Nottinghamshire Asperger's Team: SAVED!

Nottinghamshire County Council has today announced that they are dropping their proposal to scrap their pioneering Adults with Asperger’s Team. The proposal, made as part of their Budget Challenge 2014/15, has been reversed in response to concerns raised by people with autism and their families.

As part of the Push for Action campaign, The National Autistic Society has been working to support local people and organisations such as Autistic Nottingham to campaign against the closure. The team provides social care support, care planning and person budgets to around 200 people with Asperger syndrome and was the first specialist social care team in the UK. Set up in recognition of the fact that people with Asperger syndrome were falling between learning disability and mental health services, the team is regarded as an example of best practice and is frequently held up as so by both the our charity and the Government.

Tom Purser, our Senior Policy & Participation Officer said:

"Today’s announcement will come as a tremendous relief to the many people who contacted the NAS to express their concern about the  proposal. We have worked to support local people and groups such as Autistic Nottingham to speak up and have their views heard by the Council, and we’re delighted that they have been listened to.

"Nearly 5,000 adults in Nottinghamshire are thought to be living with autism, and it’s crucial that appropriate support is available to those who need it.”

Autistic Nottingham is a user-led support group and has worked with the NAS to marshal the support of their members and the autism community more widely to oppose the cut and have their voices heard. We are delighted that the Council has listened and that people with Asperger syndrome can continue to be supported by team with specialist knowledge that understands their needs.

Matthew McVeagh from Autistic Nottingham said:

"Autistic Nottingham is very glad and relieved to hear the news that the county council will not after all be closing its dedicated Adults with Asperger's service. This is a great result for people with Asperger syndrome in Nottinghamshire and by extension elsewhere, as it is essential that people with autistic conditions receive appropriate care and help everywhere in the country. 

"In general services for autistic people are growing so it would have been a backwards step if the Nottinghamshire County team, nationally considered a flagship scheme and example of best practice, had been ended. We now look forward to continuing to work with the Team to improve the lives of adults with Asperger's in Nottinghamshire."

Our underground message to MPs

If you’re passing through Westminster tube station, look out for our timely message to MPs…

We know a lot of MPs arrive to work at Westminster tube every day, so we thought we'd catch them on their commute with this eye-catching poster right in the heart of the station. Our poster reminds them that this is a critical moment in the Push For Action campaign - and they need to take action.

The Government will be publishing the new adult autism strategy on World Autism Awareness Day, 2nd April 2014, so we need as many MPs as possible to be speaking up about autism in parliament and asking questions of the Health Minister, Norman Lamb, over the coming weeks.

You can do your bit by asking your MP to speak up for you by taking this simple online action: https://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=10&ea.campaign.id=24705&ea.tracking.id=9ebfc811

A new autism agenda in Herefordshire

One of the exciting but sometimes frustrating elements of local campaigning is that you are never entirely sure how far things will get when you start pushing.  When I started looking at the picture in Herefordshire it did not seem hopeful.  There was no Autism Partnership Board, an unclear picture over who the Autism Lead was and hardly any action since the Autism Strategy was published in 2010.

Nine months down the line we are looking at a very different picture.  In a week’s time the first meeting of the Autism Partnership Board will be held in Herefordshire to develop and deliver an implementation plan.  There is a local strategy signed off by the Council and a clear Autism Lead who is pushing things through on a priority basis.  A senior County Councillor has taken on the role of advocating for autism to ensure the issue is given the support it needs at the higher levels of the Council.  A short survey of adults with autism and their parents/carers has underlined the urgency of the need for change.

What has been most effective in moving things along in this way has been connections.  When I first started to engage with the county there was very little in the way of a local autism network.  I was lucky enough to come into contact with Herefordshire Disability United, an excellent pan-disability organisation, who decided to devote some time and money to autism.  An event was held bringing together people with autism, parents, providers and other professionals to try and map what support was available and report from the day, with a set of recommendations, will now go towards guiding the work of the Partnership Board.  The NAS has also now opened a branch operating across Herefordshire and Worcestershire and I have made contact with a user-led group called Aspie Link who are now seeking to get involved. 

These connections and networks are essential to successfully push forward progress at a local level, especially rural counties like Herefordshire.  For anyone who wants to Push for Action where they live and start seeing the Autism Strategy make a difference, build a network, find out who else is active in your area and speak to us about how we can help you make an impact.

Tom Purser

The NAS' Campaigns Team

Tom's campaign blog #7: What do toothbrushes, knives and forks, alarm clocks and chocolate coins say about autism?

Why would we want hundreds of toothbrushes and knives and forks, a few dozen alarm clocks, and an enormous pile of chocolate coins? And why on earth would we be sending these things to the Care Minister, Norman Lamb?

The Push for Action campaign has been building the pressure on the Government to do more to get the right support to adults with autism. With their announcement on their autism strategy review fast approaching, we didn’t want Mr Lamb to forget why we’ve been pushing so hard and so persistently

At its heart, the campaign is all about the basic support that the Autism Act legislates for – helping people with autism to wash and dress, prepare a meal, find work or manage their finances.

We wanted to keep it simple and remind Norman of the people who are behind the statistics, the legislation, and the campaign – the people who are still waiting for support. A stunt was in order, something to take this straightforward message directly to the Department of Health.

We gathered everyday objects to represent the support people with autism have told us they need. Although 53% of adults with autism said they want help to find work, only 10% are getting the support. So this Monday, we assembled 50 alarm clocks – something most working people need – packaged them up in a box and hand-delivered them to the Department of Health offices, 'FAO Norman Lamb'.

Throughout the week, we sent Norman three more packages based on the key support issues – toothbrushes to represent washing and dressing, knives and forks for preparing a meal and chocolate coins for managing money.

To take this message wider, we photographed it and shared our graphics on Facebook and Twitter. We also, for the first time, took to Vine, to truly animate this message and bring our boxes to life (take a look!).

Thanks to all of you who have shared, liked, commented, retweeted, revined, and showed your support for the boxes.

We’ve delivered these things to Norman – it’s time for him to deliver for people with autism.

To keep the pressure up and show Norman that you care, please click here to get your MP to do the same

Tom Madders,

Head of Campaigns