Push for Action spokesperson Jonny Dean on getting a late diagnosis

Push for Action champion Jonny Dean, famous for being the front man in  Brit-Pop Group Mensw@ar, has a fantastic article up on the Guardian's 'Comment is Free' blog today to mark World Autism Awareness Day.

Jonny said:

"It took well over a year to get diagnosed, partly because only one place in the southeast had the facilities to do it. But I am glad I persevered. It means that my GP is aware of my condition. It meant I was able to get cognitive behavioural therapy to cope with the challenges I face every day. It has enabled me to understand who I am. But more than anything, diagnosis was a massive relief."

He also talked about the Push for Action campaign and his hopes for 'Think Autism', the new Government strategy:

"Last year the National Autistic Society started a campaign, Push for Action, to improve support for adults with autism. In October, I joined other campaigners in delivering a petition to 10 Downing Street demanding more action from the government, including money for new services, better training for staff such as GPs and care assessors, and more to be done to raise public awareness of autism.

Things are slowly getting better, especially with regard to awareness, but solid support is still lacking. I hope that the government's revised autism strategy, which will be published today – World Autism Awareness Day – will tackle this and actually improve the lives of adults with autistic conditions as well as those of their families."

Read the full article here.

Government announces new autism strategy, 'Think Autism'

To coincide with World Autism Awareness Day (2 April) the Government have met a number of key Push for Action recommendations – including for the first time ring-fenced money – in their publication of the revised adult autism strategy for England.

As part of the new initiative, coined ‘Think Autism’, the Government will put £4.5 million of revenue and capital funding towards an Innovation Fund and a community led awareness programme.

The innovation fund will support the development and replication of new services. The Awareness programme will help build understanding among the professionals working with people with autism and among the general public, and to make communities more autism-friendly. The Government will publish more details on how councils, charities and local groups can apply for the funding by the end of June 2014.

Push for Action has been calling on the Government to unlock the barriers councils and the NHS face in implementing the Autism strategy since it’s publication in 2010. In addition to the funding, we’ve also secured significant breakthroughs in key areas such as training, guidance, data collection and monitoring.

Mark Lever NAS Chief Executive, said:

It’s very positive that Think Autism is tackling core issues that affect the quality of the lives of adults with autism: understanding and awareness, and the development and delivery of better services. I would like to thank the thousands of NAS campaigners who worked through our Push for Action campaign to make this change happen.

While welcoming the new adult autism strategy, The National Autistic Society knows that this will only make a difference to people with autism and their families if local authorities and health services establish the best possible plans for local services, and if we in the autism community and the general public help create communities where adults with autism feel understood”.

The next crucial step is to ensure that councils and the NHS move forward in implementing the revised strategy. By the end of April we will have new campaign resources as we carry on in our battle to end the wait for everyday support.

To receive updates on the campaign, sign up to Push for Action now. 

The revised strategy will be published by the Government in full at 2pm today. We will update this page with a link to the strategy.