 The final item of business today is the member's business debate on motion number 1-446, in the name of Mark McDonald, on making Scotland autism friendly. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put, and I would be grateful to those members who wish to speak in the debate. Could press the request to speak buttons now. I call on Mark McDonald to open the debate. Seven minutes or so, Mr McDonald. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I begin by thanking those members from across the chamber who signed the motion which we are debating this evening. I welcome our guests from the National Autistic Society Scotland and Autism initiatives who are in the gallery. I'm aware that there are a number of people who will be watching this debate via the live streaming function. Earlier today, Presiding Officer, I attended a short ceremony to hand over this plaque to the Scottish Parliament. It is the Autism Access Award, which is awarded to organisations who have taken steps to make themselves accessible to individuals on the autistic spectrum. The Scottish Parliament is the first public building in Scotland to achieve this award. It is a great testimony to the efforts of the staff of the Parliament who have done that. It was great to be there and to meet some of the Parliament's autism champions. I am aware that there will be work being undertaken throughout the Parliament to increase awareness and understanding of autism among members of staff in the Parliament. It is a great credit to them. Tomorrow, Presiding Officer, is World Autism Awareness Day. During World Autism Awareness Week, it is important that we take the opportunity to highlight good work that is being done and celebrate that, but also to outline our aspirations and our goals to go further and to do better in the areas that we want improvement in. The motion is framed in such a way that we want to set an ambitious target for Scotland. Let's look at some of the good work that is being done at present. We see the autism toolbox being rolled out as a resource to be used in our schools. I am aware that that is being welcomed by parents and teachers across Scotland. We have seen a number of relaxed performances in our theatres and cinemas, which have opened up cultural experiences to people who, for too many years, found themselves excluded from being able to enjoy things that those of us would take for granted as basic as, for example, the Christmas pantomime. We have seen the production of local autism strategies across Scotland in the wider framework of the Scottish strategy for autism. We would all accept that some local authorities took that forward a little bit quicker than others did, but there has nonetheless been progress made across Scotland and it is worth recognising that. On Friday, on the first day of World Autism Awareness Week, I was able to attend part of the national autistic society conference that took place in Aberdeen. At that event, the National Autistic Society Scotland launched their campaign for autism-friendly Aberdeen to try to get Aberdeen to become the first city in the UK to be recognised as autism-friendly. That will involve a range of work being done across both the public and the private sector in order to increase awareness and understanding, in order to make services more receptive and more open for people on the autistic spectrum, and it will also deliver wider benefits beyond that. I think that there are areas where we need to look at where the challenges are arising in order that we can achieve that outcome and where there is still work to be done. If we look, for example, in the area of diagnosis, I know from personal experience that getting early diagnosis is something that we are seeing some improvements in, both in terms of my own experiences with my son but also in terms of the experiences of other parents who I have come into contact with. However, I think that when we look at diagnosis for older children, particularly into the teenage years and also crucially for adults, I think that we still are seeing some difficulties in an ability to obtain a diagnosis and also the length of time that it takes to diagnose. There are still too many people, 27 per cent in 2013, who said that they felt they had been misdiagnosed initially. We have to look at how we can get better in terms of diagnosis. When asked in 2013 as part of the Countessin report that the National Autistic Society produced, 61 per cent of the respondents said that they felt relief once they had been given a diagnosis. A diagnosis can open up the opportunities to access support that is obviously not available without a diagnosis. I will come back to that later on in terms of other things that need to be done. In terms of employment and employability, I have heard testimony from individuals who have found themselves excluded from the jobs market as a consequence of their autism, when subtle changes to the workplace or, indeed, a recognition of the strengths and talents of individuals on the autistic spectrum would allow employers the opportunity to gain members of staff who would vastly contribute to their workforce and to their business. There are some employers who are very good in offering employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities in general. However, I feel that there is more that employers could look to do to support individuals on the autistic spectrum into employment. The final area that I have seen during the course of my campaign work and also through the testimonies that I have received is around the transitions that take place where an individual goes