Many autistic people have had a lifetime of social distancing

We need to create a society that doesn’t just acknowledge that autistic people exist, it needs to adapt and enable them to reach their full potential, says Rob Holland

As all legal Covid restrictions soon end in Scotland, many people are looking forward to returning to a life of relative normality. For many autistic people in Scotland, however, numerous restrictions will still remain, and they will struggle to achieve the life they desire. What are these restrictions?

As an example, our research has shownthattwothirdsofautisticpeople in Scotland felt socially isolated, andthiswasbeforesocialdistancing was introduced in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Society has had twoyearsofsocialdistancing–many autistic people have had a lifetime of it. We want this to change.

In addition, during the pandemic we heard daily from families struggling to support autistic children, who were anxious, frustrated, often with extremely challenging behaviour, struggling to cope with a situation they don’t always understand. We also heard from many autistic adultsstrugglingwithmentalhealth difficulties and high levels of anxiety. While the pandemic undoubtedly exacerbated things, we have been hearing about these issues long before the word coronavirus entered the public lexicon. These people won’t simply disappear once thepandemicisover,andit’svitalthat they continue to receive the support they need.

What about schools? We know that during the pandemic, schoolchildren had to work from home, which caused stress for many families.forcountlessfamiliesofautistic children,thisisn’tatemporarymeasure. Thousands of autistic pupils are being asked to attend school on only part-timetimetablesornotatall.this can mean pupils at home with nothing to do, or a just a worksheet, puttinghugestrainonfamiliesandboth socially and intellectually isolating thepupilsthemselves.thisisanotherrestrictionthataffectsautisticpeople and their families, and it doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon.

Thankfully, we were able to support many autistic people during the severest parts of the pandemic through our social groups. These groups provided a lifeline for autistic people, giving them much-needed social interaction and a chance to share their interests. We also achieved success on the campaigning front, securing a commitment from the Scottish Government to legislate for a Commissioner that will protect the rights and interests of autistic people and their families. While we know a Commissioner won’t be a miracle cure for all the restrictionsautisticpeoplecurrently face, we hope it will be the beginning of easing many of them.

We’ve been celebrating World Autismacceptanceweek(waaw), andwehopeyouaretoo.aswespeak about in the history of our organisation, in the 1960s, autistic children were often described as ineducable and many parents were told to put themininstitutions.inessence,autistic people were simply to be ignored and forgotten about. While those dark days are thankfully far behind us, there is still so much work to be done.weneedtocreateasocietythat doesn’t just acknowledge that autistic people exist, it needs to adapt and enablethemtoreachtheirfullpotential.asrestrictionsendformostofus, let’s not just return to the status quo for autistic people in Scotland.

Together, we need to create a new normal.

Rob Holland, Acting Director, National Autistic Society Scotland www.autism.org.uk/waaw