Don’t Write Me Off – NAS campaign

The National Autistic Society has today released figures showing that only 15% of adults with an autustic spectrum disorder are in full time paid employment.This means that 85% of the 300,000 people with an ASD may only find part-time work, most probably low-paid and rely on family for support and benefits for income. The NAS also says that many of those who do rely on government help are finding it extremely difficult to navigate the benefits system since changes were made to incapacity benefit.

We are not talking here about the work-shy, we are talking about people who want to work, to have some level of independence but who find the world just isn't set up to help people like them. The NAS is launching its 'Don't Write Me off' campaign and says a key problem is that staff at the Jobcentre Plus, where jobs are advertised and who decide which benefits someone is entitled to, have a lack of understanding of autism.

This statistic is extremely worrying for us as a family with two sons with Asperger's Syndrome.Although our children are both in a school where learning skills for life is an important priority, what happens to them if they encounter problems through ignorance or prejudice from those in authority when they go out into the wider world? It is the aim of the school that by the time they leave, they will be as well equipped as anyone else, if not better, to deal with adult life but as we parents of ASD children know, for them, unexpected and unforseeable events can be extremely difficult to deal with.

The NAS found that:

• just 15% have a full-time job
• one-third are currently without a job or access to benefits
• 79% of those on Incapacity Benefit want to work.

The National Autistic Society is demanding that the system should be made to work for people with autism and the Government must deliver on its commitment that no one should be 'written off'. It says adults with autism need:

• Employment and Support Allowance to work for them
• Jobcentre Plus staff to understand and meet their needs
• a national strategy to transform access to employment.

I have just emailed my MP, Jeremy Hunt in Surrey South-West to ask that he supports this campaign. You can do the same with your Member of Parliament using this link: http://www.dontwritemeoff.org.uk/ It takes just a couple of minutes and you can feel satisfied that you have done something today to help people with autism.

• About
• Latest Posts

Follow

Tania Tirraoro

Founder, Co-Director at Special Needs Jungle

Founder of Special Needs Jungle. (She/Her) Parent of two young adults with autism. New grandma. Tania, who is autistic, is a leading SEND advisor, working with the Special Education Consortium, Ofsted, and Whole School SEND. She is also an Advisory Board member of the Royal Holloway, University of London Centre of Gene and Cell Therapy and an Editorial Board member of Springer Nature Gene Therapy journal.
Tania is an experienced broadcast and print journalist & author. She also runs a PR, web & social media consultancy, SocialOro Media.
Tania is a rare disease & chronic pain patient advocate with Ehlers Danlos syndrome.

Follow

Latest posts by Tania Tirraoro (see all)

• WEBINAR RECORDING: Will the SEND Improvement Plan fix provision for disabled children and young people? - March 16, 2023
• Can you legislate for love? The Government’s plans for children’s social care aims to - February 3, 2023
• Don’t make it harder to get EHCPs warns Equality and Human Rights Commission as DfE considers “raising the bar” - January 26, 2023