About Autism

Autism is viewed as a spectrum disorder. The condition impairs a child's natural instinct to communicate and form relationships. The autistic child usually withdraws into a world of his or her own.
The degree to which each child is affected varies, but the following characteristics are common:

	difficulty with social relationships
	difficulty with verbal and non verbal communication
	lack of imaginative play
	resistance to change in routines
	repetitive behaviour
	sensory impairment

In its mildest form, people with autism will experience difficulties in engaging with others or coping with day-to-day interactions. They may have repetitive and limited patterns of behaviour and a strong resistance to changes in familiar surroundings and routines. at its most profound, people with autism may be disruptive, unpredictable and may be aggressive to others and/or themselves. They may never acquire spoken language, require constant 24-hour care and may be perceived to be living in a world of their own. Their life, and those of others who care for them, can be extremely stressful and has driven families to desperation.

Autism now affects one in 100 children. There are around 100,000 school-age children with autism in the UK, with around half a million family members directly affected by the condition. (Office of National Statistics 2005).

The most recent survey found only 7,500 specialist places for over 90,000 children with autism in the UK (Jones, G. 2002).

The emotional cost of autism to families, and the individual with autism cannot be measured. The social cost of autistic spectrum disorder in the UK is at least £1 billion annually (cost of education, institutional care and related social services), and an average additional lifetime cost per person is £2.9 million. Currently only 7% is spent on education, yet even a moderate increase in this area would potentially lead to major savings in late life.

The prognosis for children and young people with autism who do not receive appropriate education is bleak and of grave concern for parents, who worry about what will happen when they are no longer able to care for them.

Research shows that 90% of people with autism will not do well in life and 60% will be entirely dependent on others during all aspects of adulthood. Fewer than 10% of adults with autism have the basic skills that would enable them to live any form of independent life, such as shopping, preparing meals and managing money. The lack of education available to teach these essential self-help skills means that generation after generation of young people and adults with autism are excluded from making a meaningful contribution to society.

Jigsaw is trying hard to change this by delivering and promoting excellence in autism education, changing lives forever.

“Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give” United Nations Declaration

Useful Links

National Autistic society
http://www.nas.org.uk

PARIS (Public Autism Resource and Information Service)
http://www.info.autism.org.uk