes that will need to be thought about and implemented but we do know that this will have an impact that will negatively effect autistic people for a generation as the wider ripples of education, employment, health and care support are felt. April 2020 1 National Youth Agency (2020), https://nya.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Out-of- Sight-COVID-19-report-Web-version.pdf 2 Embracing Complexity Coalition (2019), http://www.embracingcomplexity.org.uk/assets/documents/Autistica-Embracing- Complexity-Report-Final.pdf 3 CIPD (2018), https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/neurodiversity-at-work_2018_tcm18- 37852.pdf 4 National Autistic Society (2016), https://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/media- centre/news/2016-10-27-employment-gap.aspx.
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