LONDON, March 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Brookdale Care, one of the UK's leading providers of specialist hospital, residential and supported living services for people living with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD), has welcomed the publication of Rewarding and fulfilling lives: The strategy for adults with autism in England (2010).

The autism strategy sets out a clear vision for transforming the lives and outcomes for adults with autism:

All adults with autism are able to live fulfilling and rewarding lives within a society that accepts and understands them. They can get a diagnosis and access support if they need it, and they can depend on mainstream public services to treat them fairly as individuals, helping them to make the most of their talents.

The Adult Autism Strategy focuses on 5 key priorities - Increasing awareness and understanding of autism among frontline professionals - Developing a clear, consistent pathway for diagnosis in every area, which is followed by the offer of a personalised needs assessment - Improving access for adults with autism to the services and support they need to live independently within the community - Helping adults with autism into work, and - Enabling local partners to plan and develop appropriate services for adults with autism to meet identified needs and priorities.

The strategy highlights the unique challenges faced by adults with ASD in securing the support they need in order to live their lives to the fullest. These include service-engendered barriers to education, employment and the wider community which bring economic disadvantage, social isolation, and mental and physical ill-health for adults with autism.

Lesa Walton, Care and Development Director of Brookdale Care, said today;

Brookdale Care has been focussed on meeting the challenging needs of adults with autism for over 15 years. In this time we have seen the struggles families and adults with autism have had to face in order to gain the recognition and access to the support, clinical intervention and specialist services that they deserve. So we applaud the publication of the Adult Autism Strategy which confirms the growing weight of evidence that people with autism suffer social and economic exclusion; only 15% of adults with autism have jobs; adults with autism have poorer health than the rest of the population and 49% of adults live with and are dependent on their parents.

Around one in every hundred adults is living with ASD, but often their needs are simply not being met. The autism strategy is a very important step in the growing movement to ensure that recognition of autism and access to appropriate diagnosis improves and that autism specific services and support are readily available. The Government's vision will clearly need to be backed up by strong and effective delivery plans and we need the promised statutory guidance for health and social care bodies to support real change at a local level. Brookdale Care will continue to work in partnership with NHS trusts and local authorities to ensure effective support for some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

Notes for Editors: - Established in 1995, Brookdale is a family-run company specialising exclusively in the delivery of dedicated hospital and residential care facilities for people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC). - Brookdale Care provides specialist care services at our purpose built hospital at Milton Park in Wyboston, Bedfordshire - the first of its kind in the UK - and a range of residential homes in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and North London. - Brookdale Care's philosophy is to deliver the safe, comfortable living environments and structured routines needed by people living with ASC and to provide individually tailored support and encouragement to help each service user maximise their potential. - Brookdale's Milton Park Independent Hospital and nine residential homes enable us to provide a complete range of services across the autistic spectrum, from those diagnosed with Autism and Learning Disabilities to those with High Functioning Autism or Asperger syndrome. - Brookdale offers the following range of services: - Specialist staff trained in ASC and challenging behaviours - Comprehensive and ongoing assessments and care plans - Specialist support from a multi-disciplinary team of clinicians and therapists - Structured education, employment and leisure activities - Bespoke educational courses at local colleges - Independent living skills - Community integration and involvement - For further information please visit our website at http://www.brookdalecare.co.uk

For more information call Louise Barua, +44(0)1707-387853 or visit http://www.brookdalecare.co.uk/autism-news/article/630/Release-of-the-Ad...

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SOURCE: Brookdale Care

CONTACT: For more information call Louise Barua, +44(0)1707-387853