Voyage Care have signed up for the National Autistic Society’s “Not Enough” campaign, which demands better support and services for autistic people in England. The campaign is based on the findings of an inquiry published in September 2019 by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA) and the National Autistic Society. This inquiry dives deep into the impact of the Autism Act, that was introduced ten years ago.

Some key findings from the inquiry are that shockingly only 38% of autistic adults in England were aware of the Autism Act itself. 58% of autistic adults said that they need more access to services such as counselling. Finally, around 327,000 autistic adults told the NAS that they felt they were not getting the support they need in general, this works out to be around 71% across England.

Why are we supporting the campaign?

We believe supporting this campaign is extremely important as we take our commitment to supporting autistic people across the UK seriously. We’re also encouraging all of our staff to take part too.

We are proud to already be working with the National Autistic Society to accredit 37 of our services. Ten of these services have already achieved their accreditation!

Raj, our Specialism Implementer in Quality Management, has expressed the importance of the campaign, saying “This campaign will help generate increased awareness about the varying needs of autistic people. It encourages people to think and see the world differently and understand autistic people’s perspectives.”

We’re also dedicated to excellent training. Staff have told us that the learner led two-day autism accredited course we deliver was “the best two days I’ve ever spent in a classroom” and “it made me realise that my mood effects the people that I support.”

The NAS’s inquiry also states that 77% of unemployed autistic people want to work, according to the The Autism Employment Gap report. Helen Ellis of the National Autistic Society has stated that normalising autistic people in the workplace should be straight forward. “Autistic people are not the only people with needs; parents with school runs have needs, people suffering bereavement have needs. We need to normalise it so that it does not need to be disclosed like a top secret.” Building this understanding and appreciation is important and will help society to be more inclusive.

If you’re interested in signing up to the campaign and reading the report in full go to: https://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/media-centre/news/2019-09-09-not-enough-campaign.aspx

You can also read our autism leaflets to find out more about our specialist services:

For individuals and family members

For professionals

• 
• autism
• nas
• National Autistic Society