from being the responsibility of children's services to adult services to older people's services. Often it is felt and there is a perception that the view of many organisations is that autism is something that affects children. We need to break down some of those perceptions and make organisations understand that the support that an individual requires in childhood, while not necessarily needing to be absolutely mirrored, cannot simply be radically altered at the point at which they move to being the responsibility of adult services and making sure that there is a clear path for that individual as they move through the different age brackets in terms of how social care services address their needs. There are wider benefits that can be recognised, as a result of Scotland becoming more autism friendly. A recognition and understanding of sensory issues will benefit those who are not necessarily on the autistic spectrum but have associated conditions. One group that has come to me today on my Facebook page is individuals who have children or relatives who have been diagnosed with what is called pathological demand avoidance, which is associated with autistic spectrum disorder but does not always get the support that perhaps they feel it deserves. Minor adjustments can lead to major differences and major benefits. That is something that needs to be emphasised to employers, to private sector organisations, to public sector bodies. We are not talking about them needing to make drastic changes to the way that they deliver services or the way that they operate in relation to customer services. Often it is very minor adjustments but they make a major difference to the individual who is affected. Thirdly, in terms of getting more people on the autistic spectrum into employment and sustaining that employment, we will have great benefits to the wider economy through the increase in productivity and employment. Is it going to be challenging for us to get there? Yes. Is it going to be unachievable? I see no reason why that should be the case. If we have the will, then we can get there. I hope that the Scottish Government will be on board with this ambitious campaign to make Scotland an autism friendly nation. I know that the Presiding Officer was delighted to receive on behalf of the Parliament this afternoon the Autism Access Award that Mr MacDonald refers to. I am also pleased to put on the record that this is a great tribute to all of the Scottish Parliament staff who have worked so hard to make this possible. We now turn to the open debate. Speeches of four minutes or so please. I call Malcolm Chisholm to be followed by Graeme Dey. I congratulate Mark McDonald on bringing Autism Awareness Week into the chamber again and his dedication in helping to raise awareness of this important issue. I apologise to him and the minister because we all on this side actually thought that this would debate was tomorrow, so I am supposed to be somewhere else. In fact, the second Labour Speaker is not here for that reason as well. When you visit the National Autistic Society Scotland's website, you see as a head of the slogan, accept difference, not indifference. I think that this is a principle that should also underpin an autism friendly nation. In fact, we should celebrate difference in this week of events. The theme of this year's event is stand-out for autism, which I think reflects the need to encourage personal pride and self-belief in a sense that we all stand out in our own way. In Awareness Week 2015, the National Autistic Society wants us to stand out together. In a similar debate last year, we discussed the importance of ensuring that individuals with autism do not feel cut off from the mainstream of everyday activity. As the National Autistic Society pointed out, autism is a spectrum condition that means that, although some of the barriers faced by individuals may be the same, the condition will affect them in different ways and many are able to live relatively independent lives. A former intern in my office, David Nicholson, has gone on to become a supporter of the National Autistic Society and is a former youth patron for ambitious about autism. Last week, he gave me his thoughts about the need for Scotland to become a truly autism-friendly nation. He said, "...artistic people have the talent and potential to do very well in society. They want to contribute positively to Scottish life, the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Government and others must do all they can to help to support those on the spectrum who reach their fullest potential." There is still a long way to go before Scotland is an autism-friendly nation. We need to work together to ensure that people on the spectrum get the chance to show what they can do in the workplace. Too few have that opportunity and too much talent is going to waste, which is a tragedy. We also need to ensure that our education system can be as autism-friendly as possible, too. That means learning from what other countries are doing and making sure that each school is autism-friendly by holding autism awareness events for staff and pupils. It is essential that all school staff have autism training. David Wood, I am sure, like Mark McDonald, has welcomed the introduction of autism toolboxes to Scottish schools in 2009 and they are continued updating as new resources become available. He is correct in saying that training should be available to all teachers to recognise autism and help to provide the right support. There is much more that could be said about education, but I want to move on to employment because the