Gateshead Autism Strategy 2025-2030
Priority 7: increasing understanding & promoting reasonable adjustments within universal services
Where are we now?
The significant health inequalities experienced by autistic people indicate services across the system are not genuinely accessible. These are extensively covered in the DHSC National strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 to 2026 (opens new window) and the National framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services (opens new window).
This work is essential to ensure that autistic people can and do access provision available to them.
Our commitment
Now more than ever, it is important to make sure services are truly universal and ensure staff are supported to understand and accommodate autism and wider neurodivergence. Additional effort may be required to understand and overcome the barriers that autistic people may face in trying to access these universal services.
Workforce - without a well-trained and supported workforce none of this work can be expected to be consistent and embedded into business as usual. These colleagues will help drive change.
Alongside the Department of Health and Social Care mandated Oliver McGowan training, ensure there are other training opportunities for professionals, right across council services as well as more traditional health and social care teams.
For example, one area of working training is driven by the implementation of the reasonable adjustment flag across the NHS. It is a national record, immediately visible (to staff, as permitted by local role-based access controls) and shows a person needs accommodations and will ensure that details of impairments and other key information (such as communication requirements) are shared consistently across the NHS - with patient consent.
The implementation of the flag means staff must be trained how best to accommodate autistic people.
What we will do
Map training available currently (mandatory and non-mandatory) and assess its impact and use across different groups of staff.
Draw on learning from many existing organisations of what good practice looks like and identify areas to trial.
What does good look like?
Agreement and clarity on which areas within workforce training and good practice for organisations to be tackled.