Autism Bill

As I continue my speech, I will address that point. I recognise that the difficulty raised by the hon. Gentleman is, sadly, a common one, but the Bill and the strategy are intended to help deal with it. As I was saying, within the choice and control theme of the consultation, we are seeking views on how better to support people with autism. Our vision is that adults with autism should be given the support they need to be empowered to take control of their lives—a good sentence and good words, but how? They must be able to participate as fully as they are able to in society and to pursue the lifestyles and relationships of their choosing. Our vision is that those with support needs will have a person-centred plan, which should be regularly reviewed to enable the individual to meet their personal goals and objectives. Having choice and control also means ensuring that personal budgets are accessible to adults with autism; ensuring access to a proper and ongoing transition plan for all young people; and providing the right support so that adults with autism can communicate effectively. Much has been said, and rightly so, of training and awareness. You will have noticed, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that a common theme and challenge faced by adults with autism is that those who are supposed to provide them with support and services do not always have the necessary understanding and awareness to provide the right type of support. Thus awareness raising and training is the final key theme in the consultation. A lack of awareness and understanding can affect people with autism in many ways. It can affect their quality of life, including their ability to access leisure, community and education services, as well as access to public transport and the ability to feel safe in their own community. It can affect their ability to make a positive contribution to society when people fail to see past the label of autism; their ability to exercise choice and control and maximise their independence; their right to freedom from discrimination or harassment, including equality of access to services and not being subject to abuse; and their ability to secure their economic well-being through employment and a range of training opportunities. Stakeholders have raised with us a key concern about the extent to which many professionals and the wider population understand the characteristics of autistic spectrum conditions and how that can affect behaviour. A lack of understanding can lead to unacceptable intolerance and discrimination—and, sadly, isolation for many people. A survey by the National Autistic Society showed that 83 per cent. of individuals with Asperger's syndrome felt that many of the problems they faced were a direct result of others not understanding them. As we have seen from earlier examples of good practice by the Liverpool Asperger team, a great deal can be achieved from learning from others. The hon. Member for Guildford will be pleased to learn that I am about to mention Surrey. The county autism group and local autism lead have developed a network of 80 champions across services in all sectors in the county. Those champions have six months' training and mentoring, and help to cascade that training to their teams. Champions are supported to network and share good practice across services, leading to a positive outcome for individuals with autism. Training and awareness is a key issue for a number of different professionals. For example, autism is mentioned in the GP curriculum statements on mental health and children and young people. I would expect all GPs to have a general understanding of first principles. However, the Royal College of General Practitioners recognises that there is a wide variation in services for children and adults with autism across the UK.