theme of autism awareness this year is employment. I am glad to see a number of organisations in Scotland with specific focus in this area. Autism Scotland has a thriving network of outreach support services across central Scotland. Those individuals receiving the report have an agreed number of hours of provision per week, ranging from two hours to 26 hours. It is estimated that only 15 per cent of autistic adults in the UK are in full-time employment. I am sure that we all agree that that is far too little, especially when we acknowledge how much talent they can bring an offer to a professional environment. Research suggests that people on the autistic spectrum have many exceptional capabilities, some of which are a real necessity in a professional environment, for instance, because of their legal, logical reasoning and a greater attention to detail. What is striking here is the lack of support and opportunity to match their ambitions. Autistic people should be able to live the life that they choose. Central to successful and sustainable employment for autistic people is the ability of employers to harness their unique skills instead of employing them in spite of that disorder. The motion also mentions the autism access awards given by the National Autistic Society. Rightly so, the award recognises buildings and facilities that have made an effort to ensure that they can be categorised as autism-friendly. They set the standard for accessibility, and making something accessible does not always mean making physical changes, as the National Autistic Society points out. It is as much about changing the approach of staff as it is changing all and all. In conclusion, Autism Awareness Week draws our attention to the fact that a huge number of people, both in Scotland and the rest of the UK, are on the spectrum, and that the spectrum means that there are huge differences between each individual. Each autistic person, like anyone not on the spectrum, is unique and has unique aspirations, strength and needs. All those people have in common as they want and deserve a chance to be treated as equal with equal rights to the basic daily choices that you and I enjoy. There are young people with a hunger to learn and flourish in our schools. There are graduates looking for support into the workplace that will give them the chance that they so deserve. There are teenagers looking to drive for the first time, but in need of extra advice. Each deserves an equal footing from which to take first steps. Therefore, this week, let us not only accept difference but celebrate it, because the diverse employment market demands difference, diversity and a recognition that we all have a positive contribution to make. I support the motion. Thank you very much. I now call Graeme Dey to be followed by Nannette Milne. Can I begin by congratulating Mark McDonald on securing this opportunity to highlight world autism awareness week? I say that not simply because it is protocol to do so, but because over the past few weeks it has really come home to me just how far as a society and in terms of providing appropriate support services we have to go until we can really say that we are responding as we ought to the needs of autistic children and adults. Progress has been made but a string of recent constituent cases and attending a constituency event last week have very much brought home to me just how far we have to go before we can claim to have created that genuinely autism friendly environment. Angus Council is coming to the end of a process aimed at ensuring the provision for adults and children with autism within the education service, links into the national autism strategy and just as importantly meets the needs of those requiring support, be they carers or the cared for. The delay in delivering this was caused by the council feeling that a consultation and mapping exercise carried out on behalf of the Scottish Government in 2013 had not been as wide-reaching as would have been required to ensure what was to be delivered fitted with what was needed on the ground. The council wrote out to 211 families in the county who are identified as having children with autism, asking them in the first instance to complete a questionnaire to help to provide a foundation for creating that autism strategy which meets the aspirations of those at the sharp end. Subsequent to that, parental engagement events were held on the intros for Franca Nusti to present the findings of the survey and to flesh those out. I attended one of those engagement sessions just last week and what I heard left me concerned that this thing stands, and as officials acknowledged in relation to education, the needs of these children are not yet being fully met. However, if the council, as I believe it will, really takes on board the input from parents, then over the short to medium term, then we will make significant progress. The whole consultation process has identified eight key areas for improvement and whilst this process was peculiar to Angus, the themes will, I am sure, be common to other parts of the country. Those were the need to improve knowledge and understanding of autism, reaching out to the wider community to ensure they are more clued up on the subject, improving the process of diagnosis and appropriate support immediately post-diagnosis. Support for those with autism and their families to access recreational facilities delivered locally, improved information sharing between agencies, getting services talking to each other, planning for transitions right through into adult life with a particular need highlighted in