Count me in

The Scottish Government, local authorities and community health partnerships (CHPs) do not know how many adults with autism live in their area. As a result, these adults are invisible to local services and the wider community. The collection and sharing of information about adults with autism would ensure that individuals who require support are identified and that local authorities and CHPs can plan and develop services to meet their needs.

  • 60% of local authorities keep no record of the number of individuals with autism in their area.
  • 92% of CHPs keep no records of individuals with autism in their area.


The Scottish Government should:

  • ensure that local authorities and health agencies meet their responsibilities as set out in The same as you, to record the number of adults with autism in their area.


Local authorities and CHPs should:

  • establish local databases to record the number of adults with autism in their area.

Meet my needs

A lack of appropriate support can have a devastating effect on the lives of adults with autism and their families. All adults with autism who require it should receive support to meet their individual needs.

  • 56% of adults with autism receive services from their local authority and/or health board.
  • 51% of adults would like to receive social skills support, but only 14% receive it.
  • 57% of parents and carers agree that a lack of timely support has resulted in their son or daughter having higher support needs in the long term.


The Scottish Government should:

  • expand capacity, expertise and leadership on autism across all departments.


Local authorities and CHPs should:

  • recognise the benefits of, and allocate resources to, preventative services including social skills training, befriending and social groups and ensure that all adults with autism are able to access them
  • appoint a named person or group responsible for planning and delivering autism services
  • develop provision to meet the needs of adults with autism, including those with no learning disability, in their Partnership in Practice agreements.

Understand my needs

A lack of training and awareness of autism, as well as the barriers created by the way local agencies are structured, mean that the needs of adults with autism are not properly understood and the services they so urgently require are often unavailable.

  • 51% of adults have experienced problems in trying to receive support from their local authority or health board.
  • 31% of adults say that after receiving a diagnosis they received no further support and were just left to carry on struggling.
  • 52% of adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome report that the gap between learning disability and mental health services is a significant barrier to them receiving support.


The Scottish Government should:

  • produce and promote guidance on autism for local service commissioners
  • provide guidance for local authorities and CHPs on how to bridge the exisiting gap between learning disability and mental health services.


Local authorities and CHPs should:

  • ensure that staff carrying out care needs assessments are fully trained in autism
  • ensure that social care support staff who come into regular contact with adults with autism have access to sufficient training and information
  • establish a clear route to enable adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism to access assessment and services.