The Chair of the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission will lead a discussion about how we communicate with people on the autistic spectrum and how to raise awareness of autism. Representatives from local groups that deal with issues relating to autism have been invited to contribute to the discussion.
Minutes:
The Chair introduced a discussion on communication in relation to autism. Members heard that autism was relatively misunderstood and people diagnosed with autism faced a struggle was communication. In addition, understanding around this issue was still poor. The Chair hoped to see greater work to improve communication and to raise awareness around this issue.
The Chair stated that she had been in contact with Local Offer Live at Curve Theatre where it was hoped to launch a rap song by a local artist named Laky C. The aim of this was to promote local knowledge on how to communicate with people living with autism. It was hoped that proceeds of the rap would go to the Autistic Society and Carers’ Forum. The Chair also hoped to promote the rap via Leicester City Football Club and see if they would promote this amongst their fans.
The Chair added that she hoped to get in contact with Marks and Spencer in relation to their initiative in removing the labels on a clothing range specifically for people with autism. Research had shown that people with autism, found such labels very irritating.
The Chair then introduced Shelagh Wilson and Chris Covill from the Monday Club, John Singh from the Leicester City Clinical Commissioning Group and Stefan Dziewanowski from the National Autism Society and invited them to participate in the discussion.
During the ensuing discussion, the following points were made:
· The Monday Club had been running for approximately 20 Years and had been started by parents of children with Asperger Syndrome.
· Research showed that people with Asperger Syndrome had a shorter life expectancy than other people, so the club tried to provide a pathway to health and wellbeing.
· Shelagh and Chris outlined the ethos of the club and the activities that were on offer for their members. Money had been received from the Big Lottery, but funding was a problem and a cause for worry amongst members. Thanks were given for the funding that had been received from the city council and hopes were expressed that this would continue. The Chair advised that the Monday Club could apply for funding from ward community budgets; further information on this was available on the city council’s website. In response to a question as to whether the council could do anything to support the Monday Club, Shelagh requested additional funding.
· The Chair requested details of the Monday Club, so that they could be shared with Ward Councillors. She suggested that they may also have ideas as to alternative funding streams.
· Stefan stated that the National Autism Society received many telephone calls from parents seeking information and help and more people were being signposted to the society. Official statistics demonstrated that just over one in one hundred people had autism and an increasing number of adults were being diagnosed in later life. They were just at the beginning of trying to understand more about the difficulties around diagnosing autism in women.
· The Commission heard that transition was not always working and that Stefan found it necessary to explain to G.P.s that autism was not just a childhood condition. Members questioned whether this failure to understand also applied to other groups and organisations such as the Police. Stefan responded that the Police were receiving training and the situation there was improving. The condition however was complex and there was a very considerable variety in the way autism presented itself.
· Shelagh emphasised the need for support to be given to parents, as autism placed a very considerable stress on them.
· The Vice Chair questioned whether an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was carried out relating to people with autism. The Strategic Director replied that an EIA was carried out when a change to the service provision was being considered, such as, for example, when the council were embarking on a procurement exercise. As part of an EIA, they would look at any service to see how accessible it was for members of the public.
The Chair asked the invited speakers whether they had any key messages they would like to make to the Commission. Points made included the following:
· There was a need for mandatory training, as opposed to voluntary training, for health professionals.
· Post diagnostic support was important.
· Funding for the Monday Club needed to be extended.
· There needed to be accessible services for people with autism.
· People with autism had problems with loneliness
· Parents had worries for their child’s future, when they were no longer around or able to care for them.
Concerns were expressed relating to the diagnosis of children with autism and for those children whose parents had autism. The Strategic Director advised that where there were issues affecting children and young people, the responsibility would fall within Children’s Services.
The Chair then read out her recommendations as follows:
1) For officers to look at what other local authorities were doing around communication in relation to autism and to see if there was anything that Leicester City Council could learn from those experiences.
2) For Leicester to take part in the ‘Night Walks for Autism’ initiative that was carried out by Manchester and London earlier in the year, in order to raise awareness.
3) In relation to the Autism Awareness Day in March, for the building in the city to be lit up in the Autism colour of Blue and for more to be done across libraries, museums and community centres.
4) For the council’s website to include greater links to other websites that provided support for people with autism.
5) For the council’s internal Face magazine to support staff knowledge about communication in relation to autism in the work place, and with the service users they might come across. The Chief Operating Officer had already agreed on this.
6) For social care officers to work with officers in the education section to encourage Leicester schools to conduct plays and assemblies which offer two or three short messages to raise awareness of autism.
7) For the council to explore the use of Makaton signing and whether there could be specific signage in the city’s community centres and sports facilities to support people with autism.
Members of the Commission indicated that they agree with the above recommendations.
Stefan suggested that Leicester might become an autistic accredited city. The Chair responded that she would ask officers to investigate this further.
The Chair referred to the rap song, as mentioned in the beginning of the discussion and asked whether this could be sent to the Monday Club and the National Autism Society, as they wanted to ensure that the words were appropriate and gave a good message. Chris from the Monday Club responded that they would be happy to do this and extended an invitation to Laky and Commission Members to come to the club.
AGREED:
that the Commission support the Chair’s recommendations pertaining to communication in relation to autism.