terms of post-school support, improved learning opportunities and, as Mark McDonald touched upon, purposeful occupational opportunities for adults. Finally, supporting adults to live as independently as they can within mainstream tenancies. Within a few months, a strategy covering a complete educational journey from entering nursery through to adulthood will be presented to community planning partnership for approval and moves are already afoot to secure parental involvement in overseeing delivery and future policy development. The challenge, of course, is how to meet all reasonable needs when those needs and the expectations and views of parents and guardians can be quite varied. Even if we succeed in creating genuinely autism-friendly education establishments, then how do we ensure other agencies with whom people with autism come into contact, such as the police, health and social services, are properly equipped to respond to their needs? The answer surely lies in the purpose of this week, raising awareness. How many of us, if we are honest, understand what is needed to create more autism-friendly environments? Two stories told by parents at that engagement session last week really left their mark on me. One mum revealed that her son could not join in the swimming sessions at his school simply because the PE teacher kept order by blowing a whistle, which they couldn't cope with. Imagine being excluded from joining classmates and an enjoyable pursuit for the sake of a whistle. Another said that her child would be better able to cope in certain circumstances if the lights in the room weren't turned up quite so brightly. Imagine being denied the opportunity to just be one of the class for the sake of fitting or turning down a dimmer switch. How many other minor changes could we, as a society, reasonably make that we move forward the cause of inclusion? Presiding Officer, it is to be hoped that whatever World Autism Awareness Week highlights to us, we each of us strive to respond to that. Many thanks. I now call Nannette Millan to be followed by Dennis Robertson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Can I begin by adding my thanks to Mark McDonald for lodging this motion? I'm obviously aware of his personal family interest in autism, but I'm equally aware of his commitment to the condition in general and raising awareness of it with the wider public. Almost a year ago to the day, we celebrated and commemorated the seventh annual World Autism Awareness Day. Now that it's coming to be an established date in the calendar, I think that it is right that we continue to highlight this importance. I don't think that it's necessary to go through the various statistics and facts relating to autism as we've done previously, although it is always worthwhile stating that one in a hundred of the population in the UK are on the autistic spectrum. It's a common condition that should not be hidden. In my brief contribution, I'd like to look at some of the very positive initiatives that are helping to make Scotland move towards being an autism-friendly nation as stated in the motion. In a debate last year, we focused on relaxed cinema and theatre performances, which have made such a difference to people, especially children, in enjoying pursuits that most of us take for granted. I commend His Majesty's Theatre in my home city of Aberdeen for staging a relaxed showing of horrible histories last May. I'm sure that all of us would like to see more productions of this nature, which provides sensory-friendly approaches to reach out to people with autism. Another initiative that I heard of recently, which took place, I think last weekend, was by Toysr Us, which provided a dedicated day in which children could attend outlets across the UK in a relaxed environment. Fluorescent lighting was reduced, music wasn't overly loud, and no tannoy announcements were made, factors which can be very unsettling for children with autism. I hope to see other shops being similarly progressive in responding to the needs of these children. I pay tribute to the Scottish Government for funding it has provided to the One Stop Shop programme, not least for the 300,000 dedicated to the Advice and Information Centre at Queen's Gardens in Aberdeen. This valuable resource provides support for families and individuals in the north-east affected by autism. It seeks to alleviate and dispel the myths, often associated with it, and almost embarrassment, sometimes caused by the condition. As Wendy Minty, the National Autistic Society manager in Aberdeen, put it, many people with the condition and their families struggle to access the right support at the right time. Indeed, every region in Scotland is now covered by the One Stop Shop Network, but as the National Autistic Society Scotland has pointed out, funding is limited and therefore local authorities need to start thinking about how they can contribute to these essential services. I was very glad to hear from Mark McDonald just now of the work being embarked on in Aberdeen to make it an autism-friendly city. The motion also refers to the autism toolbox for schools. Like many others, I think that this type of resource contributes enormously to understanding why children on the spectrum need to be included in mainstream education. The toolbox website provides greater understanding to parents, staff and young people of the everyday challenges faced by young people with autism. It is in our schools that basic knowledge of autism needs to be fostered so that children with it do not feel ostracised. Equally so, parents with sons or daughters with autism