Shaping a national survey about autism and ADHD assessment waiting lists
Background: With the number of people seeking autism and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) assessments in the UK increasing, and diagnostic services unable to meet the demand, waiting lists are growing rapidly. The diagnostic delays can have serious impacts on mental health, social wellbeing, and overall quality of life. For the assessment crisis to be […]
Helping us improve and expand the Community Network
Background: Autism Action’s Community Network aims to empower autistic people, and their supporters, to make more of a difference. We want to grow our empowerment work, from increasing representation of minority groups and groups often excluded, to exploring ways that network members can shape our work and influence Government decisions. First though, we wanted to […]
Network members tell paediatricians (specialist children’s doctors) what they need to know about autism
Content warning: This post mentions child deaths and suicide. Background: The NCMD (National Child Mortality Database) records how many child deaths there are in England and reports how many of these were autistic children. We’ve been working with the NCMD to improve data collection and reporting, so that children who were on a waiting list […]
Supporting us to finalise two academic papers on suicide prevention before they’re published
Content warning: This post discusses suicide. Background: Autistic people are at increased risk of suicide compared to the general population. As a charity, we wanted to invest in suicide prevention, but it wasn’t clear what areas autistic people, and their supporters, would want us to focus on. We therefore initiated a major project aiming to […]
Helping us rename the Community Advisory Panel to the Autism Action Community Network
Background: In the summer, we asked members of what was then known as the Community Advisory Panel to help us review the group’s name. We wouldn’t change the name of the group without getting the views of existing members, so we designed a survey to hear from as many people as possible. How this work […]
Shaping our community empowerment work
Note: This post was published in December 2025 as part of a new web design but the work was completed in summer 2025 Background: Like so many of you, we want to see better support for autistic people across their entire lives. We want to see a stronger, more united community of autistic people and […]
Helping us develop a survey about autistic people’s experiences asking for adjustments in the workplace
Note: This post was published in October 2025 as part of a new web design but the work was completed in summer 2025 Background: One of the potential barriers to autistic people being successful in employment is a lack of ‘reasonable adjustments’, which employers are required to put in place according to the Equality Act. […]
Contributing to our House of Lords Autism Act Committee response
Note: This post was published in October 2025 as part of a new web design but the work was completed in spring 2025 Background: This piece of work was responding to the House of Lords Autism Act Committee call for evidence. The committee wanted to hear from autistic people and their supporters on key issues, […]
Helping finalise our methods for bringing community opinions to the House of Lords Autism Act Committee
Note: This post was published in October 2025 as part of a new web design but the work was completed in spring 2025 Background: This piece of work was responding to the House of Lords Autism Act Committee call for evidence. The committee wanted to hear from autistic people and their supporters on key issues, […]
Sharing your language preferences and helping us decide whether we should develop this piece of work further
Note: This post was published in October 2025 as part of a new web design but the work was completed in summer 2024 Background The language used to describe autism and autistic people both reflects and influences the way people think about autism. Language can be offensive and stigmatising, or respectful and empowering. Autistic led organisation […]
