Following last week's report, Autism in Schools: Crisis or challenge?, by the National Autistic Society (NAS), the Department of Health conceded that 'the number of children identified as having autism is increasing' and said it would study the report's findings 'very carefully'.
However, the health department suggested the rise in cases could be due partly to improvements in diagnosis and changes in the way ASD is defined. But the NAS said the quality of autism diagnosis and assessment remained 'patchy and variable'.
The NASreport is the result of a survey carried out in seven local education authorities in England, Wales and Scotland. Teachers in surveyed schools told the NAS that one in 86 children has special educational needs related to ASD, while one in 152 children has a formal diagnosis of ASD. This is higher than a recent estimate by the Medical Research Council, which suggested one in 166 children aged under eight has ASD.
The report asked, 'If it is true that diagnosis has improved in recent years, what does this mean for the children now in secondary school who remain undiagnosed or misdiagnosed?' It also questioned how many of the children currently being excluded from mainstream secondary schools might be found to have ASD.
Among the report's recommendations were that the Department for Education and Skills should sponsor research to establish minimum standards for the education of children with ASD; local education authorities should ensure training for all teachers, assistants and specialist professionals in awareness and understanding of autism; the Teacher Training Agency should include modules in basic teacher training on how children with ASD learn; and LEAs should collate and make use of data on the number of children with ASD to facilitate future planning.
Although the report did not survey children in pre-school settings, there are strong indications of an increase in autism among this age group. Sally Britton, who runs Snap! Childcare, an agency supplying nannies for children with special needs, said, 'I have just checked our database. We have 213 parents and 81 have children with autism.'
The report is available from NAS on 020 7903 3581.