Posts tagged childrenservices
Third Seminar - Cardiff
The Cardiff Autism Services Seminar takes place on 4th and 5th February. While the Newcastle seminar focused on public services for older individuals, the focus for the Cardiff seminar is on younger adults and children. Both seminars address key questions in relation to the inclusion of individuals in accessing services and the role of advocacy. They also highlight the importance of involving the views of autistic people and their families in decisions that affect their lives and the need for integration and partnership working in research and services. Day 1 particularly focuses on services for adults and Day 2 on children’s services with a special focus on services in Wales.
Questions we will address.
- What can we learn by listening to the experiences of autistic individuals and family members in relation to services?
- Why are there disparities in access to services and how can we reduce them?
- What changes are needed in public services and why?
- How can researchers engage more effectively with service professionals, autistic individuals and their family members?
- How can we ensure evidence based methods of assessment, support and social care take place across different agencies?
*please note seminar attendance is by invitation only. The seminar will not be recorded but you can follow it on twitter. There is also the discussion space on the Autism Research Policy Practice Hub http://www.autismrpphub.org/
Reflections on the Public Services seminar - Cardiff
Photo: Cardiff Speakers including Lisa Hurt, Jules Akers, Bev Winn, Anne Marie McKigney and Jill Grange
Jules Akers, an autistic adult participant at the Cardiff seminar, described his experience of the seminar in his in Reflections on the Public Services Seminar. Jules gave a presentation in the session called Consulting young adults about Services in which he offered some important insights from his own life as advice for future autism services. Another Cardiff presenter, Alex Lowery, shares Jules Akers’ story in his blog Alex Lowery Speaks About Autism. You can also read Alex’s own story and his other recent articles about autism here.
Co-host of the Cardiff Seminar and the mother of a young adult on the autism spectrum, Lynda Morgan, gives her thoughts on the seminar in Reflections of a Cardiff Co-host.
Public Services Seminar Outcomes: Small Group Discussions
We asked groups of ten people who were from different backgrounds (researchers, autistic individuals, parents and professionals from health, government or charity sectors) to discuss these questions;
- What new partnerships and ways of working are needed to undertake high quality public services research? (Newcastle)
- How can we reduce disparities in access and entitlement to adult services? (Cardiff)
- How can we ensure that evidence-based services are being provided for children and their families? (Cardiff)
Here is an example of the themes that emerged from one of these questions (Cardiff).