The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-12446, in the name of Mark McDonald, on making Scotland autism friendly. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes that World Autism Awareness Week takes place between 27 March and 2 April 2015, with World Autism Awareness Day taking place on 2 April; further notes the ongoing work of the Scottish Strategy for Autism; welcomes investment in new resources, such as the autism toolbox for schools; commends recent initiatives for providing relaxed cinema and theatre performances and applauds efforts to increase the number of facilities qualifying for the Autism Access Awards administered by the National Autistic Society; considers that work still needs to be done to improve attitudes and understanding regarding people with autism, for example in increasing opportunities for employment, and supports the ongoing work of a range of organisations to create greater awareness to help make Scotland a truly autism-friendly nation.
17:09
I begin by thanking those members from across the chamber who signed the motion that we are debating this evening. I welcome our guests from the National Autistic Society Scotland and from Autism Initiatives, who are in the gallery, and I am aware that a number of people will also be watching the debate via the live streaming function.
Earlier today, I attended a short ceremony to hand over a plaque to the Scottish Parliament. The autism access award is awarded to organisations that have taken steps to make themselves accessible to individuals on the autistic spectrum. The Scottish Parliament is the first public building in Scotland to achieve that award, which is a great testament to the efforts of the staff of the Parliament. [Applause.] It was great to be there and to meet some of the Parliament’s autism champions. The award is a great credit to them. I am aware that work will be undertaken throughout the Parliament to increase awareness and understanding of autism among members of staff.
Tomorrow is world autism awareness day. It is important that, during world autism awareness week, we take the opportunity to highlight and celebrate the good work that is being done but also to outline our goals and our aspirations to go further and do better in the areas where we want to see improvement. The motion is framed in a way that reflects the fact that we want to set an ambitious target for Scotland.
Let us look at some of the good work that is being done. The autism toolbox is being rolled out as a resource to be used in our schools, and that is being welcomed by both parents and teachers throughout Scotland. We have had a number of relaxed performances in our theatres and cinemas, which have opened up cultural experiences to people who for too many years found themselves excluded from being able to enjoy things that the rest of us take for granted, including things as basic as the Christmas pantomime.
We have also had the production of local autism strategies across Scotland within the wider framework of the Scottish strategy for autism. I think that we would all agree that some local authorities took that forward a little bit quicker than others, but nonetheless progress has been made across Scotland, and it is worth recognising that.
On Friday, which was the first day of world autism awareness week, I attended part of the National Autistic Society Scotland conference, which took place in Aberdeen. At that event, the society launched its campaign for an autism-friendly Aberdeen, which is its bid to get Aberdeen to be the first city in the United Kingdom to be recognised as autism friendly. That will involve a range of work being done across both the public and private sectors to increase awareness and understanding in order to make services more receptive and open for people on the autistic spectrum, and it will also deliver wider benefits beyond that.
To achieve that outcome, we need to look at where the challenges are arising and where there is still work to be done. For example, I know from both my personal experiences with my son and the experiences of other parents with whom I have come into contact that we are seeing some improvements with getting early diagnosis, but when we look at diagnosis for older children, particularly into the teenage years, and crucially for adults, we are still seeing some difficulties with the ability to obtain a diagnosis and the length of time that it takes to diagnose. Also, it is still the case that too many people—27 per cent in 2013—say that they feel that they were misdiagnosed initially. We have to look at how we can get better at diagnosis.
The National Autistic Society Scotland’s 2013 report “Count us in: it pays to listen” states that 61 per cent of the respondents to its survey said that they felt relieved once they had been given a diagnosis. A diagnosis can open up opportunities to access support that are not available without a diagnosis. I will perhaps come back to that later and comment on other things that need to be done.
On employment and employability, I have heard testimony from individuals who have found themselves excluded from the jobs market as a consequence of their autism when, in fact, subtle changes to the workplace or indeed recognition of the strengths and talents of individuals on the autistic spectrum can allow employers to gain members of staff who will make a big contribution to their workforce and their business. Some employers are good at offering employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities in general, but employers could do more to support individuals on the autistic spectrum into employment.
