Autism Involvement Group (AIG) summary September 2023
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Strategic, Commissioning and System updates – ‘Updating our Adult Social Care Vision and Strategies’:
A member of Devon County Council (DCC) gave an update on the current status of their actions that have been logged from previous AIG meetings. Unfortunately due a restructure within the NHS an attendee was unable to attend the meeting to give an update on the Learning Disability and Autism Partnership (LDAP) however hoping some update will be available before the next AIG.
Operational Update from Autism and ADHD team (Devon County Council/Social Care):
A high number of vacancies are being recruited in positions clinical, management and administration; this will impact wait times. People on the waiting list can get updates on their process by either visiting the DAANA waiting times website or email in.
Silver Cloud is a post diagnostic package that can help support individuals before they receive their official diagnosis. The current status is this Silver Cloud online program is being drafted however people who use services will be asked to get involved in the process and asked for their views.
Oliver McGowan training:
A presentation was shared with AIG members that covered information around:
- Background
- Devon Roll Out Project Team
- The Training
- Devon Roll Out Project Aims
- Devon Roll Out Project Challenges
- What has been done so far…
- Year 0 – what’s left to do?
It was discussed that the training is nearly ready to be delivered however, the only delay now is training the trainers due to it needing to be delivered at a national level so we have to wait for getting the confirmation to start the training. Living Options Devon (LOD) will help continue to support in the delivery of training, feedback was given at the meeting on behalf of a trainer and wanted to note that the trainer felt well supported by LOD and their reasonable adjustments were respected.
Adult Social Care Website:
A member of DCC attended the AIG to give an update on the current status of the Adult Social Care Website and the functions it has as a result of the feedback that was given from previous AIG meeting’s by members; it was reiterated that the website was still in the beta stage and not fully completed so comments are encouraged to continue to improve the website. They went through main webpages including: independent living, support, disabilities, additional support and helplines, assessments etc. After the website was presented, the group was encouraged for any questions or suggestions they may have either to clarify anything they didn’t fully understand or contribute to the development of the website.
Dimensions for Autism (DFA):
There has been a large piece of working with LOD and 10 DFA members, they were provided funding by the NHS to form a focus group about barriers presented when accessing healthcare for autistic adults.
DFA attended the Respect festival over the summer alongside other professionals. DFA members were approached by a large group of Talkworks staff and were asking lots of questions that they may find useful to know. Lots of people that spoke with members from DFA learnt that autism wasn’t classed as an learning disability.
An AIG member wanted to take this opportunity to thank the DFA members for the work they do and contributions the group makes; the AIG member also thanked everyone who keeps DFA running.