Draft action plan – B&NES autism strategy
Theme
Awareness
and
understanding
Training
Area
Improve awareness and understanding of
autism within:
 General public
 Criminal justice system
 Front line health and care staff
 Transition
 Housing
 Employment
Training for people working with adults
with autism needs to be consistent and
accessible
Suggested action(s)
Arrange awareness training with GP surgeries, local hospitals, the criminal justice services and the
council’s customer services teams
Include autism within the JSNA, including the needs of children and young people with autism
Put together a multi-agency training plan, which will include what training will be delivered, who will
receive the training and who will deliver the training.
Work to get self-advocates involved in delivering the training.
Children and
young people
and
Transitions
Criminal
justice system
Look at the transition support for young
people with high functioning autism
Work with children and young people’s
services to look at the needs of children
with autism that are unable to access
Education Health and Care Plans have their
social care needs supported
More dialogue and involvement in the APG
from the criminal justice system
The plan should include GP surgeries, hospitals, the criminal justice system and how people working with
adults with autism will be trained
Review transition process and support available for young people with high functioning autism.
Review transition process to ensure a focus on employment
Obtain the numbers of children and young people who have a diagnosis of autism but who do not have an
EHCP.
Look at the support needs of these children and young people to determine whether any targeted support
as an adult may be useful to them.
Develop recommendations for targeted support as appropriate
Proactively engage with the CJS to get representation on the autism partnership group.
Review the services that are available to people with autism who are in contact with the CJS – what
training have they had?
Review the need for an appropriate adult service (a Police responsibility).
Employment
Continuing support around employment
(both getting and staying in work) was
discussed
Work with the CJS to obtain the numbers of B&NES residents with a diagnosis who are in touch with the
CJS. Look at what their needs are and how these could be met.
Review the work of the employment inclusion service – how are they currently supporting people with
autism and how does the service work with employers?
What are the gaps?
Review transition process to ensure a focus on employment
Is this a priority for this year?
Theme
Housing
Area
Support around housing (including help to
understand the process, housing workers
understanding the needs of people with
autism, housing strategy covering autism)
Suggested action(s)
Develop information that will help people with autism to understand the process for applying for housing.
Develop accessible information on the housing options available and what financial support may be
available if a deposit is needed.
Scope the demand for low level housing related support services.
Information
and advice
Consistent and accessible information and
advice
Influencing
decision
making
Meaningful participation in the Autism
Partnership Group
Advocacy
Health and
wellbeing
Carers
Advocacy
Joined up working of Mental Health, Autism
Services and hospital services.
Availability of post diagnostic specific or
reasonably adjusted speech and language
therapy assessments.
Ensure health professionals have a better
awareness and understanding of people
with autism
Need to take into account the needs of
women with autism
Need to take into account the needs of
people from an ethnic minority with autism
Support opportunities for adults with
autism to meet and socialise with each
other
Support for carers
Review the training received by housing advisors and ensure any training needs are addressed.
Review the current information and advice available to people with autism (B&NES council and CCG
websites, GP’s, front line information and advice). Where do people with autism and their carers go to get
information? How accessible to people with autism is our current information offering? How could this be
improved? What are the gaps?
Develop mechanisms for people with autism and their carers to feed into and influence the work of the
autism partnership group.
Hold meetings and have services at different times of the day to ensure they are accessible to people with
autism and carers who work
Review advocacy services – are they appropriate and accessible to people with autism? Have they had
relevant training?
Ensure work on the advocacy strategy includes the needs of people with autism.
Map how people with autism currently come into contact with the different services, what is their
experience and how that experience could be improved.
Review how people with a diagnosis can currently access these services?
Review the training currently available to health professionals. How could training be targeted to
maximise the benefit to people with autism (i.e. which health professionals should be targeted)?
Analyse the numbers of women with autism that services have come into contact with, review their needs
and the issues they have experienced. What could be done to improve their experience?
Analyse the numbers of people from an ethnic minority with autism that services have come into contact
with, review their needs and the issues they have experienced. What could be done to improve their
experience?
Review the opportunities for people with autism to socialise – with a focus on how people can be
supported to build social skills, develop practical strategies and understanding.
Ensure carers are aware of their entitlement to have an assessment of their needs, and that this
assessment takes into consideration their family life outside their caring role. Review the numbers of
carers assessments undertaken for carers of adults with autism, what needs have been identified.
Develop ways of getting feedback from carers.
Ensure carers have access to sources of high quality information
Is this a priority for this year?