attendance. If symptoms are picked up on at school by a teacher or classroom assistant, the child may be referred for an assessment by an educational psychologist. When queries are first raised about a child’s difficulty in social communication, even before diagnosis, it is important that advice is sought. The months that parents spend waiting for a diagnosis can be put to good use, reading and becoming familiar with holistic intervention programmes. I pay tribute to the many support organisations, such as Autism NI, Parents’ Education as Autism Therapists, the Centre for Autism Treatment, Autism Initiatives and the National Autistic Society. There are so many groups. They do fantastic work and Tuesday 7 December 2010 325 Private Members’ Business: Autism Bill: Second Stage support parents who find themselves in a difficult situation when they have recently had a diagnosis and are not sure where to turn. The other particularly difficult issue for those who have ASD is managing transitions. Routine and predictability are very important to people with ASD, and it can be difficult to interpret and make of social rules and situations. It is vital that services plan and work together to smooth the child’s life transitions from preschool, along their school life and into lifelong learning. Again, I point to the voluntary sector, which has worked tirelessly with parents and those on the autistic spectrum to support them and help them through those situations. Issues of equality have been raised around autism and autism legislation as regards the creation of a hierarchy of disability and the whole equality agenda. I do not believe that that is what we are doing through this legislation. ASD is not recognised as a social and communicative disability under the current Disability Discrimination Act. We looked to examples, and, in England, the Government are repealing the Disability Discrimination Act and replacing it or consulting on replacing it with the Equality Act 2010. The definition of disability that will be contained in that legislation is out for consultation, and we have a real chance here today to address the current inequality around the fact that autism is not recognised. The Disability Discrimination Act refers to physical and mental disability but not explicitly
attendance. If symptoms are picked up on at school by a teacher or classroom assistant, the child may be referred for an assessment by an educational psychologist. When queries are first raised about a child’s difficulty in social communication, even before diagnosis, it is important that advice is sought. The months that parents spend waiting for a diagnosis can be put to good use, reading and becoming familiar with holistic intervention programmes. I pay tribute to the many support organisations, such as Autism NI, Parents’ Education as Autism Therapists, the Centre for Autism Treatment, Autism Initiatives and the National Autistic Society. There are so many groups. They do fantastic work and Tuesday 7 December 2010 325 Private Members’ Business: Autism Bill: Second Stage support parents who find themselves in a difficult situation when they have recently had a diagnosis and are not sure where to turn. The other particularly difficult issue for those who have ASD is managing transitions. Routine and predictability are very important to people with ASD, and it can be difficult to interpret and make of social rules and situations. It is vital that services plan and work together to smooth the child’s life transitions from preschool, along their school life and into lifelong learning. Again, I point to the voluntary sector, which has worked tirelessly with parents and those on the autistic spectrum to support them and help them through those situations. Issues of equality have been raised around autism and autism legislation as regards the creation of a hierarchy of disability and the whole equality agenda. I do not believe that that is what we are doing through this legislation. ASD is not recognised as a social and communicative disability under the current Disability Discrimination Act. We looked to examples, and, in England, the Government are repealing the Disability Discrimination Act and replacing it or consulting on replacing it with the Equality Act 2010. The definition of disability that will be contained in that legislation is out for consultation, and we have a real chance here today to address the current inequality around the fact that autism is not recognised. The Disability Discrimination Act refers to physical and mental disability but not explicitly
Autism%20Bill%20Second%20Reading%207%20Dec%202010.docx