The final area that I have seen during my campaign work and through the testimonies that I have received concerns the transitions that take place when the responsibility for an individual goes from children’s services to adult services or from adult services to older people’s services.
It is often felt that the view of many organisations is that autism is something that affects children. We need to break down some of those perceptions and make organisations understand that, although the support that an individual requires in childhood will not necessarily need to be absolutely mirrored, it cannot simply be radically altered at the point at which they move to being the responsibility of adult services. We also need to make sure that there is a clear path for individuals as they move through the different age brackets in which social care services address their needs.
Wider benefits can be realised as a result of Scotland becoming more autism friendly. First, a recognition and understanding of sensory issues will benefit people who are not on the autistic spectrum but who have associated conditions. One group that has come to my Facebook page today is individuals who have children or relatives who have been diagnosed with pathological demand avoidance, which is associated with autistic spectrum disorder but does not always get the support that they feel it deserves.
Secondly, minor adjustments can lead to major differences and major benefits. That needs to be emphasised to employers, private sector organisations and public sector bodies. We are not talking about them needing to make drastic changes to the way in which they deliver services or operate in relation to customer services. Often, minor adjustments make a major difference to the individual who is affected.
Thirdly, getting more people on the autistic spectrum into employment and sustaining it will have great benefits to the wider economy through the increase in productivity and in employment.
It will be challenging for us to get there, but I see no reason why it should be unachievable. If we have the will, we can get there and I hope that the Scottish Government will be on board with the ambitious campaign to make Scotland an autism-friendly nation.
This afternoon, the Presiding Officer was delighted to receive on behalf of the Parliament the autism access award to which Mr McDonald referred. I am also pleased to put on the record that it is a great tribute to all the Scottish Parliament staff who have worked so hard to make it possible. [Applause.]
17:17
I congratulate Mark McDonald on bringing autism awareness week into the chamber again and on his dedication to raising awareness of this important issue. I also apologise to him and the Minister for Children and Young People because Labour members all thought that the debate was tomorrow so I am supposed to be somewhere else and the second Labour speaker is not here for the same reason.
If members visit the National Autistic Society Scotland’s website, they will see as a header the slogan “Accept difference. Not indifference.” That principle should also underpin an autism-friendly nation. In fact, we should celebrate difference in this week of events. The theme of this year’s event is “Stand out for Autism”, which reflects the need to encourage personal pride, self-belief and a sense that we all stand out in our own way. In awareness week 2015, the National Autistic Society wants us to stand out together.
In a similar debate last year, we discussed the importance of ensuring that individuals with autism do not feel cut off from the main stream of everyday activity. As the National Autistic Society points out, autism is a spectrum condition. That means that, although individuals might face some of the same barriers, the condition will affect them in different ways, and many are able to live relatively independent lives.
A former intern in my office, David Nicholson, has gone on to become a supporter of the National Autistic Society, and he is a former youth patron for Ambitious about Autism. Last week, he gave me his thoughts about the need for Scotland to become a truly autism-friendly nation. He said:
“Autistic people have the talent and potential to do very well in society. They want to contribute positively to Scottish life; the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Government and others must do all they can to help support those on the spectrum reach their fullest potential.
There is still a long way to go before Scotland is an autism friendly nation. We need to work together to ensure that people on the spectrum get the chance to show what they can do in the workplace. Too few have that opportunity and too much talent is going to waste which is a tragedy. We also need to ensure that our education system can be as autism friendly as possible too. That means learning from what other countries are doing and making sure that each school is autism friendly via holding autism awareness events for staff and pupils. It is essential that ALL school staff have autism training”.
I am sure that, like Mark McDonald, David Nicholson would have welcomed the introduction of autism toolboxes to Scottish schools in 2009 and their continued updating as new resources become available. He is correct in saying that training should be available to all teachers on recognising autism and providing the right support.
