There was also backing for moves to establish the true number of people in Scotland who are on the autistic spectrum.

Caithness Parents' Autism Support Group organised Monday night's meeting in Thurso to discuss a new bill being spearheaded by Lib Dem MSP Hugh O'Donnell.

While endorsing the need for a statutory national framework, those present agreed it is vital services are properly resourced and managed at a local level to avoid a "postcode lottery".

Guest speaker Robert MacBean, policy and parliamentary officer for the National Autistic Society (NAS), said a Scottish-wide strategy was overdue.

He said: "We want to make sure that throughout Scotland, there's a baseline - a standard set for children and adults with autism. We want a standard of service which will be provided, whether you're in Thurso or in Dumfries."

Mr MacBean said the NAS's vision is to "accept difference, not indifference".

He said Scotland lagged behind England where a national strategy, backed by a new act, has just come into being.

He said: "In England, if you have autism and your local council and/or health authority haven't done anything to plan a service or support you, you can take them to court."

Wales and Ireland have also national action plans on autism.

The Scottish Government, he claimed, has been "caught napping" on the issue.

Mr MacBean said Mr O'Donnell's bill is currently being consulted on with the aim of it being put on the statute book later this year. He said that while it has commanded an encouraging level of cross-party support, it has opponents who claim it is not needed and would be too costly.

He added: "They say why have a law just for autism and ask about all the other conditions and disabilities out there."

Mr MacBean said that though autism is estimated to affect about one in 100 people, only 1349 of the 38,000 adults on the spectrum in Scotland are known to their local authority.

He said: "If this was any other disability, I think that would be considered a national outrage. Just how can so many people be unknown to the authorities?"

He said the majority of people with autism do not get appropriate support.

They are often referred to learning disability and mental health professionals, neither of whom can be of much help.

Mr MacBean said that effective early intervention costs significantly less than people being left with little or no support and ending up requiring crisis psychiatric care. Having a national strategy would also ensure more autistic people go into higher education and employment than is currently the case.

Part of the new duties on local authorities proposed in the new bill would be to properly identify, record and assess people affected by autism.

They would also have to draw up action plans and staff training programmes.

Mr MacBean said: "Presently, we have guidance on all of this. The new act would make it law."

Support group representative Mark Norton, who chaired the session, said the act can help people with autism make a larger contribution to society.

"I think it's vital we have a legal requirement for a good service and that the standards are laid down at a national level."

At the same time, he said, it is essential the demographics and geography of the Far North are taken account in how the service is managed. He favoured a co-ordinator being put in charge of its delivery in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.

Mr Norton said that there is a need for much greater support of adults with autism in the area.

He said: "You get reasonable support as a toddler and through your schooling. But when you reach 18, bang, you're pretty well left on your own.

"There's a real need for an improvement in the transition into adulthood."

iain-grant@ukf.net

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