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Matching resources to need
'Development of services for people with ASD should be sought through local health and joint planning mechanisms. Plans for development should be based on audit of current service provision, expenditure and training and should cover all the relevant agencies. The Scottish Executive should ensure that the audit, planning and relevant action has taken place in each area. This should be built on the mapping exercise being carried out by the SSA and NAS in Scotland.
Resources for systematic development of services for those with ASD should await completion of this audit.
Each NHS board with its local authority partners should ensure that existing resources are reshaped to address the issues raised in this report.
Thereafter additional resources should be allocated according to identified gaps in local provision.'
What has happened
Audit of existing services
All local authorities and NHS Boards were asked to complete a survey of their existing services and training provision to assist service commissioners in future service planning and delivery at local level. This data was analysed by statisticians within the Analytical Services Division and was published on the Scottish Executive web-site. This and other information about related developments can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care/18950/15906
The audit did not make a case for resources due to poor baseline information. Local agencies were asked to set out their plans for future services development in the 2004-07 Partnership in Practice Agreements (PiPs). The agreements outline a broad variety of plans and proposals for service development, ranging from appointing a development worker to audit ASD services, to converting areas within existing day services to accommodate the specific needs of people with ASD. Plans were outlined for children's services such as an outreach education service; secondary school bases; an after school care service; school holiday play-schemes and specially trained support workers to deliver local family support and short-breaks for children on the autism spectrum.
Other local partnership plans included involving service users in delivering Aspergers and autism training; developing specialist care pathways for people with ASD and developing a short breaks/respite strategy.
Pilot Projects
The Scottish Executive has funded a number of pilot projects, endorsed by the National Reference Group, which have developed innovative adult services in Greater Glasgow and Lothian, a project developing services for young people on transition from children's to adult services in Highland, and an ASD Coordinator in the Borders.
ASD Database
A related activity to the audit is the setting up of a database of people with ASD - again to assist with planning for the future. This work is being taken forward through the e SAY project led by the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability. The Scottish Executive awarded an additional £50,000 to the project, which will deliver a dataset of people with ASD for use primarily by local authorities and NHS Boards. Information about the database can be found on the Consortium website at www.scld.co.uk.
What still needs to happen
The ASD Reference Group recognise the need to build on the learning from the pilot projects to inform service development elsewhere. There needs to be change on the ground for more people with ASD and their families. The reference Group will address this through the new subgroups focussing on Commissioning and Policy into Practice.
Local Authorities need to continue to develop ASD friendly services and incorporate ASD awareness and accessibility into mainstream services such as leisure and recreation. Similarly mainstream health service providers need to ensure they are meeting the range of health needs of people with ASD.
Individuals and organisations, both local and national, need to be encouraged to proactively use the National Autism Service Network to build, support and raise awareness of local networks.
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