A report published today reveals that as many as one out of ten families affected by autism have to relocate due to the lack of specific services in many areas.
Autism education charity, TreeHouse, states that such a lack of provisions offering informed autism specific care can contribute to parents experiencing feelings of isolation, confusion and of being judged. They further add that if autism is diagnosed early enough and a child is offered a specially tailored care and education package, it can make a “dramatic difference to a child realising their potential”.
One parent who knows off first hand how it feels to be let down by the local authority is hugely successful author Nick Hornby, who wrote About a Boy. His son Danny was diagnosed with autism and he talks of his difficulties with the lack of help and information on offer, “When my son was diagnosed with autism there
was a total lack of information on what we should do next. It seems that little has changed – and that is a national scandal.”
In one finding, TreeHouse discovered that out of 37 local authorities they contacted, as many as one quarter were unaware of how many autistic children were living in the area,
Further, over half (54 per cent), openly confirmed that there was no tracking kept on how much money was put into children’s autism services, while 81 per cent admitted to not allocating a specific person or team to look after these services. In addition, seven out of 10 local authorities were unclear of what autism
specific training was provided for teachers in council run schools.
In a different survey, TreeHouse discovered that sadly, as many as 10 per cent of parents feel forced to move home in order to gain quality services for their child, while another 30 per cent confirmed they would be open to the possibility of moving to obtain the same.
