John Baron MP urges NHS to improve mental health services for children with autism

MP supports National Autistic Society’s campaign

 John Baron MP has warned that thousands of children with autism in England are needlessly facing a future of mental health problems, because the NHS is struggling to help them. He is backing a new campaign by the National Autistic Society (NAS), You Need to Know, which highlights the problem.

John said:

“Too many children with autism are currently developing preventable mental health problems and find themselves up against a system that struggles to understand them or their needs. It is a tragic waste of their potential.”

“Over 70% of children with autism have a mental health problem. Autism is a complex disability, so when mental health problems do develop, they are often dismissed as an unfortunate, but unavoidable side effect of having autism.”

Mark Lever, chief executive of the NAS, said:

“All too often children with autism receive inappropriate, ineffectual and sometimes harmful treatment of their mental health problems. Parents and professionals alike are crying out for more autism support and so we are delighted to have the backing of John Baron MP. The NHS needs to know how to help, and the Government needs to know it can’t wait.”

Ends

Date: 8^th July 2010

Word Count: 211

Notes to Editors:

With the right support at the right time children with autism can have good mental health just as anyone else can – the You Need to Know campaign aims to make this a reality. The NAS is calling for the Government to act now to make mental health services work for children with autism and change their future. This includes autism training for mental health professionals and access to specialist autism support in every area.

For further information, interview or images, please call the NAS Press Office on 020 7903 3593 or email: press@nas.org.uk

For the You Need to Know campaign the NAS carried out quantitative and qualitative research, covering parents and children affected by the issue, and professionals working in the field. This included a questionnaire about the experiences of children and young people with autism and their families, via parents and carers. A total of 455 eligible responses were analysed. This revealed:

• Mental health services failed to improve the mental health of two thirds of children with autism
• 43% of parents whose children are currently registered with mental health services said their child’s mental health had got worse because they could not get the services they needed
• Over half of parents do not think that mental health services know how to communicate with their child
• 83% of the children first experienced mental health problems before the age of ten, and half before the age of five
• Nine out of ten parents said that the mental health problems their child faced had had a negative impact on their own mental health and that of the whole family. Over a quarter of family members needed support from mental health services as a result.
• The minority of parents who said they had been able to get specialist autism help were twice as likely to say their child’s mental health had improved.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them. It is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways. Some people with autism are able to live relatively independent lives but others may have accompanying learning disabilities and need a lifetime of specialist support. People with autism may also experience over- or under-sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours.

Asperger syndrome is a form of autism. People with Asperger syndrome are often of average or above average intelligence. They have fewer problems with speech but may still have difficulties with understanding and processing language.

The National Autistic Society is the UK’s leading charity for people with autistic spectrum disorders and their families.  Founded in 1962, it continues to spearhead national and international initiatives and provide a strong voice for all people with autism. The NAS provides a wide range of services to help people with autism and Asperger syndrome live their lives with as much independence as possible.