Much more could be said about education, but I want to move on to employment, because employment is the theme of autism awareness week this year. I am glad to see that a number of organisations in Scotland have a specific focus in that area. Autism network Scotland has a thriving network of outreach support services across central Scotland. Individuals who receive support have an agreed number of hours of provision per week, which ranges from two hours to 26.
It is estimated that only 15 per cent of autistic adults in the UK are in full-time employment. I am sure that we all agree that that is far too few, especially when we acknowledge how much talent they can bring to a professional environment. Research suggests that people on the autistic spectrum have many exceptional capabilities, some of which are a real necessity in a professional environment—for instance, logical reasoning and a greater attention to detail. The lack of support and opportunity to match their ambitions is striking. Autistic people should be able to live the life that they choose. Central to successful and sustainable employment for autistic people is the ability of employers to harness their unique skills instead of employing them in spite of that disorder.
The motion mentions the autism access awards that are given by the National Autistic Society. It rightly does so, as those awards recognise buildings and facilities that have made an effort to ensure that they can be categorised as autism friendly. They set the standard for accessibility. Of course, making something accessible does not always mean making physical changes. As the society has pointed out, it is as much about changing the approach of staff as it is about changing building layout.
In conclusion, autism awareness week draws our attention to the fact that a huge number of people in Scotland and in the rest of the UK are on the spectrum and that that spectrum means that there are huge differences between individuals. Each autistic person, like anyone who is not on the spectrum, is unique and has unique aspirations, strengths and needs.
What all those people have in common is that they want and deserve a chance to be treated as equal, with equal rights to the basic daily choices that we enjoy. They are young people with a hunger to learn and flourish in our schools, graduates who are looking for support into the workplace that will give them the chance to contribute that they so desire, and teenagers who are looking to drive for the first time but are in need of extra advice. Each deserves an equal footing from which to take first steps.
Therefore, this week let us not only accept difference but celebrate it, because a diverse employment market demands difference, diversity and a recognition that we all have a positive contribution to make.
I support the motion.
17:22
I congratulate Mark McDonald on securing this opportunity to highlight world autism awareness week. I say that not simply because it is protocol to do so, but because over the past few weeks, it has come home to me just how far as a society, and how far in providing appropriate support services we have to go until we can really say that we are responding as we ought to to the needs of autistic children and adults. Progress has been made, but a string of recent constituent cases and my attendance at a constituency event last week have very much brought home to me just how far we have to go before we can claim to have created a genuinely autism-friendly environment.
Angus Council is coming to the end of a process that is aimed at ensuring that provision for adults and children with autism in its education service links into the national autism strategy and—just as important—meets the needs of those who require support, be they carers or the cared for. The delay in delivery was caused by the council feeling that a consultation and mapping exercise that was carried out on behalf of the Scottish Government in 2013 had not been as wide reaching as was required to ensure that what was to be delivered fitted what was needed on the ground.
The council wrote to 211 families in the county who were identified as having children with autism to ask them, in the first instance, to complete a questionnaire in order to provide a foundation for creating an autism strategy that would meet the aspirations of those who are at the sharp end.
Subsequent to that parental engagement, events were held in Montrose, Forfar and Carnoustie to present the survey’s findings and to flesh them out. I attended one of those engagement sessions just last week, and what I heard left me concerned that, as things stand and as officials acknowledged in relation to education, the needs of the children are not yet being fully met. However, if Angus Council takes on board the input from parents, as I believe it will, over the short to medium term we will make significant progress.
