OT - NAS survey on what its like to live with autism in the UK -

[Guest guest]

As part of the 50th anniversary of hte NAS they are asking for people with autism and their carers to tell them what it is like to live with autism in hte UK today. I have just completed the survey and am very disappointed in the range of questions that are asked. There seems to be an underlying and very restrictive assumption about the sort of things that would improve the lives of people with autism - eg more funding and more "support". Whilst these are needed there is no opportunity in the survey to suggest that we need effective interventions (whether that be bio-medical, educational, sensory or whatever). For instance one of the questions asks if more "support" is needed to access leisure activities/work/educational activities etc. There is no opportunity to say that someone might wish to engage in such opportunities but are prevented from so doing, not by lack of "support", but because of sensory difficulties/anxiety/medical problems/inability to interact etc etc which need to be addressed.

The last big survey the NAS did of its membership showed very clearly that top of the list of the things members wanted it to do was to identify effective interventions.

Please take the time to fill in this survey and ask others to do likewise. If you want to raise the issue of interventions the only way you can do so is to write in all the comment boxes about it for any of the questions. (There are no comment boxes for the questions where it might be relevant - so just get your comments in anywhere on the survey)

Thanks

Millions of people in the UK still don't understand what it's really like to live with autism. Please help us to tell them.

To mark our 50th birthday, we're conducting our largest ever survey of people with autism and carers of people with autism, so we can get the most comprehensive picture yet of the lives of people affected by autism in the UK.

Please complete the survey by end of Monday 27 February.

50 years ago, we started as a small group of friends with a common purpose: to improve the lives and futures of children and adults affected by autism. We're proud of our achievements but that doesn't mean our mission is complete. By answering this survey, you'll be providing us with up-to-date facts and figures to present to the public and to key decision-makers. Please help us continue to make a difference in raising public awareness and understanding of autism.

If you are not a person with autism or a carer of someone with autism living in the UK, please do not fill in this survey. But if you, or someone you care for, are living with autism please give us up to 20 minutes of your time to answer these questions.

Thank you for taking the time to help us. It is much appreciated.

Find out how else you can support us in our 50th year.

We'd like to stay in touch with you via email as this helps us keep our costs low. If you no longer want to receive emails from us about our fundraising initiatives or campaigning work for example, please unsubscribe.

The National Autistic Society, registered office: 393 City Road, London, EC1V 1NG, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0)20 7833 2299, Fax: +44 (0)20 7833 9666, Email: nas@... VAT registration number: 653370050; a charity registered in England and Wales (269425) and in Scotland (SC039427)

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