What Is The Autism Strategy?
History
In 2009 The Autism Act was published.
It said that there had to be a government strategy to improve the lives of autistic adults, with guidance for local council.
The guidance was legally binding.
This meant that it had to be done.
The first national strategy was called ‘Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives’ and was published in 2010.
It was just for adults.
The Isle of Wight was late in publishing its strategy, which was published in 2014, to be reviewed in 2019.
However, we did create an all age strategy, despite the national strategy being adult only.
The strategy was created with autistic people, family and friends. It made some very important changes but things have moved on and it desperately needs to be updated.
Another national strategy was written in 2014 called ‘Think Autism’.
It looked at what progress had been made since the first strategy and put pressure on local areas to make more improvements.
The most recent national strategy was published in 2021.
This time it is all age.
We are late again, in writing our local island version, but we want to get it right.
Why is it Important?
The National Autism Strategy has legally binding guidance which tells our local authorities and NHS trusts what they must do.
Our local strategy decides how we will do that.
It decides what we want to happen, what our priorities are, what is important to us, who we want to help us and how we want to be supported.
It gives clear actions and goals that can be measured and checked. It means we can say
‘It’s in the strategy, why hasn’t it been done?’
It gives us hope for the future and common goals to work towards.
Who Writes It?
Each local authority or council has to have an Autism Lead.
This is usually a commissioner.
Our area has an Autism Lead who is joint between the ICB and the Isle of Wight Council.
The Autism Lead is in charge of the strategy, and co-produces it with autistic people, family, friends and other professionals.
This is done through AIM, People Matter IW, the Autism Partnership Board, the NHS and other organisations.
Why Should I Be Involved?
The strategy is about improving the lives of autistic people.
That means all autistic people and everyone has different experiences.
There are lots of areas of life we don’t often hear about and they are often the ones that are the least well supported.
We don’t want to guess, we don’t want to assume and we don’t want to take a view from a point a privilege when someone else’s view may be different.
Give your Feedback in Person
Sharing Your Feedback
AIM has a display board where you can write your comments about life for autistic people of the Island.
Anyone who comes to our building can post on there.
We also have a confidential feedback box for things that you may not want others to see.
You can see details of our groups and sessions for adults by clicking below..
In Person Forums
AIM will be hosting a series of in person meetings (face to face and via Zoom) to discuss the topics listed below.
Community
By community we mean the local area and the people that you meet in your everyday life for you. We want to know about the places you go and how you are treated.
Support and Care
By support and care we mean the services that are there to give you help in everyday life such as support workers, social workers, or personal assistants.
Health Support
By health we mean your mental and physical health, such as going to your doctor, your dentist or the hospital or speaking to somebody about your emotional well-being.
Safety
By safety we mean how safe you feel in your community. We want to know how you feel about groups, services and individuals that impact how safe you feel, as well as the Police, Safe Places scheme or local support groups.
Housing
By housing we mean where you live or want to live and the support you receive to look after your home or look for a new home.
Transport
By transport, we mean the ways in which you travel to places such as buses, taxis and community transport.
Education
By education we mean any school or college that you attend.
Employment
By employment we mean any paid or unpaid work that you do.
If you would like to attend these meetings, please click here to send us an email, What's App or text.
Please tell us if you would like to attend via Zoom or face to face.