The consultation identified eight key areas for improvement. Although the process itself was particular to Angus, I am sure that the themes are common to other parts of the country. Those themes are: improving knowledge and understanding of autism and reaching out to the wider community to ensure that it is more clued up on the subject; improving the process of diagnosis and appropriate support immediately post diagnosis; supporting those with autism and their families in accessing locally delivered recreational facilities; improving information sharing among agencies and getting services to talk to each other; planning for transitions right through into adult life, with a particular need for post-school support; improving learning opportunities and, as Mark McDonald suggested, purposeful occupational opportunities for adults; and, finally, supporting adults to live as independently as they can within mainstream tenancies. Within a few months, a strategy that covers the complete educational journey from nursery through to adulthood will be presented to the community planning partnership for its approval, and moves are already afoot to secure parental involvement in overseeing delivery and future policy development.
Of course, the challenge is in how we meet all reasonable needs when those needs, as well as the expectations and views of parents and guardians, can be quite varied. Even if we succeed in creating genuinely autism-friendly education establishments, how do we ensure that the other agencies with whom people with autism come into contact, including the police, the health service and social services, are properly equipped to respond to their needs? Surely the answer lies in the purpose of this week, which is to raise awareness.
How many of us, if we are honest, understand what is needed to create more autism-friendly environments? Two stories that were told by parents at last week’s engagement session left their mark on me. One mum revealed that her son could not join in the swimming sessions at his school simply because he could not cope with the whistle-blowing that the physical education teacher used to keep order. Just imagine being excluded from joining classmates in an enjoyable pursuit for the sake of a whistle. Another parent said that her child would be better able to cope in certain circumstances if the lights in the room were not turned up quite so bright. Imagine being denied the opportunity to be just one of the class for the sake of fitting or using a dimmer switch. How many other minor changes could we, as a society, reasonably make that would move the cause of inclusion forward?
It is to be hoped that, whatever world autism awareness week highlights to us, each of us strives to respond to it.
17:27
I, too, thank Mark McDonald for lodging the motion. Obviously I am aware of his personal family interest in autism, but I am equally aware of his commitment to the condition in general and to raising awareness of it with the wider public.
Almost a year ago to the day, we celebrated and commemorated the seventh annual world autism awareness day, and now that it is becoming an established date in the calendar, it is right that we continue to highlight its importance. I do not think that it is necessary to go through the various statistics and facts about autism as we have done previously, although it is always worth our while to point out that one in 100 of the UK’s population is on the autistic spectrum. In other words, it is a common condition that should not be hidden. In my brief contribution, I will look at some of the very positive initiatives that are helping to make Scotland move towards being the “autism-friendly nation” to which the motion refers.
In last year’s debate, we focused on the relaxed cinema and theatre performances that have made such a difference to people, especially children, and which have allowed them to enjoy pursuits that most of us take for granted. I commend His Majesty’s theatre in my home city of Aberdeen for staging a relaxed showing of “Horrible Histories” last May. I am sure that we would all like more productions of that nature, which provide sensory-friendly approaches in order to reach out to people with autism.
In another initiative that I heard about recently and which, I think, took place last weekend, Toys “R” Us provided a dedicated day on which children could attend outlets across the UK in a relaxed environment. Fluorescent lighting was reduced, the music was not overly loud and no tannoy announcements were made. Such factors can be very unsettling for children with autism, so I hope that other shops will be similarly progressive in responding to the needs of those children.
I pay tribute to the Scottish Government for the funding that it has provided to the one-stop shop programme, not least the £300,000 that has been dedicated to the advice and information centre in Queen’s Gardens in Aberdeen. That valuable resource provides support for families and individuals in the north-east who are affected by autism, and it seeks to alleviate and to dispel the myths that are often associated with the condition, and the almost embarrassment that is sometimes caused by it. Wendy Minty, the National Autistic Society manager in Aberdeen, has said:
“many people with the condition and their families struggle to access the right support at the right time”.
Every region in Scotland is now covered by the one-stop-shop network but, as the National Autistic Society Scotland has pointed out, funding is limited, so local authorities need to start thinking about how they can contribute to those essential services. I was very glad to hear Mark McDonald talk about the work that is being done in Aberdeen to make it an autism-friendly city.
