Category Archives: Autism

In Search of Hidden Healthcare Workforces: NHS Therapists for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Part 2)

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Prof Ian Kessler of the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce is Professor of Public Policy and Management at King’s Business School. He introduces a new report from the Unit, scoping the demand and supply of NHS therapists for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

This, the second of two blogs, focuses on the supply of, while the first addressed the demand for, therapists for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

The Supply Side

Commissioning. While the capacity to address this increased demand rests in large part on the scale, structure, and capabilities of the therapy and, as already implied, the wider health and care workforce, the commissioning process for CPY with SEND, is pivotal. Commissioning determines the services available and at what level of resource, inevitably feeding through to determine the workforce required to provide them: to put it crudely, if a service is not commissioned, a workforce is not required. The close connection between service design and the workforce is apparent from various ‘good practice’ commissioning models [1]. These typically distinguish different levels of services linked to the nature of need and support, with implications for the requisite workforce: for example, accessible universal services delivered by a wider workforce; targeted services provided by registered therapists and their support co-workers; and specialist services the exclusive preserve of the registered therapist. Continue reading →

In Search of Hidden Healthcare Workforces: NHS Therapists for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Part 1)

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Prof Ian Kessler of the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce is Professor of Public Policy and Management at King’s Business School. He introduces a new report from the Unit, scoping the demand and supply of NHS therapists for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

This, the first of two blogs, focuses on the demand for, while the second discusses the supply of, therapists for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Context

The workforce delivering care and support for children and young people (CYP) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is an elusive one. In part this elusiveness stems from the diffuse and fragmented nature of the workforce as CYP with SEND typically engage with a variety of services- education, health, social care and sometimes housing. Even drilling down into these discrete service segments, tying the SEND workforce down in terms of its size, skill mix, and capacity remains challenging. Take health as an example. CYP with SEND will have a range of developmental, physical, and mental health care needs, addressed by a variety of staff groups to be found in different clinical settings including: nursing in both community, acute and mental health settings, clinical consultants in a similar range of settings, GPs in primary care, and healthcare visitors in the community. Adding to the challenges is the fact that those in any one of these staff groups will have clients which include but are rarely limited to CYP with SEND. With policies often framed by and centred on ‘children and young people with SEND’ as the named client group [1], the hidden nature of the workforce caring for and supporting them becomes a real challenge in meaningfully delivering on the policy initiative. Continue reading →

A giant in the field of autism: Reflections in honour of the life of Dr. Lorna Wing

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Valerie D'Astous

Valerie D’Astous

It has been said that a better tomorrow is built based on the efforts, determination and resilience of leaders of the past. English psychiatrist and physician, Dr. Lorna Wing was such a leader. She was instrumental in carving a path and showing us the way to move forward in the research of autism and improving the quality of life for individuals with autism. The world wide autism research community has lost its matriarch with Dr. Wing’s death last Friday, 6 June at the age of 85.

Dr. Wing focused her career on autism after receiving the diagnosis for her only child in the late 1950s. She was instrumental in defining autism as a spectrum, identifying the triad of impairments in autism, coining the term Asperger’s syndrome and helping to establish the National Autistic Society. She has been witness to and an agent for change in the research of autism and the autism community since its early beginnings.

Autism was first described in 1943 by American psychiatrist Leo Kanner and in 1944 by Austrian paediatrician and medical professor, Hans Asperger. Autistic Spectrum Disorder is a complex neurological developmental disorder that affects the way a person communicates and relates to people and the environment. The term ‘autistic spectrum’ is often used because the condition varies from person to person and can range in form from mild to very severe. Very little knowledge and few services were available when Dr. Wing’s daughter was diagnosed. For over 50 years, Dr. Wing was instrumental in autism research and advocacy, expanding our knowledge and promoting services and support for people with autism and their families.

In honour of the devotion and accomplishments Dr. Wing achieved in the recognition and understanding of autism spectrum disorder and for all people living on the autism spectrum we must continue her momentum, persisting in making steps in autism research, supportive services and collectively working towards what we have yet to achieve.

Dr Lorna Wing OBE 1928-2014 remembered at The National Autistic Society

Valerie D’Astous is a PhD Candidate at the Institute of Gerontology, King’s College London. Her research study focuses on the health care and supportive needs of adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Of particular concern for her is investigating how people with ASD are able to maintain their wellbeing following parental caregiving.

On World Autism Awareness Day

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Valerie D'Astous

Valerie D’Astous

Ten years ago, I was not aware of autism. Ten years ago, the adults with whom I now meet to discuss their social and health care services and needs, were struggling day to day with the challenges of autism. Most are still struggling today, only now I am aware of them. Conscious of their struggle, I cannot sit idly by. Today, 2 April is the seventh Annual World Autism Awareness Day. One day each year to raise awareness of what for a lifetime a person with autism confronts. Autism is a lifelong condition. This means that a child with social and/or behavioural challenges of autism becomes an adult with these same autism challenges. The adults with autism whom I have had the pleasure to meet are generally honest, helpful, polite and kind. Many are also vulnerable, fearful and nervous. They persevere against the odds and are often frustrated. Meeting these adults with autism and their family members has taught me more about autism than I could ever learn from a textbook or academic article. Their hopes and fears, strengths and weakness are imprinted in my thoughts and direct my actions for change. The greatest lessons learned and awareness acquired are through personal experiences. On this Autism Awareness Day, I urge you to take the opportunity to talk with and listen to someone with autism and/or their family member. What you will learn may change your life. Hopefully together with this knowledge and awareness we can become instruments for change, to create a safer, more secure and accepting environment for us all.

Valerie D’Astous is a PhD Candidate at the Institute of Gerontology, King’s College London. Her research study focuses on the health care and supportive needs of adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Of particular concern for her is investigating how people with ASD are able to maintain their wellbeing following parental caregiving.