Mental health and autism: Falling between the gaps

This is a report by Healthwatch Wiltshire. This report highlights the findings from two surveys, one for autistic people and one for their carers, which gathered their experiences of accessing mental health services in Wiltshire over the last three years. 

This work follows on from a previous project with Wilshire Service Users Network (WSUN) in 2021 that aimed to gather the views of people with autism spectrum conditions and their carers about health, care, and support services in Wiltshire. 

It is clear that autistic people and their carers have struggled to access support for their mental health, and this has had a serious impact on them and their families. 

We heard from 54 people in total, 28 people who described themselves as autistic, 26 carers of people with autism. 

There are recommendations in this report.

• Deliver autism training for all mental health staff, preferably led by an autistic person or someone with lived experience, that provides practical advice and techniques for engaging with autistic people. This would be in addition to training to raise awareness of autism (such as the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training).

• Provide more staff for CAMHS and mental health services who understand autism.

• Consider the recommendations that have already been made in our previous report and consult with autistic people to put in place reasonable adjustments and more flexibility, to make it easier for autistic people and their carers to access mental health support and 

maintain treatment.

• Create mental health solutions/therapies that are more suited and helpful to autistic people, recognising their neurodivergence.

• Recruit ASC specific professionals to help at times of crisis with respite/practical support/network co-ordination and support for the carer. 

• Recognise that an autistic person may mask their condition - assess them more than once or ask a carer/family member for their input and views.

• Provide options for how people contact a service - offer online/email contact to those who have difficulty making phone calls, and vice versa. 

• Tailor the service to their individual needs rather than be diagnosis-led: Provide more face to face contact if it’s easier for the autistic person.

There are no follow up actions in this report. 

However there is an acknowledgement from the ICB.