The motion refers to the autism toolbox for schools. As many others do, I think that such resources contribute enormously to our understanding of why children on the autistic spectrum need to be included in mainstream education. The toolbox website provides to parents, staff and young people greater understanding of the everyday challenges that young people with autism face. It is in our schools that basic knowledge of autism needs to be fostered so that children with the condition do not feel ostracised.
Similarly, parents with sons or daughters with autism require support so that they do not feel that their children are different. In her seminal work about her son’s right to education, the American writer Debra Ginsberg wrote:
“Through the blur, I wondered if I was alone or if other parents felt the same way I did—that everything involving our children was painful in some way.”
Beyond school days, as the motion suggests, with appropriate understanding of the condition many more employers will come to realise—as I have done in my region—the benefits of employing people with autism, particularly those at the higher end of the spectrum, for instance people with Asperger’s, who in many locations have proved to be extremely effective and highly conscientious employees. Many office jobs that some of us might find tedious and too repetitive are ideally suited to people with autism, who like the detail and accuracy that are required and take great pride in their work, as well as deriving immense satisfaction from it. There are potential opportunities for people with autism in many professional and other spheres of employment, where their commitment, logical thinking, enthusiasm and attention to detail would be invaluable assets.
We have come a long way in raising awareness of autism but, as Mark McDonald rightly said, that work is on-going, and his unfailing efforts are contributing to that process in no small measure.
17:31
Like my fellow colleagues, I congratulate Mark McDonald not just on bringing the debate to the chamber but on being a champion and an ambassador for autism and on raising awareness of the condition not just here in Parliament but in his home city of Aberdeen. I, too, welcome the guests who are in the public gallery and those who are live streaming the debate.
Presiding Officer, you were absolutely right to congratulate those who helped the Parliament to achieve accreditation in relation to autism. In particular, I commend Aneela McKenna, who is the Parliament’s equalities manager. As someone who is dedicated to looking at all aspects of disability, she is a wonderful asset to the Parliament. We should congratulate all the people who ensured that the Parliament won the wonderful autism access award. As my colleague Mark McDonald said, the Parliament is the first public building in Scotland to win that remarkable award, but it should not be the last.
I believe that the Parliament will serve as the foundation for Scotland to achieve the status of being an autism-friendly nation. The Parliament is showing the way. It should serve as an example for others to follow. People can visit the Parliament with a degree of assurance that they will not encounter the barriers that they often meet.
As Nanette Milne said, even visiting a supermarket or a shop to buy toys can be extremely upsetting for children with autism and can raise their anxiety to a level that many of us cannot understand. I congratulate Toys “R” Us on its initiative, but one day out of 365 is not enough to enable young people with autism to enjoy the experience of choosing a toy or playing in that environment.
There are organisations that support people with autism. In my constituency, the charity SensationALL brings together people with different disabilities, many of whom are on the autism spectrum. It has a sensory area where people can enjoy playing in the knowledge that they are not inhibited by loud noise or bright lights, which can affect them because of their heightened sensory awareness.
I was listening earlier to a wonderful animated film on understanding autism made by Scottish Autism. I had not realised that it was an animation. It describes, in very calm detail, the surroundings in which we all live. One story is about a young boy playing in the park with his mum. When he decides that it is time to go home, he shows his card with a drawing of a house on it to indicate that he has had enough. That is his best way to show that he wants to go home. There is also a story about a young girl at school who is getting excited about the school dance. Her friend excitedly asks, “What are you wearing?” The young girl, Lisa, responds by describing her school uniform. She took the meaning of “What are you wearing?” too literally. That is her world.
We need to understand the world of people with autism, how we communicate with them and how our environment creates barriers. We should not disable people with autism; rather, we should embrace their needs and find out ways, as we have done in the Parliament, to be inclusive.
We have ambitions for all people with disabilities. As Malcolm Chisholm said, we need to acknowledge that we are all different. That difference is not a failing; rather, we should be proud of it. We should not hide behind being different—that is what makes us who we are. I applaud that difference.
