Autism charity calls for Government action

A UK autism charity is hitting out at the NHS mental health system believing it to be failing children with autism.

According to the National Autistic Society (NAS) more than 70 per cent of children with autism also have a mental health problem such as depression or obsessive compulsive disorder.

The charity believe these problems are preventable but that the NHS does not know how to help them, often making their conditions worse.

“Too many children with autism are developing preventable mental health problems and find themselves up against a broken system that doesn’t understand them or their needs,” says Mark Lever, chief executive of the NAS.

“All too often they receive inappropriate, ineffectual and sometimes harmful treatments. This has a devastating effect on families many of whom develop their own mental health problems as a result. Parents and professionals alike are crying out for more autism support. The NHS needs to know how to help them, and the Government needs to know it can’t wait.”

The charity discovered during recent research that 43 per cent of parents believed their child’s mental health had become worse because they could not access the services they needed.

A whopping 83 per cent of children with autism first experience mental health issues before the age of ten.

The consequences of these failures were also found to have a negative impact on the health of  the entire family.

Now NAS is launching a new campaign to bring these issues to light and tackle and make sure the right support is given to children with autism at the time they need it.

The You Need to Know campaign is calling on the Government to make sure mental health services really are working for children.

NAS has also developed a guide for families to help them access the support and services their children need.

For more information, visit www.autism.org.uk/youneedtoknow.