20 February 2014
Services which support both children and adults with autism run by Health and Social Services have been given official accreditation by the National Autistic Society.
Health and Social Services staff who work at Eden House, Aviemore and Adult Day Services have received the accreditation for their work, and this is being officially marked with a presentation of the award from the Society on Monday (24 February) at the Grand Hotel.
Robert Pritchett, Director of Accreditation from the National Autistic Society, will be at the event to present the awards. The National Autistic Society is a UK charity which campaigns on behalf of autistic people.
Assumpta Finn, Team Manager and Lead for Autism and Learning Disability at HSSD, said “This accreditation has been achieved by the hard work of all our staff who work with adults and children who have autism over the past couple of years.”
Unified standard of excellence
“We’re delighted that all three areas of service have been awarded accreditation by the National Autistic Society. The aim of accreditation is to achieve a unified standard of excellence both in policy and practice. This award provides evidence that services have achieved excellence in the delivery of services both for children and adults.
“Our aim now is to continue to develop services of this standard and maintain the national recognition we have now in place.”
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them. It is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways. Some people with autism are able
to live relatively independent lives but others may have accompanying learning disabilities and need a lifetime of specialist support. People with autism may also experience over or under sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours.
UK guidance cites a ratio of 1 in a 100 people have autism; therefore suggesting approximately 1,000 people on the spectrum residing in Jersey. Not all people will require the support of services but for those that do, support will be offered in a personalised way unique to that individual and their family and / or carer.
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