Page 11 - SEN114 September/October 2021

SEN news
Charities launch new research and guide on adapting talking therapies for autistic children and adults
The National Autistic Society and Mind are launching new research and a good practice guide to support mental health professionals to adapt talking therapies for autistic children and adults.
With funding from the Pears Foundation, the free guide sets out how often simple adjustments and adaptations to talking therapies (which are used widely by the NHS to treat common mental health conditions) can make a huge difference to autistic people.
The guide was informed by the views of mental health professionals, over 1,500 autistic people and almost 2,000 family members. Autism is not a mental health condition. But high numbers of autistic people struggle unnecessarily from poor mental health and the National Autistic Society’s autistic supporters have said that this is their top priority. Previous research suggests that 70% of autistic children have a mental health problem (such as anxiety or depression), and 40% have more than one.
Higher rates of anxiety and depression in autistic people have been associated with lower life satisfaction, greater social difficulties, loneliness and insomnia. This can have devastating consequences and even lead to crisis, with some autistic people ending up in mental health hospitals. The coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated the mental health crisis for autistic people.
The guide’s top recommendations for professionals are:
• improve autism understanding for all staff through training
• make the physical environment in both waiting and therapy rooms less overwhelming
• provide clear, concise and specific information about what to expect from your service and sessions before therapy starts
• be flexible and adapt your communication to the needs of the person you’re supporting
• together discuss adaptations and adjustments you can provide so the person you’re supporting is aware of what they can ask for.
Caroline Stevens, Chief Executive of the National Autistic Society, said: “Our autistic supporters tell us that their top priority is improving mental health support.
“Alongside our campaigning, we and Mind want to help professionals delivering talking therapies to adapt how their support, so it works better for autistic children and adults. Thanks to funding from the Pears Foundation, we’ve produced this guide. We encourage everyone working in mental health
to read it and start thinking about how you can adapt your practice for autistic people.
“Training and small changes, like allowing autistic people who need it extra time to process and answer questions can be transformative. Find out more and download the free guide on our website: autism.org.uk.”
Kerry McLeod, Head of Information Content at Mind, said: “We’re proud to be part of this project and hope it makes a genuine difference to autistic children and adults.
“Many autistic people with mental health problems struggle to get appropriate support - and the pandemic has made things even harder. At Mind, we fight to make sure everyone with a mental health problem has access to the help they need so we were happy to contribute to this work.
“Campaigning for high quality, timely mental health treatment for everyone who needs it is central to our work. We hope this guide goes some way to helping autistic people affected by mental health problems to access the support they need and deserve.”
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