For further research into the problem and to find further backing for my project I interviewed another specialist - Anna Smyth, clinical lead of childrens autism service in the south eastern trust. I asked her the same questions as with the Educational Psychologist, aiming to find patterns between both interviews to validate findings and understand how to best move forward with my project.

Q1 – What is your job and how do you interact with autistic people through your job?

• Consultant Clinical Psychologist
• Works in Children’s Services in the NHS
• Specialism is children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Worked in this field for over twenty years in assessment, diagnosis and intervention with regards to ASD.
  • Currently is the Clinical Lead for the Children & Young People’s Autism service in South Eastern Trust.
  • The assessment and diagnostic service that children aged between 3-18 years old will be referred to if they need an assessment for possible ASD in that area.
  • Provide post diagnostic support, advice and training to parents on a range of topics relevant to ASD.
  • Train Trust staff on ASD and how they need to adapt their practice when working with individuals with ASD.
• Also encompasses a pathway for children who need assessed for both ASD and ADHD at the same time.
• Manage the referrals and waiting list for the service, supervises the clinicians and makes decisions about the clients care in our team
• Manages complaints and responds to Assembly Questions about ASD services.
• Provides second opinions for the clinicians for complex cases, and provide consultancy for other children’s teams such as CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service).
• Also does diagnostic clinics, I tend to see the teenagers, girls or complex cases (eg co morbid mental health, trauma etc) in this clinic.
• Interacts on a daily basis with children and young people with possible ASD, with confirmed ASD, as well as their parents and carers.
• Supervises a team of clinicians who also only interact with this population as well on a daily basis.

Q2 – What challenges do you see autistic people face?

• Challenges that autistic people face can vary depending on their age, developmental stage, and aspects of their presentation/diagnosis such as their cognitive profile, sensory profile, emotional regulation skills

• Depends on other co morbid conditions they may have such as mental health difficulties, learning needs, trauma, ADHD etc.

• Presentation and needs can vary significantly between individuals, however in my view there are some common challenges seen most often;

  • Access to services : there is a significant disparity between the funding into ASD services and the needs of the population. The NHS cannot meet all these needs and families need more targeted, accessible services to meet their needs for this lifelong condition. The focus of funding has been on managing waiting lists for diagnosis, with far less targeted support for providing families with resources to manage while they wait and afterwards.
  • Education: a key driver for diagnostic services being under pressure is the need for support in education for children with ASD. We have a growing problem with autistic children and young people finding it increasingly difficult to attend school (see the research on EBSA and Autism – Emotion Based School Avoidance). They often do not have the supports required in order to attend mainstream schools, and special education services often don’t meet their needs as their cognitive profile doesn’t require this.
  • Anxiety : Anxiety is the key feature in any challenge that an autistic person faces. Many of the core features of ASD can be linked to some form of anxiety – whether the person is aware of it or not, and this drives many of the surface ‘behaviours’ we see. Anxiety explains the need for routine, the need to control the sensory environment, the need for preparation for change. It also explains the social difficulties autistic people face, their passion for predictable interests, and avoidance of environments where they feel overwhelmed.
  • Sensory : thinks whilst general awareness of ASD has improved a lot recently, one of the areas that many ‘lay people’ (not qualified ordinary people) don’t know about for autistic people is the sensory processing aspect of their condition. Sensory processing has such an impact on how our clients are able to manage in any environment – even a familiar one – and therefore many of the behaviours/ difficulties we get asked about, we always start with the basics of their individual profile of their diagnosis and go from there.

Q3 – What impact would you say technology has on Autistic people’s lives?

• Technology generally is one of the common interests that we see in clients, particularly males.
• High interests in gaming, which although can be viewed as a solitary activity, often allows them to interact online with others more easily than in person.