Priority 5: Co-produce, work together and learn about autism

Co-produce solutions and services with autistic people and their families and collect and share the information that will enable us to learn and improve our offer to autistic people.  

This objective makes a commitment to continue to improve the whole systems’ care and support offer for autistic people by collecting the information that will make service planning and delivery the best it can be. Through cooperation and collaboration between partners we will align strategies that overlap and support the objectives in this strategy. This objective reflects our commitment to ongoing co-production with people with lived experience, including measuring the impact of the strategy on the lives of autistic people living in Coventry and Warwickshire  

I statements

  • I am asked how services and support are working for me, my response is listened to and my communication needs are recognised.
  • The organisations responsible for my support work together, learn from each other and coordinate their resources effectively.
  • People supporting me collect and share information that helps them deliver the right services to me and plan for better services in the future.

What we will do

5.1 Develop a system to enable a greater understanding of the numbers of people in Coventry and Warwickshire who have an autism diagnosis, and where these people are in health and care services and their needs, to ensure future commissioning plans are informed by local demand and needs.

5.2 Continue to ensure that commissioning plans and the design and delivery of services are co-produced by people with lived experience of autism, including both specialist and mainstream services.

5.3 Identify links to the strategies in the following areas and ensure their outcomes will support people with autism:

  • Parenting
  • SEND and inclusion, including further education
  • Mental health/CAMHS
  •  Employment
  •  Housing

5.4 Work with commissioners and providers across the West Midlands and nationally to share best practice and learning about support and services for people with autism.

5.5 Collect and share learning across the system and enlist autism specialist organisations and universities to help us grow our evidence base of what good looks like for people with autism in line with national developments.

5.6 Work together to understand the true cost of supporting autistic people locally, and identify opportunities to pool budgets and invest in early intervention and prevention services to reduce spend on supporting autistic people in high cost specialist services.

5.7 Evaluate the impact of Covid-19 on the lives of people with autism and commission services in the way that responds effectively to people’s needs during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.