Numbers diagnosed with autism (FOI)

Request

I would like to know the number of people in Jersey who are diagnosed with autism. If the metric is available it would be great to get the number of people diagnosed with disability and without disability.

Response

The States of Jersey does not hold a central register of people diagnosed with Autism in Jersey and it is not currently possible to report on the number of people diagnosed by Health and Social Services (H&SS). The most recent information available is from early 2015:

The following is taken from a research project by Darren Bowring, Senior Behaviour Advisor, Community and Social Services.

"Based on the most recent population census in Jersey (2011) there were 78,342 adults resident over the age of 18. We can estimate from previous studies that around 2% of the population will have an intellectual disability (ID) (BPS, 2011) and 1.1% will have an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) (Brugha, McManus, Meltzer, Smith et al., 2009). In Jersey, this would estimate the adult population with ID to be 1567 and the adult population with ASC to be 862.

I identified that there were 353 adults with intellectual disabilities and / or autism known to services in Jersey (following cross reference of databases from H&SS, Education, Charities such as Mencap / Autism Jersey and Jersey Employment Trust). This gives a prevalence of ID / ASC of 0.45% (0.42% ID alone). This is in keeping with ID estimates of 0.33-0.48% from previous studies (Lundqvist, 2013; Holden & Gitlesen, 2006; Jones et al. 2008; Lowe et al. 2007).

This is also in keeping with previous research (Emerson, et al, 2001) that suggests around 22% of adult individuals with special needs will require input from services".

You may also be interested in this previous Freedom of Information response from the Education Department:

Support for children with autism (FOI)