require support so that they too do not feel that their children are different. The American writer Laura Ginsburg in her seminal work regarding her son's right to education wrote, through the blur, I wondered if I was alone or if other parents felt the same way as I did, that everything involving our children was painful in some way. Presiding Officer, beyond school days, as the motion suggests, with appropriate understanding of the condition, many more employers will come to realise the benefits of employing people with autism, as I have in my region, particularly those at the higher end of the spectrum, for instance with Aspergers, who have proved in many locations to be extremely effective and very conscientious employees. As an example, many office jobs that some of us might find tedious and too repetitive are ideally suited to people with autism who like the detail and the accuracy that is required and take great pride in their work as well as deriving immense satisfaction from it. There are potential opportunities for people with autism in many professional and other spheres of employment where their commitment, logical thinking, enthusiasm and attention to detail would be invaluable assets. We have come a long way in raising awareness of autism, but as Mark McDonald rightly says, that work is on-going and his own unfailing efforts are contributing to this in no small measure. Many thanks. I now call Dennis Robertson to be followed by Liam McArthur. Thank you very much indeed, Presiding Officer, and, like my fellow colleagues here in the chamber, I congratulate Mark McDonald. Not just for bringing this to the chamber this afternoon, but for being a champion, for being an ambassador and for being someone who is raising the awareness, not just here in Parliament, but within his home city of Aberdeen. I too would like to welcome the guests that are here this afternoon and those who are live-streaming in this particular debate. Presiding Officer, you are absolutely right to congratulate those who took part in achieving the accreditation in the Parliament. In particular, I would probably like to commend Anilla McKenna, who is the qualities manager within the Parliament. Anilla, in her dedication, looking across all aspects of disability is a wonderful asset to this Parliament. I think that we should congratulate all the people that took part in ensuring we had this wonderful award. As my colleague Mark McDonald said, we are the first, Presiding Officer, the first public building in Scotland to achieve this remarkable award. We should not be the last, and this Parliament, I believe, is the foundation for others in Scotland to reach that achievement of being an autistic friendly nation. This Parliament is showing the way. This Parliament, as I have said, is the foundation and it should be an exemplar for others to follow. It means that people visiting here, Presiding Officer, can come with a degree of assurity. Assurity that they will not meet the barriers that often they are met with. As Nanette Milne has said, even visiting a supermarket or to visit somewhere to buy toys will be extremely upsetting and raise people's anxiety to a level that many of us cannot understand. Congratulate toys at us, but one day, one day out of 365, is not enough for our young people with autism to enjoy the experience of going and choosing or playing within that environment. There are organisations that are supporting people with autism. In my constituency of Aberdeenshire West, there is a sensational charity and it brings in people with all different disabilities, but there are many who are on the spectrum of autism. They are there and they have a sensory area that people can play, but enjoy play, Presiding Officer. Enjoy play in the knowledge that they are not inhibited by perhaps loud noise or perhaps bright light because of their sensory or heightened sensory awareness. I was listening earlier on, Presiding Officer, to a wonderful animation film that has been designed by understanding autism. I hadn't actually realised it was an animation film and it was actually describing in, I think, very calm detail of the surroundings and the environment that we all live in from a young boy playing in the park with his mum but who decided it was time to go home and showed his card with the drawing of a house to indicate he'd had enough. He wanted to go home. That was his way, his best way of actually showing that he'd had enough and wanted to go home. Or the young girl at school who was getting excited about the school dance that was coming up and her friend said, what are you wearing in that excitement of going to dance? And the young girl, Lisa, in this occasion described my school uniform because she took the meaning of what are you wearing too literal but that is her world. So we need to understand the world of people with autism and how we communicate and what our environment does in the way of creating barriers. So we should not disable our people with autism. We should embrace their needs and try to find out ways that we have actually found in this Parliament to do so to make it inclusive. Presiding Officer, I think in conclusion we have ambitions for all people with disabilities and we, as Malcolm Chisholm has said is we need to acknowledge that we are all different but that's not a failing. That is something that we should be proud of. Being different isn't something that we should hide behind. Being different makes us who we are and being different is something I applaud. Thank you Presiding Officer. Many thanks. I now call Liam McArthur to be followed by Nigel Dawn. Thank you