17:37
On the eve of world autism awareness day I, too, congratulate Mark McDonald on securing the debate. I know that, as a result of a football injury, he is rapidly gaining what I hope is a temporary insight into physical access issues. As other members have said, he has shown a commitment and dedication to the cause not just in the Parliament but outwith it. I applaud him for his efforts.
The National Autistic Society Scotland and Scottish Autism work on behalf of those affected by autism. Nanette Milne mentioned some of the figures. However, autism does not affect just the 58,000 or so people in Scotland with the condition. As the National Autistic Society points out, it affects those in their families, who number around 230,000, too.
Autism is a spectrum condition, so although people with autism share three main areas of difficulty, their conditions affect them very differently. Some people can live relatively independent lives; others may need a lifetime of specialist support. Whatever their level of need, all deserve nothing less than to have those needs acknowledged and met.
As Malcolm Chisholm reminded us, autism awareness day’s theme is employment. That is indeed fitting. We can all find examples in the communities that we represent across Scotland of employers that are missing out on the abilities and the skills that people with autism can bring to the workplace.
There is a demonstrable need to address the barriers to employment, which include a shortage of vocational training, inadequate support with job placement and, I am sad to say, all too pervasive discrimination. Exceptions exist but, as Graeme Dey reminded us, a great deal is left to do.
Mark McDonald commented on the problems with diagnosis, and I will spend a bit of time on that subject. According to research for the Scottish strategy for autism, it takes an average of 331 days for a child to go from referral to receiving a diagnosis, although some children wait almost 2,000 days. For adults, the wait is less—it is 162 days, although some adults wait for 500 or so days and those figures do not account for parts of Scotland where no adult diagnostic service is available. However, the count us in campaign report suggests that, even when the diagnosis is made, there are problems. Almost half of those who were diagnosed suggested that the process is highly stressful and a quarter found themselves misdiagnosed.
As Mark McDonald said, many people talk of the relief that they feel once they have been diagnosed. Diagnosis allows people access to support, but I have met people who have been diagnosed who looked simply for diagnosis as an answer. People are not necessarily seeking additional support; they may simply want confirmation from the relevant professionals.
I am aware of the difficulties in getting a referral in Orkney, which have caused huge stress and distress to those who have been affected. I therefore welcome the commitment from NHS Orkney’s chief executive to improve patient pathways, although it has to be said that that is thanks largely to the heroic campaigning efforts of Chris Mighall. I hope that that will deliver benefits in the future.
A hope for world autism awareness day is that we will address the fact that there is still a lack of public understanding and awareness of autism, which feeds into fear or experiences of bullying and harassment in communities on all too many occasions. World autism awareness day provides us with an opportunity not only to reflect on the needs of people with autism but to celebrate their contribution and commit ourselves to ensuring that others have the chance to do likewise.
Cinemas and theatres are marking the occasion with special screenings and performances, and businesses—Toys “R” Us has been mentioned—are holding autism-friendly promotions. Simple steps such as reducing lighting, improving signage and making staff autism aware will enable places to become more accessible to those with autism.
With my Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body hat on, I am delighted with the autism access award that has been received by the Scottish Parliament, which is the first public building in Scotland to be given it. I place on record my gratitude to the Parliament’s staff for their efforts and commitment.
On that message of hope for world autism awareness day, I congratulate Mark McDonald on securing the debate and commend him for his stalwart efforts on behalf of those in Scotland whose lives are touched by autism.
17:42
I, too, thank Mark McDonald for bringing a debate on a hugely important issue to the chamber. I also congratulate parliament staff on the good work that they have done. I have always been extremely impressed by the staff in this place, and it comes as absolutely no surprise to me that they have taken the issue and grasped it.
