Views sought to help enhance children’s and young people’s autism services in Shropshire
Parents across Shropshire have been invited to express their views and experiences on services for children and young people with autism.
The Children and Young People Autism Needs Assessment/Autism survey which runs until Sunday 29 March is being led by the Shropshire Children’s Trust partnership.
The survey has been set up in response to feedback from parents, professionals and organisations who felt there was a need for more clarity around access to information and appropriate services that support the needs those children and young people with autism.
The aim of the countywide consultation is to understand more about the level of need as well as experiences of services and support in Shropshire. Shropshire Children’s Trust partnership are keen to understand from parents their experiences with regard to services and support for Autism Spectrum and behaviour disorders – whether diagnosed or not diagnosed.
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them.
In Shropshire 346 children and young people across the county have been diagnosed with some form of autism. However this will not be a complete picture of the incidence of Autism across Shropshire. This is partly a result several factors such as the difficulty in diagnosing very young children with ASD (Autism spectrum disorder). For many children ASD does not impact so significantly on their learning that they are considered to have complex needs requiring a Statutory Assessment.
Councillor Karen Calder, Shropshire Council Cabinet Member for Public Health and Chair of Shropshire’s Health and Wellbeing Board, said;
“Following initial feedback by parents and organisations at a recent stakeholder event, we now have more of an understanding about the number and the needs of children in Shropshire with autism/autistic traits.
“However we still want to find out more about the opinions and experiences of parents, schools and services across the county to find out what is working well and how current pathways and services could be improved. I really encourage parents, schools and those services who support children and young people with autism to get involved and take part in the survey. The results of this questionnaire will help us to understand how many children in Shropshire have difficulties associated with the autism spectrum and how parents feel services in Shropshire are responding to their child and family’s needs”
Councillor Ann Hartley, Shropshire Council Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, added;
“We are committed to ensuring children and young people on the autistic spectrum and their families get access to better services. The survey provides a great opportunity to ensure that parents and young people get access to the right information and the right support that meet the individual needs of the child or young person.”
To take part in the survey visit http://new.shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/autism-feedback-parents/ . Deadline for comments is Sunday 29 March 2015.
For those who can’t access the survey online, can obtain a paper copy by contacting 01743 253937, or by emailing shropshirepartnership@shropshire.gov.uk
The results of the autism survey will be used to inform and develop the Children and Young People Autism Needs Assessment.
For more information about autism and support services available in Shropshire visit http://www.autismwestmidlands.org.uk/shropshire
Further information
Autism is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways. Some people with autism are able to live relatively independent lives but others may have accompanying learning disabilities and need a lifetime of specialist support. People with autism may also experience over- or under-sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours.
Asperger syndrome is a form of autism. People with Asperger syndrome are often of average or above average intelligence. They have fewer problems with speech but may still have difficulties with understanding and processing language.
As part of the Children, Young People and Families Plan, the Shropshire Children’s Trust partnership has committed to undertaking a Children and Young People Autism Needs Assessment. This commitment has been made due to lack of clarity in Shropshire about prevalence, services (statutory and voluntary), and diagnosis pathways.
The Children and Young People Autism Needs Assessment is being taken forward as a collaboration between a number of organisations and groups. Key partners include:
- Shropshire CCG, Women’s and Children’s Commissioner
- Shropshire Council, Children’s Commissioning, SEN, Early Help & Social Care
- Shropshire Council, Public Health Specialist
- Shropshire Community Trust, Divisional Manager Children and Families & Speech & Language Service
- Autism West Midlands
- PACC (Parent’s and Carers Council)
- Shropshire Autism Steering Group
So far the group has considered information about services via a ‘snap shot’ of services, national and local prevalence data, and hosted a stakeholder event. To provide a better picture of what is needed in Shropshire the group would like to gather more information from schools and from parents about children with autism in Shropshire.
The Shropshire Children’s Trust has commissioned a Children and Young People Autism Needs Assessment (for ages 0-25). As part of this needs assessment we are keen to understand from parents their experiences with regard to services and support for Autism Spectrum and behaviour disorders – whether diagnosed or not diagnosed.
