Pretty poignant that my first posting is about the first World Autism Awareness Day! It was John Paul’s autism that brought me to politics and the journey to Westminster.
On Saturday 28th March, I marched with some 1500 parents and children in London to highlight the needs of autistic people.
It is estimated that some 500,000 people in the UK are on the autistic spectrum. I use the word “estimated” as we still do NOT have databases set-up in this country that record the precise prevalance. Yet, it is imperative that we have these databases so that we can plan services to deal with the incredible escalation in numbers of autistic people.
When John Paul was diagnosed in 1997 a consultant told me that I had a 1 in 10,000 chance of having an autistic child. Now, in 2009 the figure is estimated at 1 in 100. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that if we don’t set-up these databases we will be failing some of the most vulnerable people and their families. And, at the same time, will be storing up an explosive situation for society.
Cheryl Gillan MP has recently proposed an autism bill that would address this issue.
Cheryl Gillan MP said;
“It strikes me as wholly unfair how hard people affected by autism have to fight to get the help they so desperately need. The continuing postcode lottery of autism services across the UK is simply unacceptable and incredibly damaging. Creating the first ever autism law is crucial to helping local authorities take the necessary action and recognise their responsibilities towards this severely excluded group. Many MPs, cross-party, have already offered their support and I hope many more will back this vitally important bill - it has the potential to radically transform thousands of lives in every constituency and community.”
It is time for people to Open Their Eyes To Autism. It is also time for local authorities to formally address the needs of autistic people and the scale of the needs in their backyard, through setting up necessary databases. A failure to do so would be a betrayal of families facing the most tremendous challenges and could be catastrophic for our country.