Call for shake-up to improve autism care

THE director of a leading Scottish autism charity has called for a “shake-up” in the way care packages are allocated to families to ensure financial resources go to those who need them most.

Speaking on World Autism Awareness Day today, Alan Somerville, director of Scottish Autism, said the “one size fits all” approach was financially wasteful and that a business technique known as “micro segmentation” could improve the quality of life for many sufferers.

The business practice examines in depth the needs of different customers by dividing them into “segments” and offering appropriate products after costs have been calculated. It is estimated that around 60 in every 10,000 people north of the Border suffer from autism spectrum disorder, a lifelong developmental condition leaving sufferers with communication and social interaction problems.

Autism Scotland is aiming to launch the first ever research project looking at the entire spectrum of autism and costing the care needs.

The charity, which has already been given £250,000 from the Scottish Government, needs to raise the same amount again for the two-year project.

Mr Somerville, former commercial director of ScotRail, said stereotyping people with autism meant a whole range of behaviours, and therefore appropriate care, could be overlooked by providers.

“There’s the misconception everyone with autism is like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man or else they are extremely high functioning,” he said.

“In fact there is a whole range of people on what is known as the autism spectrum ranging from those needing 24-hour care to someone like Gary McKinnon, the computer hacker. But you can’t just say that although they are on the same spectrum they are the same.

“The primary objective of the project is to identify the escapable costs of autism – those which would not be incurred with early and appropriate intervention.

“For example, it is known that the most disabled or complex cases will not end up in the criminal justice system, but high-functioning people with Asperger’s syndrome are hugely over-represented in the prison population compared with society as a whole.”

Andrew Turnbull, a retail expert at the Aberdeen Business School at Robert Gordon University, said while a business approach was “probably overdue” it would face problems.

“Micro-segmentation is much more expensive per head in terms of who you are reaching but the rewards are greater and there is less wastage.

“But the problem for this proposed project is that the providers will be accountable to far more people, and quite rightly so, than in the private sector where the profit motive allows you to focus on the bottom line.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “Our £13.4 million autism strategy was launched in November to build on improvements to services and to ensure that people with autism and their families are supported by the widest possible range of social care, education, housing, employment and other community based services.

“Only a few weeks ago we announced almost £300,000 of funding for support services and we have committed to recruit nine local autism co-ordinators in the coming months. We are also working with Autism Initiatives, Scottish Autism and the National Autistic Society to develop one-stop-shops for people with autism and their families.”