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Today, The National Autistic Society launches its new campaign, You Need To Know.
Our research has found a shocking lack of support for many children with autism who also have mental health problems.
71% of children with autism also have a mental health problem. It doesn’t have to be like this. Children with autism can have good mental health just as anyone else can, and our new campaign aims to make this a reality.
Read in Full:Â http://www.autism.org.uk/en-gb/news-and-events/news-from-the-nas/nas-launches-you-need-to-know-campaign.aspx
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NHS ‘failing to support’ children with autism
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
The NHS is failing youngsters with autism, a charity warned today.
More than 70% of children with autism also have a mental health problem which is preventable or treatable, such as depression or obsessive compulsive disorder.
According to the National Autistic Society (NAS), these issues are often dismissed by health workers as “unfortunate” or “unavoidable” side-effects of autism.
One mother told the NAS her two teenagers with autism were self-harming and had tried to commit suicide but the family was only offered group therapy with a nine-month waiting list.
The NAS said another self-harming woman who was in hospital following a suicide attempt was told she had attachment disorder rather than autism. Her mother was blamed for not nurturing her as a baby. A diagnosis of autism was eventually reinstated.
Mark Lever, chief executive of the NAS, said children are often failed because their mental health issues can be difficult to diagnose.
Launching the charity’s Need to Know campaign, he said: “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.
“All too often they receive inappropriate, ineffectual and sometimes harmful treatments.
Read in Full:Â http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/nhs-failing-to-support-children-with-autism-1994411.html