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Year-long review fails to help autistic adults
http://www.sundayherald.com/15423
By
Sarah-Kate Templeton Health Editor
Adults with autism are still suffering from a
severe lack of support a year after the launch of a government review of
services for people with learning disabilities, according to a new report
by the National Autistic Society.
The
report shows that a year on from publication of the Scottish Learning
Disability Review, The Same As You, adults with autism are still being
excluded from society.
The
report shows that although half of the adults with autism are still living
at home with their parents, 65% of them have not had a community care
assessment and are therefore unlikely to be known to statutory agencies who
should be supporting them.
While
all people with disabilities have a right to have their needs appraised by
their local authority, the report showed that only 38% of all adults with
autism had had a community care assessment.
The
report also shows that 31% of adults with autism are not involved in social
activities.
Steve
Hart, National Officer for National Autistic Society Scotland, said that
while the government's Scottish Learning Disability Review offered a hope
of improvement, no practical steps have yet been taken.
He
said: 'We had hoped for quicker action. If I was an adult with autism I
would have hoped for something concrete to come out by now.
'This
report paints a bleak picture of how people with autism are excluded from
society. People forget that this is a life-long condition. Until recently
there has been a myth this is a childhood condition.'
The
research also highlights the problem of late diagnosis of autism despite
well established evidence of the benefits of intervening early to treat the
condition. Eighteen per cent of adults with severe autism were not
diagnosed until after the age of 16, despite their urgent needs.
A
spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: 'We have said we will establish
a national service network for both children and adults with autistic
spectrum disorders.'
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