What we do
The issues
Autistic people are being failed, with devastating consequences. This can’t go on.
No matter their needs or circumstances, our research has found one unifying experience that all autistic people face – being marginalised and let down by society. This is seen across almost every aspect of autistic people’s lives.
High suicide rates – Autistic people are at least eight times more likely to die by suicide than non-autistic people.
Reduced life expectancy – Autistic adults die more than 16 years younger than non-autistic adults; this gap increases to 30 years for autistic people with a learning disability.
Poor mental health – 80% of autistic people suffer from mental health problems including severe anxiety and depression. This compares to 25% of the general population.
Diagnosis delays – More than 212,000 people are on waiting lists for autism assessments in England alone, despite the NICE target of 91 days. Anecdotally, we know thousands of children, young people and adults have waited years for assessment.
Lack of support following diagnosis – Just 4% of autistic adults and families of autistic children say that they were well supported in the 12 months following diagnosis.
Lack of appropriate educational opportunities – 74% of parents say their child’s school does not meet their needs. This figure has doubled since 2017.
Unemployment – Just 30% of autistic people of working age are in employment meaning the majority are living below the poverty line.
Our approach
We tackle these issues in a number of ways. By commissioning breakthrough research, working with the world’s leading academics, including Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre, and bringing that together with the real-life experiences of autistic people, we’re building evidence that can’t be ignored.
But evidence does not achieve change by itself. We also campaign from a position of authority, working with autistic people and their families to mobilise action and send strong messages to those who have the power to make change happen, whether that’s the Government, the NHS or the systems that impact autistic people’s daily lives.
We work in partnership with those who can help us make change happen as quickly as possible, taking opportunities to use our evidence to help fill gaps in support rather than waiting for others to act.
We are unafraid to challenge the status quo and to push for action to improve support for autistic people in the areas that matter to autistic people; employment, health and wellbeing, and quality of life, involving autistic people at every step.
We’re here to make a difference.
We’re Autism Action.
Campaigning
We know that urgent change is needed to save lives and increase inclusion, acceptance and respect for autistic people. We deliver evidence-led campaigning, but what does this mean? We believe in bringing together research and data with the real experiences of autistic people and their families to create powerful cases for change.
This means working to change the laws that most directly impact autistic people. Sometimes it means changing the policies that operate at a national or local level, other times it is about ensuring that the laws and policies that already exist are actually being implemented and followed.
Making these things happen involves using lots of different campaigning methods to share our evidence and apply pressure to achieve change. Here are some ways we are doing this:
- We work in partnership with other people who share our ambitions. In 2024 we wrote an Open Letter to the Government to raise the issue of autism and suicide, supported by charities, researchers and people bereaved by suicide.
- We take opportunities to speak to the media to increase awareness and understanding of the challenges facing autistic people.
- We identify gaps in data and partner with organisations to address them, such as our work with the National Child Mortality Database. Together we are working to identify what more can be learned from the data they collect and how their process of gathering that data can be improved in relation to autistic people.
- Where insight gaps exist, we are bringing together data and insight that already exists in public and identifying what can be learned from it. We have undertaken an analysis of as many Reports to Prevent of Future Deaths that we could identify that were about the deaths of autistic people.
- We also identify opportunities to keep awareness of the issues high and to place pressure on the system to respond. In February 2025, our CEO attended the United Nation’s scrutiny of the UK’s commitments under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. As a result of our work the United Nation’s committee specifically raised the issue of autism and suicide.
Parliamentary Events
We engage parliamentarians to build support for our work. Our first-ever event in Parliament will be held in partnership with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Health. This event will be an opportunity for parliamentarians, policy makers, and people with an interest in supporting our work to hear the latest research, hear from people with lived experience of autism and suicide, and explore how they can join us to make an impact.
The Lampard Inquiry
We are also engaging directly with the Lampard Inquiry, the UK’s first statutory inquiry into deaths in inpatient mental health settings. We believe a significant proportion of the more-than 2,000 deaths in Essex that fall into the inquiry’s remit will have been of autistic people. We are committed to seeing that the inquiry takes the opportunity to understand why autistic people died in inpatient settings and make clear, national recommendations to stop similar practices happening elsewhere in the UK.
In 2025 we will be bringing all these campaigning activities together and asking all autistic people, their families and loved ones, and the general public, to join our fight to make change happen to save lives. To be kept up to date on our activities please sign up to receive our newsletter.
