At a meeting of the cross-party autism group in November 2014, members of the autism community from across Wales told us that the Welsh Government's autism strategy was not delivering and people were being pushed further into crisis. The meeting voted unanimously for an autism Act. On January 21, 2015, I led an individual Member debate here that called on the Welsh Government to introduce an autism Act for Wales. Members voted in favour. In October 2016, I led a debate calling on the Welsh Government to bring forward an Autism (Wales) Bill during this Assembly term. This was defeated on whipped party lines. I was therefore delighted when my colleague Paul Davies brought forward proposals for this Member-proposed Bill.

Autism must have a statutory identity in Wales, with specific duties placed on, amongst others, local authorities and health boards. Reliance on the Welsh Government's revised ASD action plan and integrated autism service otherwise promises more of the same. Every single day, I and my office are contacted by autistic people or their family members in crisis because public service providers don't understand, or don't want to understand, what autism is, despite going on the training course. We're constantly having to advise public service providers, including the integrated autism service, on how things need to be done differently with autistic people. As guidance from the Inns of Court states:

'In order for people with autism to communicate effectively, there must be: early identification of their needs; the acquisition of comprehensive background information about the individual; careful consideration given to the communication environment; appropriate preparation of the individual for what is expected and a planned and flexible approach taken.'

They add:

'Consideration must be given not just to the types of questions asked, but also to the manner of how this is done. Timings, changes to scheduling and environmental factors (such as busy buildings) are all likely to affect the overall quality of a person’s evidence.'

It is therefore incumbent on public services to establish and adjust to an autistic person's social and communication needs, recognise the causes of an autistic person's heightened anxiety and therefore avoid treating the autistic person as the problem, which is happening every day as we debate this, as we move forward.

As we heard from autism advocate 'the Agony Autie' at the last meeting of the cross-party autism group, there is too much focus on interventions based on behaviour, not what is driving this behaviour. The first thing to ask is: are they in pain? As the National Autistic Society states,

'it has become clear that the picture painted by Welsh Government and some professional bodies, such as the Royal Colleges, differs significantly to the lived experiences of autistic people and their families.'

This goes for the WLGA too.

As the parent of people with neurodiverse and sensory loss conditions, I am not calling for condition-specific legislation for them, because they do not suffer the degree of discrimination, trauma and torture too often suffered by autistic people today. As the mother of an autistic son who committed suicide in 2018 told me:

'He appeared just a quiet, bright young man—they don't see the struggle these kids go through every day to survive in a neurotypical world.'  

Typical of many, a mother told me that her 13-year-old daughter had been out of education for four years due to lack of knowledge and understanding of autism. Another told me that her autistic daughter is 240 miles away in a mental health hospital as a result of years of anxiety due to a lack of understanding, another that

'early recognition of Autism is vital as many of the associated difficulties benefit from early intervention. My eleven year son never received this and will have a much harder life in consequence.'

Others stated, for example, that

'being Autistic is like being a non-person,' that

'people on the autism spectrum have a huge contribution to make to society but not when they are floundering without proper understanding, support and opportunities' and that

'as a parent of an Autistic child and as a professional school nurse it is fair to say that services for Autistic people are sadly lacking.'

Last April, I hosted and spoke at the Going Gold for Autistic Acceptance event in the Assembly, at which autistic adults put forward ideas of how we can all work together co-productively to ensure that we begin to tackle the discrimination against autistic people that has become, quote,

'the norm rather than the exception.'

Only a very arrogant politician would think they understand the needs of autistic people better than autistic people themselves.