very much to be Presiding Officer on the eve of World Autism Awareness Day. I too congratulate Mark MacDonald on bringing this debate. I know that as a result of a football injury Mr McDonald is rapidly gaining hopefully a temporary insight into issues of physical access but I think on this issue as others have commented Mark MacDonald has shown a commitment and a dedication to the cause not just within this Parliament but outwith and I would certainly applaud him for those efforts. It's something that the National Autistic Society of Scotland and Scottish Autism are joining on behalf of those affected by autism. The net mill mentioned some of the figures but it's not just the 58,000 or so people in Scotland with autism. As the National Autistic Society pointed out the families affected by autism as well number up to around 230,000. It's a spectrum condition which means that while all people with autism share three main areas of difficulty their conditions will affect them in very different ways. Some people are able to live relatively independent lives while others may need a lifetime of specialist support but whatever the level of need all deserve nothing less than to have those needs acknowledged and met. As Markham Chisholm reminded us the theme of autism awareness day this year is employment. That's very fitting indeed. We can all find examples in the communities that we represent across Scotland of employers who are missing out on the abilities and the skills that people with autism can bring to the workplace. There is quite demonstrably a need to address the barriers to employment including a shortage of vocational training inadequate support with job placement and sadly all too pervasive discrimination. Exceptions to this obviously exist but as Graham Day reminded us there is a great deal still left to do. Mark McDonald in his remarks commented on the diagnostic problems and maybe spent a bit of time on that as well according to the research under the Scottish strategy for autism a child waiting from referral to receiving a diagnosis averages around 331 days with some waiting almost 2,000 days for adults the wait is less at 162 days with some still waiting 500 or so days and these are figures that don't actually account for parts of Scotland where there is no diagnostic service available and even where the diagnosis is made the figures from the counters in campaign report suggest that there are still problems involved almost half suggesting the process is highly stressful a quarter find that they are misdiagnosed but many and this was a figure that Mr McDonald referred to but many talk of the relief they feel once a diagnosis is received and this enables access to support of course but I've certainly met those who have had a diagnosis who were simply looking for that as an answer it's not necessarily that they're seeking additional support it's just knowing that this has been confirmed by relevant professionals in Orkney I'm aware of difficulties in getting that referral it's caused huge stress and distress to those affected I welcome the commitment from the chief executive of national NHS Orkney to improve these pathways thanks largely as to be said to the heroic campaigning efforts of Chris McGill and I hope this will deliver real benefits going forward so as a hope for world autism awareness day I think we need to address the fact that there is still a lack of public understanding and awareness and this does feed into a fear or experience of bullying and harassment in all too many occasions in communities world autism awareness day does provide us with an opportunity not only to reflect on the needs of people with autism but to celebrate their contribution as well and commit ourselves to ensuring that others have the chance to do likewise cinemas and theatres are marking the occasion with special screens and performances businesses such as toys are us have been mentioned in holding autism friendly promotions simple steps such as reducing lighting improving signage making staff autism aware enable places to become more accessible for those with autism with my corporate body hat on deputy I too am delighted with the award to the Scottish Parliament the first public building to be awarded in Scotland the autism access award and again put on record my gratitude to the staff for their efforts and commitment and on that message of hope on autism awareness day again can I congratulate Mark McDonald for securing this debate and for his stalwart efforts on behalf of those in Scotland whose lives are touched by autism many thanks and I now call Nigel Dawn thank you very much and again I'd like to thank Mark McDonald for bringing this debate it's a hugely important issue and I'd also like to say the opportunity to congratulate the parliamentary staff on the good work that they have done I find it absolutely no surprise I've always been extremely impressed by the staff in this place it comes as no surprise to me that they've taken this and grasped it I'd like to present at this stage the debate just to pass a few personal reflections and then make a few comments about constituency cases which I hope will inform the debate I have no family experience of autism but as a piano teacher in what feels like very much a former existence now I had one pupil who was an extremely bright lad but clearly had some of those very recognisable difficulties in communication and comprehension but he was a wonderful musician he could play by ear there was no way I could teach him he could do them better than I could do but curiously he struggled I suspect I'm not surprised now