AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)
WHILE autism is not a mental illness, children on the spectrum are particularly susceptible to mental health problems which can quickly escalate into crisis situations.
Seven in 10 children on the autism spectrum have a mental health problem and up to 10 per cent of children in/referred to Camhs are autistic.
Early support from professionals
with a good understanding of autism can prevent and address many of these issues.
The National Autistic Society believes this case is one of the worst they have come across in Cumbria, and proves how imperative it is that professionals identify and act on problems at the earliest available opportunity.
Tom Purser, community campaigns manager
at the national charity, said: "No-one should ever have to wait this long for an autism diagnosis.
“A diagnosis is key to unlocking barriers to essential support and services, often explaining years of feeling different. Without this help, people like Michael are falling into crisis.
“We know of a few families in Cumbria who’ve been forced to wait several years for a diagnosis, but Michael’s experience does seem particularly bad. This is also an issue nationally, with average overall waits for diagnosis of more than two years after first seeking help.
“This is why 12,000 people recently signed our letter to the government and NHS England, calling on them to take urgent action to reduce waiting times. We want them to start monitoring and publishing waiting times so we can work out what the problems are in each area, and address them.
“Michael’s experience suggests there may be an issue with the diagnostic process itself, particularly professionals’ ability to identify autism.
“But there’s also a serious issue of capacity in Cumbria, which has led to long waiting times for autism assessments – the multi-agency assessment teams responsible for diagnosing children are working hard but are struggling to conduct autism assessments alongside their vital wider work supporting children.
“A six-month injection of funding last year helped to increase capacity and reduce waiting times, but they’ve started to creep up again. Local commissioners must properly monitor waiting times and take action to ensure people are diagnosed in a timely fashion.
“Local families have waited long enough; we need shorter waiting times now.”
SOURCE: http://www.nwemail.co.uk/News/Barrow/Facts-on-autism-e6b4a32f-55da-4d9b-9be9-44378786c843-ds
WHILE autism is not a mental illness, children on the spectrum are particularly susceptible to mental health problems which can quickly escalate into crisis situations.
Seven in 10 children on the autism spectrum have a mental health problem and up to 10 per cent of children in/referred to Camhs are autistic.
Early support from professionals
with a good understanding of autism can prevent and address many of these issues.The National Autistic Society believes this case is one of the worst they have come across in Cumbria, and proves how imperative it is that professionals identify and act on problems at the earliest available opportunity
.Tom Purser, community campaigns manager
at the national charity, said: "No-one should ever have to wait this long for an autism diagnosis.“A diagnosis is key to unlocking barriers to essential support and services, often explaining years of feeling different. Without this help, people like Michael are falling into crisis.
“We know of a few families in Cumbria who’ve been forced to wait several years for a diagnosis, but Michael’s experience does seem particularly bad. This is also an issue nationally, with average overall waits for diagnosis of more than two years after first seeking help.
“This is why 12,000 people recently signed our letter to the government and NHS England, calling on them to take urgent action to reduce waiting times. We want them to start monitoring and publishing waiting times so we can work out what the problems are in each area, and address
them.“Michael’s experience suggests there may be an issue with the diagnostic process itself, particularly professionals’ ability to identify autism.
“But there’s also a serious issue of capacity
in Cumbria, which has led to long waiting times for autism assessments – the multi-agency assessment teams responsible for diagnosing children are working hard but are struggling to conduct autism assessments alongside their vital wider work supporting children.“A six-month injection of funding last year helped to increase capacity and reduce waiting times, but they’ve started to creep up again. Local commissioners must properly monitor waiting times and take action to ensure people are diagnosed in a timely fashion.
“Local families have waited long enough; we need shorter waiting times now.”
SOURCE: http://www.nwemail.co.uk/News/Barrow/Facts-on-autism-e6b4a32f-55da-4d9b-9be9-44378786c843-ds
