UK Autism Strategy Consultation - deadline today!

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Hi,

I'm sure you all know about this already, but just wanted to give a friendly reminder.

Just to let you know that the deadline to have your say about the UK Government’s Autism Strategy is today!

You can participate at http://adultautismstrategy.dialoguebydesign.net/

I would really urge you to participate because:

Even if they do ignore what you say, at least if you’ve participated you can go to them later on and say “why haven’t you taken into consideration what I / we said?” If you don’t participate you have no such comeback.

The Government have gone out of their way to include as few individual on the autistic spectrum as possible. As this strategy is supposed to be about helping us, it is imperative that we get our views across to the Government.

Despite experts who the government appointed demanding that they acknowledge the autistic rights movement and also include individuals on the autistic spectrum at all levels, the government wilfully omitted this from their consultation document. If you want to be included in the future and you want autistic rights to be acknowledged, now is your chance to tell them! If lots of people write in and say this, it makes it harder for them to ignore.

The government also ignored the need for changes to be made to legislation, the built environment, and the criminal justice system, to make it more accessible to people on the autistic spectrum. Again, if you want to see changes to these you have to tell them!

The government also ignored the need for there to be less negative portrayal of individuals on the autistic spectrum in the media. We are often portrayed as a burden, as suffering, as dangerous as ‘diseased’ and needing to be fixed. Or conversely we are portrayed in a partronising manner, or are made out to all be savants! If you want this to change, again, you need to tell the government.

Groups are welcome to submit responses (so you can submit one on behalf of your forum and you get to specify how many members your forum has which will give your feedback more weight) you can ALSO submit individual responses, although individual responses have to be from people in England. Group responses can be from anyone as long as some of the group are English.

Thanks.