to realise with some of the inaccuracies of musical notation you might think it's a wonderfully precise science these dots and dashes but actually a lot of it is very imprecise and he struggled to realise quite when I was telling him don't worry about precisely what's there just play it musically constituency cases and I've had a few I can say first of all that the cases that I'm referring to there's been no shortage of parental engagement so it's very clear that this is the system rather than the particular family environment and I'd like to raise three general issues I'm not going to name anybody of course there was one instance of a young man who was looking beyond school age for fairly secure and protective environment and the difficulty was that there was nothing local and he was being told and his parents were being told that he would have to go the other side of Glasgow so that he could start fairly close to Aberdeen that really is quite some distance away socially not perhaps a huge number of miles but a very long way in terms of the family when I contacted the government about this I was told that it was a local authorities responsibility which I'm sure is absolutely right but it's not difficult to see that maybe some joined up local authority activity would be sensible across the country because of course these kind of protected secure environments we won't need very many of them across Scotland so it might be that some government guidance there would be helpful please speaking in another case I'm coming to the view that there are quite a number of young men again just coming out of school years who struggle to get on either to a voluntary situation or into work and may well become shut in is the term that's been used whereby they essentially retreat to home and often to the bedroom and are very difficult to get out the difficulty as it's explained to me here is that whilst the government provides funding very welcome funding which is good at getting these young folk from a voluntary activity situation into employment that funding appears not to be available to get them from the shut in-ness into that outgoing voluntary activity now I'm assuming that my information is right to the extent that that is the case minister then I think I'm merely putting to you that maybe that is something the government might like to look at and I'd also like to pick up on the point which others have mentioned which is that in many places there doesn't really seem to be much prospective an adult actually being diagnosed I think that's to put it more bluntly than some might we often have bright folk, high achieving graduates but who have social difficulties which are not going to be diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum and because they really don't take any of the other social work or welfare boxes then they don't get some of the help which they could certainly use which would be very useful to them and which might well help them not to develop some of the mental illnesses which will subsequently bring back into the system plainly that won't help them but it will also cost us more in the long term so I wonder whether the government has got entirely on some of this long term planning a long term pathways for those who struggle with autism that's my brief input I'm sure the minister will know a lot more about it I think it would be good to know that we're collectively trying to do the best for those who are on the autism spectrum so that we get the best long term solutions for them because at the end of the day as with all people with a disability those with autism are above all people and need to be supported as such thank you many thanks and can I now call on Fiona McLeod to respond to the debate please minister around seven minutes thank you and can I begin to thank my other colleagues in the chamber in congratulating Mark McDonald on securing today's debate and to thank the cross-party members for supporting the motion and also for the cross-party speakers today on their reflective contributions I think I should also point out that Mr McDonald has failed to blow his own trumpet because just this week in recognition of the work that Mark does on this subject he has been invited to become a member of the National Autistic Society Scotland's advisory board can I congratulate him on that and can I wish him well and all the hard work that I know that that will entail we've talked very much about the autism strategy today and I just wanted to take the opportunity the Scottish strategy for autism is now in its third year it was launched in 2011 with a £13.4 million fund 26 recommendations and a 10-year outlook in us trying to achieve that and I'd just like to take the opportunity today to reinforce the Scottish Government's commitment to, through the strategy improving the lives of people with autism and also to highlight some of the key activities that have been taken forward under the strategy raising awareness of autism is a key strategy priority because this will help to ensure that people with autism are treated with fairness and respect as all of us should be the strategy also includes building capacity and awareness within autism services so that people receive an integrated service which is responsive to their needs and I think that integrated service is actually an answer to a lot of the constituency problems that some of the members have raised this evening a major piece of work is under way to roll out a new guidance of training framework to NHS staff this has been developed by NHS Education for Scotland with the active participation of people