Autistica is one of the UK’s leading autism research-based charities. Based on priorities identified by autistic people they have identified six goals they want to achieve by 2030. Their goals aim to increase the quality of life for autistic people, enabling them to live healthier, happier and longer lives. Autistica aims to achieve these by funding research to identify what works. Then they will advise and influence key partners to implement these solutions to improve the lives of autistic people.
The 6 goals identified they hope to see achieved by 2030 are:
- By 2030 autistic people will have support from day one. Some autistic people can find it difficult to get a diagnosis, and following this, many individuals feel that they do not have the support they need. Their aim is to make specialist support accessible for autistic people and their families from day one to ensure that they receive the help they need when they need it. People will be empowered to learn more about their diagnosis and have access to the tools they need to lead a healthier life
- By 2030 employment rate will double. Autistica have identified that while many autistic people are willing and able to work, inaccessible recruitment processes can make this more challenging. By 2030 they want to increase accessibility of recruitment and working practices for autistic people. Specialist employment support will be provided for autistic individuals as needed. Employers will also be able to access training and information about how to better support autistic people in the workplace.
- By 2030 autistic people will have proven treatments for anxiety. It is common for autistic people to also have anxiety which can have a negative impact on their day-to-day life. By 2030 Autistica aims to ensure that autistic individuals and their families can receive relevant support and evidence-based therapies to prevent, mitigate and reduce anxiety at all ages. Services will also be able to identify mental health risks and intervene as early as possible.
- By 2030 public spaces will be more accessible for neurodivergent (e.g., autistic, ADHD, dyslexic) people. As also identified in our research, the sensory aspects of public places can make them difficult for autistic people to access. The additional social demands can also make these challenging at times. Autistica aim to support existing public places to increase their inclusivity for autistic people and encouraging new developments to be designed with neurodiversity in mind. This may also include helping neurodivergent people to be able to access up-to-date information on existing public spaces so that they can prepare for these in advance.
- By 2030 every autistic adult will be offered yearly health checks. Research has identified that autistic people have higher rates of health problems (such as epilepsy, anxiety, and depression) throughout their life span. This means that autistic people may die at a younger age than neurotypical people without support. Autistica wants all autistic people to receive regular access to specialist healthcare check-ups. This will include providing GPs with the resources to support autistic people including how to adjust appointments to suit a person’s needs. This may include information about changes to how assessments are conducted, changes in communication style between patients and doctors and increased identification of co-occurring health conditions.
- By 2030 attitudes towards autistic people will change. Negative attitudes towards autistic people and their experiences can make it more challenging to access support and services, and Autistica has identified that approaches such as the Human Library can help to address prejudices people may have. Platforms such as this aim to educate and change changing negative opinions around topics such as autism. Part of this aim includes identifying successful approaches that can positively change attitudes towards autistic people so that these can be used to support change.
Here at Sensory Street we are particularly interested in Goal 4, as the work that we are doing aims to help identify the challenges that certain public spaces such as supermarkets have for autistic people. We want to use our immersive event in 2022 to help educate people about how spaces could be adapted to support neurodiverse people. We will also be adding more information about the work we are doing to our website and social media pages over the next few months, so keep checking back to learn more about our project.
Learn more about Autistica’s 2030 goals on their website.
Raveen
Sensory Street 