As I work with a lot of parents of children with autism, I thought it would be of interest to share the findings of this new government report.

Key recommendations from the report

• The Government should develop a national autism and education strategy by the end of 2019 that includes:
• training for school staff

• reasonable adjustments for pupils on the autism spectrum in schools

• provision of a specialist curriculum for all pupils who need one

• measures to reduce bullying and promote inclusion

• and guidance for local authorities on commissioning the full range of educational provision and support.

• Autism understanding should be embedded in the education system, with autism training for all teachers, including head teachers, and ongoing funding for the Autism Education Trust.

• Local authorities should collect data on the number of children and young people in their area who are on the autism spectrum, and on the profle of their needs and use this data to plan and commission the school places and other services
they will need.

• There should be a presumption by local authorities that a child with an autism diagnosis may need an education, health and care needs assessment, and this should be carried out when it is requested.

• A clear accountability framework should be put in place that requires local authorities and maintained schools, academies and free schools to be clear and transparent about how they are adhering to the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice.

• The Department for Education should review the funding that is available to local authorities to support the implementation of the Children and Families Act 2014, and allocate additional funding if it is needed to help complete the transition to the
new SEND system.

• Ofsted should be required to monitor implementation of the Children and Families Act 2014 more closely in local areas and should report on it to Parliament annually.

• The local area SEND inspection programme should be made permanent so that every local area is inspected on a regular basis.

• Local authority staff and school staff should receive training in the requirements of the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice.

Click here for the full report  National Autistic Society-APPG

• Put in place strategies for improving and maintaining your motivation
• Review other goals, and reframe them in a way that will make achieving them not only realistic but much more enjoyable
• Understand other people’s motivators and be able to support them to be more motivated