I will make a few personal reflections and then comment on some constituency cases that I hope will inform the debate. I have no family experience of autism, but as a piano teacher in what now feels very much like a former existence, I had one pupil who, although he was an extremely bright lad, had some recognisable difficulties in communication and comprehension. He was a wonderful musician who could play by ear, and there were things that there was no way I could teach him because he could do them better than I could. Curiously, however, he struggled—I am now not surprised by this—with some of the inaccuracies of musical notation. People might think that those dots and dashes are a wonderfully precise science, but a lot of it is actually very imprecise. When he struggled, I told him not to worry about playing precisely what was there, but instead just to play it musically.
I have had a few constituency cases to deal with. I make it clear that in the cases to which I refer, there has been no shortage of parental engagement and it is very clear that it was the system, rather than the particular family environment, that was the problem. I will not name anybody, but I will raise three general issues. In one instance, a young man was looking for a fairly secure and protective environment beyond school age, but the difficulty was that there was nothing like that locally. He and his parents were told that he would have to go to the other side of Glasgow. For those of us who start fairly close to Aberdeen, that is quite some distance away, socially. Perhaps it is not a huge number of miles, but it was a very long way for the family. When I contacted the Government about the case, I was told that it was the local authority’s responsibility, which I am sure is absolutely right. However, it is not difficult to see that joining up local authority activity across the country would be sensible, because we will not need many such protected and secure environments across Scotland. Government guidance might be helpful.
I am also coming to the view that there are quite a number of young men who are just coming out of school who struggle to get on—whether to get into a voluntary position or into work. They may well become shut in—that is the term that is used—which means that they essentially retreat to home, often to the bedroom, and are very difficult to get out. The difficulty, as it has been explained to me, is that although the Government provides funding, which is very welcome and is good at getting those young folk from voluntary activity into employment, it appears that the funding is not to be available to get them from “shut-in-ness” into an outgoing voluntary activity. I assume that my information is right to the extent that that is the case. I am merely putting it to the minister that that may be something that the Government would like to look at.
I would also like to pick up on the point that others have mentioned, which is that in many places there does not—to put it more bluntly than some might do—seem to be much prospect of an adult actually being diagnosed. We often have bright folk, including high-achieving graduates, who have social difficulties but who are not going to be diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum. Because they do not tick any of the other social work or welfare boxes, they do not get help that would be useful to them and that might well help them not to develop the mental illnesses that might subsequently bring them into the system. Plainly that situation will not help them, but it will also cost us in the long term. I wonder whether the Government has its eye entirely on the long-term pathways for those who struggle with autism.
That is my brief input. I am sure that the minister knows a lot more about the subject. It would be good to know that we are trying collectively to do the best for those who are on the autistic spectrum, so that we get the best long-term solutions for them. At the end of the day, as with all people with a disability, people with autism are, above all, people and need to be supported as such.
17:48
Like all my colleagues in the chamber, I begin by congratulating Mark McDonald on securing the debate. I also thank the members from across the parties for supporting the motion and the speakers for their reflective contributions.
I point out that Mr McDonald has failed to blow his own trumpet. Just this week, in recognition of the work that he does on the subject, he has been invited to become a member of the National Autistic Society Scotland’s advisory board. [Applause.] I congratulate him on that and wish him well for all the hard work that I know that that will entail.
We have talked a lot about the autism strategy today. The Scottish strategy for autism is now in its third year. It was launched in 2011 with a £13.4 million fund, 26 recommendations and a 10-year outlook, which it is trying to achieve. I take this opportunity to reinforce the Scottish Government’s commitment to improve the lives of people with autism through the strategy and to highlight some of the key activities that have been taken forward under the strategy.
Raising awareness of autism is a key priority of the strategy, because that will help to ensure that people with autism are treated with fairness and respect, as all of us should be. The strategy also includes building capacity and awareness within autism services, so that people receive an integrated service that is responsive to their needs. I think that an integrated service is an answer to many of the constituency problems that some members have raised this evening.
