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Four questions from the Careless campaign

longman

I've seen the four questions that NAS Campaigns have highlighted from the Government consultation on social care (deadline 15th August).

It is not that I disagree with the four questiions, but to me NAS wants us to convince the Government about needs that NAS doesn't appear to raise on its own website. Surely the place to start pressing for these changes is for NAS to provide the information local authority services can consult.

Question 1 is about the need for specialist assessment. But NAS isn't clear as to what the specialist should be looking for. When people look up the NAS website about autism, they get the triad of impairments. That's what health and community service professionals consult. NAS seems to be saying that is not enough.

Could NAS moderators please raise with campaigns what they want the specialist to determine. At present NAS's only illustration is about asking the right question - if "how are you?" elicits "fine" as a response, that's not asking the right question.

We are supposed to make suggestions here as to why people on the autistic spectrum should get specialist assessments. But I think it is up to NAS to explain this better.

Question 2 is on risk of abuse, which may not continue as a criteria for social services provision. I don't think the NAS website adequately explains vulnerability to abuse, which is not adequately covered by a triad of impairments based explanation, and the NAS campaigns illustration is someone potentially facing bankruptcy - I'm not sure the Government would understand the connection.

Again we are supposed to make suggestions.

Question 3 is on assistance with activities. Needing prompting to do things, which is the NAS Campaigns illustration, is very pertinent, but it isn't explained as an issue on the NAS website, and I can see Government having difficulty comprehending why needing prompting is an issue. NAS needs to explain such difficulties properly on their website.

Again it is being left to us to explain this. Could NAS be more helpful in suggestion what they want said here?

Question 4 is on forming relationships and making friends. This again may no longer qualify for support. But the NAS website explanation of living with autism is about social communication problems, nothing to explain relationships or friendships. Surely if this is important the NAS website needs to cover it.

I can, to some extent, see the Government's difficulty in supporting services they might perceive as being for trivial reasons that could be got round another way.

To convince the Government this is important we need to explain better WHY people with autism do need this kind of support. For that to be achieved NAS needs to explain this properly on their website, and not just rely on us to tick the right boxes for them.

Parents

  • To illustrate further try looking at "page 3" of the NAS website's explanation of living with autism "Three main areas of difficulty". This is the sort of resource the Government/someone in care services might look at to identify needs.

    www.autism.org.uk/.../What-is-autism.aspx 

    The information is based on the three elements of the triad of impairment, I've summarised the main points:

    Difficulty with social communication - difficulties with verbal and non-verbal language - literal understanding - and such things as facial expressions, tone of voice, jokes and sarcasm, common sayings. Some people may have no speech or speech difficulty, but can use sign language; others may have difficulty with give-or-take conversations. Mentions echolalia. Asks people to speak clearly.

    Difficulty with social interaction - understanding emotions and feelings, particularly understanding unwritten social rules, appearing insensitive, prefer to spend time alone and not seek comfort from other people, behave strangely. "may find it hard to form friendships" is stated at the end.

    Difficulty with social imagination, predicting other people's behaviour, understanding people's thoughts, predicting what will happen next, understanding danger, engaging in play, preparing for change and coping with new situations.

    I might have understated things a bit in parenthesis but readers can cross refer with the NAS page for the detail - as will people in Care Services and Government adivisers.

    Where in this does it clearly demonstrate a need for specialist assessment of needs? Where in this does it suggest that people with autism need someone to speak up for them as they cannot explain their own needs?

    Agreed you could deduce some needs from the triad-based evidence, but is this clear enough? And importantly, regarding Question 3 -

    Where does it say people with autism need prompting to engage in activities, so need funding for care support to do this?

    Or question 4.  Tpo what extent does it explain people with autism needing help (and therefore funding for support) in forming friendships and relationships? One brief allusion to may find it hard to form friendships implies it is surmountable surely?

    NAS please give this ambiguity of evidence some thought

Reply

  • To illustrate further try looking at "page 3" of the NAS website's explanation of living with autism "Three main areas of difficulty". This is the sort of resource the Government/someone in care services might look at to identify needs.

    www.autism.org.uk/.../What-is-autism.aspx 

    The information is based on the three elements of the triad of impairment, I've summarised the main points:

    Difficulty with social communication - difficulties with verbal and non-verbal language - literal understanding - and such things as facial expressions, tone of voice, jokes and sarcasm, common sayings. Some people may have no speech or speech difficulty, but can use sign language; others may have difficulty with give-or-take conversations. Mentions echolalia. Asks people to speak clearly.

    Difficulty with social interaction - understanding emotions and feelings, particularly understanding unwritten social rules, appearing insensitive, prefer to spend time alone and not seek comfort from other people, behave strangely. "may find it hard to form friendships" is stated at the end.

    Difficulty with social imagination, predicting other people's behaviour, understanding people's thoughts, predicting what will happen next, understanding danger, engaging in play, preparing for change and coping with new situations.

    I might have understated things a bit in parenthesis but readers can cross refer with the NAS page for the detail - as will people in Care Services and Government adivisers.

    Where in this does it clearly demonstrate a need for specialist assessment of needs? Where in this does it suggest that people with autism need someone to speak up for them as they cannot explain their own needs?

    Agreed you could deduce some needs from the triad-based evidence, but is this clear enough? And importantly, regarding Question 3 -

    Where does it say people with autism need prompting to engage in activities, so need funding for care support to do this?

    Or question 4.  Tpo what extent does it explain people with autism needing help (and therefore funding for support) in forming friendships and relationships? One brief allusion to may find it hard to form friendships implies it is surmountable surely?

    NAS please give this ambiguity of evidence some thought

Children
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