The Autism Act 2009 was a ground-breaking piece of legislation designed to ensure the needs of autistic people and their families were met. It enshrined in law that every autistic adult has the right to a needs assessment which must take into account their autism, carried out by a trained individual with the skills, competency and knowledge to determine the support required.Know your rights, use the Acts, be heard. Have your say on the Autism Act and how it’s working for you. This legislation matters, the Autism Act is there to support, protect and empower people.
The Autism Alliance is launching a campaign to support autistic people – Know Your Rights. They want to create a national conversation to ensure that autistic people know their rights and that local authorities ensure their staff are informed about the legal obligations to them.
The Autism Alliance are concerned that Community Care Assessments are being carried out by people lacking the expertise to undertake such assessments and using tools that are inappropriate. Only 24% of Local Authorities told us that they provided training of a day or more in length. Autism is a complex and diverse condition and expertise cannot be gained in a single days training. In addition 77% of Local Authorities also told us the tools they used to assess need were not autism specific. This often results in people being denied the support they really need and are entitled to, ending in crisis and a negative impact on the individual, their support network and public sector budgets.
Click here to submit your response. To find out more about this campaign click https://www.autism-alliance.org.uk/know-your-rights-world-autism-awareness-month/’
