Autistic adults ‘failed by social services’

70% of adults with autism aren’t getting the help they need from social services.

77% said that as a result, they were relying on parents for support, with 22% relying on friends. And 7% don’t get help from anyone.

The survey from the National Autistic Society(NAS) found that 23% were happy that their social workers had a good understanding of the condition and its impact.

Separate NAS research also found that 46% of local authorities in England have yet to put training in place to ensure that their community care assessors, the gatekeepers to support for adults with autism, understand the serious, lifelong disabling condition.

The Autism Act 2009 mandated that local areas should be providing specialist training to those key roles that have a direct impact on access to services for adults with autism, including community care assessors and GPs.

The Government also committed to undertaking various actions to improve autism training in 2010, several of which have not yet been achieved.

Mark Lever, Chief Executive of the NAS said:

“These findings show that the provisions of the Autism Act are still a long way from becoming a day to day reality for the thousands of adults with autism living in England.

“It’s absolutely vital that social workers working with people with autism understand the condition and its impact.

“Without the right training, community care assessors will struggle to understand the complexities of autism which can lead to someone getting inadequate support or even no support at all.

“Times are challenging but this must not be used as an excuse for failing to meet obligations to adults with autism and their families.”