After campaigning since 1997 for an Autism Innovation Strategy Don’t Leave them Behind are delighted to report that today the Minister of State with responsibility for Disability ,Anne Rabbitte TD announced the Government’s intention to establish a working group to develop an Autism Innovation Strategy .
This Autism Innovation Strategy is vital as it should pull together the many Government Departments and Agencies and we hope will lead to the creation of a single body that will implement the services that persons with autism require and that have not received .
We hope this strategy will remove the ” passing of the parcel “ culture that exists in the system whereby because no single department or agency has sole responsibility for Autism they all are able to deny that the failures in the system are as a result of failures by individual Departments .
Minister Rabbitte is well aware of the failure of various Government Departments relating to people with Autism and spoke today about how a strategy will combine the supports in a coordinated manner, when she commented
” I am very proud to mark World Autism Awareness Day by announcing that it is my intention to develop an Autism Innovation Strategy .The focus of the strategy in the short term will be to deliver real and tangible solutions to the challenges ,needs and experiences of people with autism.This targeted approach will pinpoint priorities in a number of areas that I , as Minister ,will aim to address in the next 3/4 years .A clear pathway of supports need to be developed and I hope this can be achieved through the Autism Innovation Strategy .”
‘ It is my intention to set up a Autism Innovation Strategy Group which will seek to develop this strategy .I am committed to championing this in Government and will chair this working group once its established ”
Don’t Leave them Behind will be delighted to get involved in this working group (if invited) as we have been trying on a voluntary basis to navigate the system of Government to pull together the current supports so that meeting the needs of autistic people can be available on a one stop basis .
It is important in considering a new strategy that autism is a condition that affects someone throughout their entire lifespan . The focus of Government is often on supports for autistic children, those children become adults and their need for support dosen’t end at 18 The scope of their needs also changes , and new challenges emerge like finding a job ,housing ,access to healthcare etc.
The task of developing and designing an Autism Strategy is complex and will require significant buy-in from various Government Departments and Agencies but most importantly of all is the Autistic voice must be carefully considered we do hope that the working group will engage with those who have first hand experience on what is or isn’t working in Government supports they must be encouraged to share their insights on where/how they could be supported better .
Don’t Leave them Behind has gathered a significant amount of research and data from people with autism, their families and carers over the past 23 years and are happy to contribute in the development of this strategy .
Minister Rabbitte is to be congratulated for establishing this Working Group on Autism Innovation Strategy and the work starts today to chart a better future for all those with ASD .