with autism and autism professionals I think that's incredibly important if we're to understand in our training how to help folk with autism then we have to listen to people with autism when they tell us what training our professionals need this training offers responsive training based on the skills and knowledge of the operational levels of the health professionals I thought that it was really interesting when I read about it it's training for health professionals from those who occasionally are counter in person with autism perhaps the receptionist and a GP surgery all the way up to those who are providing highly specialised support for people with autism this is a highly significant piece of work and I would encourage NHS boards to consider how it could be utilised as a free-funded training opportunity that we've had is over the last three years there's been free training to the open university and through Strathclyde University not just for those working with people with autism but for families and just folk that are interested in knowing how to help folk with autism and over the three years that this OU in Strathclyde University free training has been running it's been oversubscribed every time so I think that perhaps tells us out there that actually understand that they need to be doing something and working with folk with autism certainly very brief Thank you very much Minister, as you were speaking there I wonder if there's the same awareness and training at our dental schools because I was just thinking at dental practice whether there are bright lights and noise and obviously a tactile invasion sometimes I'm just wondering if people at dental school and our dentists have been made aware of people with autism and their particular needs Minister The training that I referred to earlier that's been developed by NHS education for Scotland is for all NHS staff so I would encourage dental practices to take part in that I think it's important that we look at working within the autism community to capacity build and I just wanted to give a mention to a local organisation in my constituency called Aspire which works with young people with autism brings them together I've been along a couple of times and it's amazing to see these young people getting the confidence to go out and do more as a group or as individuals such a hard thing for folk with autism opportunity Nanette Mill mentioned that there were six one-stop shops that the strategy had funded with £1.1 million and one of the lovely things that you're able to do as a minister is I'm able to take this opportunity to announce this evening a further £653,305 to support the six one-stop shops to continue for another year I realise I'm rapidly running out of time I wanted to talk about the autism toolbox a lot of people have mentioned it and I think it is so important education is so important to everybody and through the autism toolbox and the accompanying website we should be able to make sure that we help support pupils with autism and I am absolutely convinced that the approach of the toolbox could lead to significant improvements in autism educational provisions like Graham Day, Nigel Dawn my constituency surgeries have taken up with parents coming worrying about their young children with autism and I do hope that the use of the autism toolbox will ensure that less people will have to come to me and other MSPs can I quickly mention Mark McDonald's campaigning work on relaxed performances absolutely fantastic and lovely to hear from Nanette Mill about Toys Ruzz if anybody should be autism friendly a shop that sells toys for kids but to let Graham Day know that I've also heard about autism friendly swimming sessions which is another step forward autism friendly Aberdeen Mr MacDonald I think that's wonderful Scotland's already a fair trade nation I hope we can move towards being an autism friendly nation and it's not just Aberdeen can I add my congratulations and thanks to the staff of the Parliament on being the first public body to receive the autism access award Employment Malcolm Tism mentioned it only 15 per cent of people with autism are in full time employment and it's fitting that the theme of this year's world autism awareness day is employment the autism advantage increasing employment opportunities for people with autism is a key priority of the strategy there's a number of strategy funded projects which have focused on employment projects search with the city of Edinburgh council into work and also I work for me supporting self-employed people with autism in conclusion there's so much more I could have said but I'm delighted to see so much positive work on going to improve the lives of people with autism I particularly welcome the on going investment in new resources such as the autism toolkit and I applaud the efforts of all concerned with removing barriers to public facilities to allow fair and equal access for all including accessible entertainment and I appreciate that those who are working hard to ensure that all members of society have equal employment opportunities and feel valued because it's the aim of this Government to lead the way in creating a fairer society which not only encourages active participation in that society but also creates opportunities for everyone to create to Scotland's economic success so that we can enjoy the fruits of our hard work and make Scotland a better place for us all and a place we can all feel proud of thank you many thanks minister and that concludes Mark McDonald's debate making Scotland autism friendly and I now close this meeting of parliament