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Greater Manchester has launched its project to become the first Autism Friendly city in the UK, as promised in the mayoral manifesto put forward by Andy Burnham back during his election campaign. The strategy is now in effect with autistic people and their families, as well as the Greater Manchester Autism Consortium working together to produce and deliver the project across the whole region.
The strategy sets out four key areas of improvement including making sure public services are accessible, improving health and care and improving employment opportunities among others.
Speaking about the strategy, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “Although some progress has been made in recent years, too many autistic people and their families are not receiving the support they need. We want to change that in Greater Manchester. Although diagnosis and post-diagnostic support is vital, this is not just a health and social care issue – it’s also about improving access to services, to employment, transport and more. Through this strategy we will deliver a city-region-wide strategy that embraces the needs of autistic people and supports everyone to reach their full potential.”
Mark Lever, Chief Executive of the National Autistic Society, which runs the Greater Manchester Autism Consortium, says,
“We are delighted to see Greater Manchester leading the way by launching the first ever regional strategy approach to making its community autism-friendly, with the support of the Mayor, Andy Burnham.
“Since the ground-breaking Autism Act in 2009, we have seen some progress improving and increasing support and services for autistic adults across England. But it hasn’t been enough, far too many autistic people and families continue to miss out on support and end up struggling and becoming extremely isolated.
“We need authorities to come together and think differently about how they can create a society that works for autistic people. Greater Manchester is taking the first step towards this new way of working, building on considerable insight from autistic people and families who have been working with the Greater Manchester Autism Consortium over the last two years.
“I thank the Mayor for his continued commitment to improving the lives of autistic people and their families and look forward to working together to achieve an autism-friendly Greater Manchester.”
