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
situation. One can understand the stress that that causes to those parents, and I was not surprised when I found out that 80% of mothers of children with ASD take antidepressants. Significant numbers of people in our prisons have been diagnosed with ASD. That is not to say that that is the main for their being in prison, but that condition should have been dealt with long before they reached that stage. That is all very concerning and some of the statistics are also a cause for concern. Clause 3(1) states: “The autism strategy must set out how the needs of persons with autism are to be addressed throughout their lives.” In a lifelong approach, the points of transition in an individual’s life are prioritised in all strategies and action plans. It appears that it is in the area of transition that the cross-cutting nature of services and co-operation between Departments, government agencies and voluntary and community groups becomes most important. Transitions are particularly difficult for those with ASD to manage, because routine and predictability, help them to learn, interpret and make sense of social rules and situations, are not always It is vital that services plan and work together to smooth life transitions from preschool to lifelong learning. We can debate the issue until the cows come home, but, frankly, unless we have a with ASD, none of us will fully understand the impact of the Bill on families in Northern Ireland. It is unfortunate for those families that we live in a part of the United Kingdom that discriminates against a group of individuals who fall outside the existing legislation. It is good that the Bill will rectify that situation, and I commend it to the House. Mr B McCrea: The Ulster Unionist Party welcomes the Bill and looks forward to scrutinising it during its Committee Members will be aware that the UUP has long been involved in this important issue and has taken a lead role in promoting services for who are affected by autism in the Departments that it after. The UUP is an advocate and a promoter of services for autism in Northern Ireland, and the feels that it is leading the way. My colleague from Bann mentioned the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety’s input into the strategy that he brought forward and the additional £100,000 that he