The UK government is developing1 a “strategy to support adults with autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) to live life as full and equal citizens”. AutreachIT believes that in ten years time we should be able to look back and say that…
People in care routinely have access to the Internet and other popularly used technology. The benefits of this are well known: people can communicate widely and easily, be part of things, be treated with respect, make their views known, stay connected with family and friends or advocates, and take photographs and make videos and post them to anyone else, anywhere. Mutual self help abounds.
Cheap VOCAs built in to smartPhones are commonplace, and the difference between the perfect speech they produce and the disabled speech of their owners no longer surprises people.
A personalised symbol-based satnav system allows tens of thousands of people who are currently under constant close supervision to get out and about by themselves, safely.
Excellent, autistic designed software for people less inclined to use language means that people at every level of apparent ability are able to enjoy and benefit from multimedia opportunities, meaning much less boredom and frustration – and chances for lifelong learning.
Features of telecare developed for an aging population are just as useful for helping keep autistic adults on track, making sure their fridges are cold enough, that their front door is properly locked when they go out, etc.
...Autistic-Space Kits (ASKs) are widely accepted:
The ASK is a signalling system embedded in a phone case which is nice to hold, stroke or squeeze, and is responsive in a soothing way (eg by changing colour softly, or purring), and can be turned into a signalling device to let people know that 5 minutes chill out time would be useful. For years now it has been a recognised way of asking for some autistic space for coping purposes.
Just like a white cane, when people see it in use, they adapt their behaviour supportively. Some people have personalised messages on their ASK; some people use private biofeedback to self-regulate before having recourse to their ASK.
Police everywhere recognise the ASK signal: arrests, restraints, prosecutions, and incarceration of autistic people under mental health laws have all been steeply reduced.
Within service provision, ‘challenging behaviours’ have been so reduced that thousands of hours of staff time are now available for more flexible and individually adjusted support systems to be in place for more people: key support for key needs, not supervision for risk management purposes. In schools, parallel successes have occurred.
...Autistic-led organisations are central to training and awareness raising:
The AutreachIT training pack will be widely in use for training trainers of support services for autistic adults.
AutreachIT workshops on e-inclusion to strategic stakeholders have raised awareness that how communication needs are met has a huge impact on both autistic costs and autistic potential.
...and as a result of these changes, autistic people are much more able to live independently:
Costs to the public purse are steeply reduced and autistic capacities are properly valued: the flawed assumptions behind economic projections3 back in the noughties have been replaced by evidence of the positive return on investment4 from support for autistic adults.
AutreachIT 10 year vision