The document discusses improving access to healthcare for autistic people in England. It notes that autistic people die 16 years prematurely according to a Swedish study. Over 900 autistic individuals, parents, and professionals responded to a survey about their healthcare experiences. The document recommends that the NHS provide training to healthcare staff on autism, include autism-specific questions in inspections of healthcare providers, collect data on autistic patients, implement annual health checks for autistic people, appoint a leader for autism healthcare policy, and allocate more resources for autism healthcare support.

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Emily Christou - Westminster
Commission on Autism, National
Children’s Group
A spectrum of
obstacles and SEN
support

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Emily Christou – National Strategy Coordinator

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Why access to healthcare?
• Because things have changed since the Autism Act of
2009
• Large, high-quality Swedish study by Karolinska
Institutet in British Journal of Psychiatry in Nov 2015
• Autistic people in Sweden die 16 years prematurely in
almost all cause-of-death categories

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Submissions to inquiry:
• 900+ autistic individuals, parents and professionals
responded to a Survey Monkey survey
• Parliamentary Evidence Sessions (Select Committee
style) with

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Avoidance, Inertia, Neglect and
Isolation
• Dr Yo Dunn told the Commission that “A large
proportion of autistic people ‘struggle to do stuff’ even
when highly motivated to achieve the task and no
matter how much information is provided. Many need
prompting and other support in order to achieve
everyday tasks including taking medication, making
and attending appointments and other health-related
tasks.”
• “In the Community” or socially isolated.

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The difference between Autism and
LD
• Staff – No specific staff
• Data – No GP register
• Health checks – No Annual Health Checks
• Leadership – No National Clinical Director
• Inspection – No autism-specific questions in CQC
inspections

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Recommendation One: Training

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Recommendation Two: Inspection

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Recommendation Three: Data

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Recommendation Four: Annual
Health Checks
• Anonymous national primary care register is in place
• NHS England should use it to guide its work to reduce
health inequalities for autistic people as outlined in the
Government’s Mandate.
• NHS England should consult with autistic people
regarding the introduction of annual health checks to
ensure that their unmet health needs are detected
and treated and that they have a Health Action Plan in
place.
• Such checks should be introduced if research
evidence suggests they would be effective.

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Recommendation Five: Leadership

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Recommendation Six: Resources

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What can you do?