A major piece of work is under way to roll out a new and comprehensive training framework to national health service staff. It has been developed by NHS Education for Scotland with the active participation of people with autism and autism professionals. If we are to understand how to help folk with autism, it is incredibly important that we listen to people with autism when they tell us about the training that our professionals need. The training is interesting: it is responsive and is based on the skills and knowledge that are required at different operational levels in the health professions. It is for all health professionals, from those who occasionally encounter a person with autism, such as the receptionist in a general practitioner’s surgery, all the way up to those who provide highly specialised support for people with autism. It is a highly significant piece of work, and I encourage NHS boards to consider how it could be utilised effectively.
Another strategy-funded training opportunity is the free training that has been run through the Open University and the University of Strathclyde over the past three years. That training is not just for those who work with people with autism but for families and folk who are just interested in knowing how to help folk with autism. Over the three years for which the free training has been running, the courses have been oversubscribed every time. That perhaps tells us that a lot of people out there understand that they need to do something and work with folk with autism.
As the minister was speaking, I was wondering whether there is the same awareness and training at our dental schools. I was thinking that, at a dental practice, there are bright lights and noise and sometimes very tactile invasion. Have people at dental school and dentists been made aware of the particular needs of people with autism?
The training that I referred to, which has been developed by NHS Education for Scotland, is for all NHS staff, and I encourage dental practices to take part in it.
It is important that we work with the autism community to capacity build. I want to mention a local organisation in my constituency, Aspire, which works with and brings together young people with autism. I have been along a couple of times, and it is amazing to see those young people getting the confidence to go out and do more, as a group or as individuals, which is such a hard thing for folk with autism to do.
Nanette Milne mentioned the six one-stop shops that have been funded, at a cost of £1 million, through the strategy. This evening, I can announce a further £653,305 to support the six one-stop shops to continue for another year. [Applause.] That is one of the lovely things that you get to do as a minister.
I realise that I am rapidly running out of time, but I want to talk about the autism toolbox, which many members have mentioned. Education is important to everybody and, through the autism toolbox and the accompanying website, we should be able to help to support pupils with autism. I am absolutely convinced that the toolbox approach could lead to significant improvements in autism educational provision. My constituency surgeries, like those of Graeme Dey and Nigel Don, are often taken up with parents who worry about their young children who have autism. I hope that the use of the autism toolbox will ensure that fewer people have to come to me and other members.
I will quickly mention Mark McDonald’s campaigning work on relaxed performances, which is absolutely fantastic. It was lovely to hear from Nanette Milne about Toys “R” Us—if anybody should be autism friendly, a shop that sells toys for kids should be. I say to Graeme Dey that I have heard about autism-friendly swimming sessions, which are another step forward. Mr McDonald mentioned the campaign for an autism-friendly Aberdeen, which is wonderful. Scotland is already a fair trade nation, so I hope that we can move towards being an autism-friendly nation, and not just in Aberdeen.
I offer my congratulations and thanks to the staff of the Parliament on its becoming the first public body to receive the autism access award.
Malcolm Chisholm mentioned that only 15 per cent of people with autism are in full-time employment, and it is fitting that the theme of this year’s world autism awareness day is employment: the autism advantage.
Increasing employment opportunities for people with autism is another key priority of the strategy. There are a number of strategy-funded projects that are focused on employment, such as project SEARCH, which works in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council and Into Work, and IWORK4ME, which supports self-employed people with autism.
There is so much more that I could have said. I am delighted to see so much positive work going on to improve the lives of people with autism. I welcome in particular the on-going investment in new resources such as the autism toolbox, and I applaud the efforts of all who are concerned with removing barriers to public facilities—including through accessible entertainment—to allow fair and equal access for everyone. I appreciate the efforts of those who are working hard to ensure that all members of society have equal opportunities and feel valued.
It is this Government’s aim to lead the way in creating a fairer society that not only encourages active participation in that society but creates opportunities for everyone to contribute to Scotland’s economic success, so that we can enjoy the fruits of our work and make Scotland a better place for us all and a place of which we can all feel proud.
Meeting closed at 17:56.Previous
Decision Time