An expert group has published non-statutory national guidelines aimed at
improving services for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Photo Matthew Munro - Health Media Ltd
Plan to speed up ASD diagnosis
The National Autism Plan for Children (NAP-C) makes several
recommendations to help health professionals diagnose children with autism
earlier and encourage multi-disciplinary working.
The guidelines call for all local areas to set up ASD co-ordinating groups
within the next 18 months, in order to review existing services and
identify training and resource needs.
Each local area should eventually have a trained professional with ASD
expertise and an ASD-trained teacher to set up individual education plans.
The plan also sets out a timetable for diagnosing the condition –
suggesting that children with suspected ASD should receive a
multi-disciplinary assessment, with a key worker appointed to the family
at the start of the process. A report and feedback should be given within
17 weeks of the start of the assessment.
In addition, the guidance recommends that all community-based staff who
work with children should be trained in ASD awareness, so they can
recognise “alerting signals” that may warrant further investigation.
The plan has been developed by the National Initiative for Autism:
Screening and Assessment (NIASA), in collaboration with the Royal College
of Paediatrics and Child Health, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Professor Ann Le Couteur, chair of the NIASA Core Working Group, said,
“The report provides a template for multi-agency teams so that families
and professionals know what is agreed as current best clinical practice
irrespective of location across the UK.”
The plans have been published by The National Autistic Society (NAS) on
behalf of NIASA.
David Potter, NAS head of policy and information, said parents struggled
to get proper ASD diagnoses for their children and had to fight to get
support, and services. He described the guidelines as a welcome addition
to understanding what services children with ASD needed and how they could
be best delivered.
The government is due to publish its 10-year Children’s National Service
Framework, which will include autism, towards the end of 2003.
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