Autism Care UK has been awarded entry onto Sheffields new 'Recognised Provider List' for adult social care.

Our inclusion on the list recognises our ability to meet the following quality standards set by the city -

• Packages of care and support are clear and transparent and based on a clear agreement with the customer
• The conduct of all employees and volunteers is at all times considerate and respectful
• A Safeguarding Adults policy and procedure is in place and meets all requirements
• A Confidentiality policy and procedure is in place and abides by the Data Protection Act 1984 and 1998
• Health & Safety legislation is complied with as well as all relevant codes of practice or other authoritative guidance
• Employment practices take account of current legislation, including, without limitation, equal opportunities legislation
• Insurance is sufficient for the delivery of packages of care and support
• Quality assurance systems follow clear standards, are regularly monitored, carefully managed and reviewed on an ongoing basis
• Packages of care and support are consistently delivered under the standards listed above.

 We look forward to supporting city residents who have autism support needs in the near future.

PRESS RELEASE

Leeds, 14^th February 2012

"A life of happiness, dignity, achievement and inclusion" has been selected to represent the work of Autism Care UK and demonstrate how imaginative support services for people with Autism can be life changing for both individuals and their wider families. The statement has also been chosen to echo Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which speaks of "Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy...and full and effective inclusion in society ".

Pete Cross, Head of Strategy with ACUK, comments:

"Our mission statement is based on the outcomes that we provide for people through our services, be these community or home based. Happiness, Dignity, Achievement and Inclusion represent things that we would all aspire to in our lives and people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions are no different in this regard. These are the outcomes that people with Autism and their families rightly demand from their support providers and is the focus of all of ACUK’s care and support delivery."

Gary Thompson, Operations Director, comments:

I’m especially pleased that it is individuals with Autism and their families who have identified the four outcomes. We will now assess all of our support provision against the four outcomes and publish a web based series of good practice guidance on each outcome during 2012."

Zoe Armstrong, Service Delivery Director, comments:

"The ACUK pathway is unique in that we can support individuals and families at a level of intensity that is right for them. Some people with Autism require long term support while others just require the right advice at the right time. Regardless of the type of support we provide and the level of intensity, the principles of happiness, dignity, achievement and inclusion are the cornerstones of what we do here – the simple but important things that we will never compromise on."

In a climate of reducing resources for social care services a focus on the outcomes that matter for individuals, delivered safely, efficiently and creatively, has never been more important. Autism Care UK is striking a bold position with its new mission statement that translates words into action and, above all, positive outcomes for people who need quality support to live their life of choice.

Here at ACUK we think its important that people with Autism and Asperger syndrome have the opportunity to speak out about their experiences in order that wider society can better understand the issues faced by people on the spectrum.

Our congratulations to Dylan Wilson, who is supported by ACUK, on his recent Channel 4 news interview on the subject of Computers and Hacking.

Dylan, (who is pictured below and has not been involved in hacking) talks with great eloquence about his experience with computers and also some of the pre-conceptions that people can have about Asperger Syndrome.

Overall we think the article provides a balanced view on what is a contentious issue. We also think it is positive that the producers chose to interview a person on the spectrum to give their perspective. You can check out the article yourself over at http://www.channel4.com/news/can-autism-be-used-as-hacking-defence

On the same theme of computers you might also want to check out posts from our recent 'Technology Week' here on the ACUK blog. The specific post on Autism and computers can be found at http://www.autismcareuk.com/blog/post/2012/01/18/Technology-Week-Computers-and-AutismA-blessing-or-a-curse.aspx  

Could we help you, or somebody you know with a tailor made Autism or Asperger support package? If so please do get in touch with us at info@autismcareuk.com or click through to the main site for more information about our services.   

Today marks Dignity Action Day, a very important date in the UK Social Care calendar.

Here at Autism Care UK we are proud to support Dignity Action Day and to help raise awareness of the importance of dignity for people with Autistic Spectrum conditions and complex Learning Disabilities.

Back in 2011 ACUK's senior managers all signed up as Dignity Champions to pledge our organisation's ongoing and uncompromising commitment to dignity in all support provision. For us, true dignity goes beyond people's experience of support provision alone. Dignity is also about people having the opportunity to be fully included in society and having their contributions, unique skills, and achievements recognised.

That is why this year we have chosen to launch a web based Creative Arts project to mark Dignity Action Day.

Each month in 2012 we will publish the artwork of people we support on the autismcareuk.com blog. Each piece of artwork will be accompanied by a powerful message about the importance of real social inclusion and how we strive to achieve this through our pathway of services here at ACUK.

We hope you will enjoy these forthcoming posts. Remember you can get live blog updates by following us on Twitter @autismcareuk

Great news today from Dan Mead, Quality Assurance Manager at ACUK.

Blog followers will remember Dan's new year resolution to loose 7 stone in 2012 while raising much needed funds for our friends over at Research Autism.

Well Dan's total weight loss for January is a very impressive 1 stone and 4 pounds, which is way over target for the year so far!

Dan has also set up a JustGiving page which you can use to pledge your support and raise money for a great cuase. It is over at http://www.justgiving.com/dan-mead 

With your generous help we can smash the fundraising target while Dan smashes his weight loss target!

Below are Dan's updated pictures  

Great work Dan!  

The world of social care is a rapidly changing one - the roll out of Personalisation in particular makes this a very exciting time for our organisation.  

This is why we have launced our monthly 'Core Brief' for all staff team members. This will help ensure that our staff stay up to date on the latest innovations and good practice from across the ACUK family of services, alongside the 'must know' information from our Senior Management Team.

Our first 'Core Brief' also launched our new employee of the month scheme 'ACUK People' which has been designed to celebrate the excellent outcomes our frontline staff help to achieve. We will be sharing details of these achievements here on the blog and website soon!

Here at Autism Care UK we are all about socially inclusive outcomes for the poeple we support.

We do this by focusing on people's skills and talents first and foremost (regardless of the level of their disability)- it stands to reason that this approach leads to more positive outcomes!

One of the strongest determining factors in a person's social inclusion is being able to enter the world of work and the additional, skills, experience, networks and cultural capital this brings.

So here is a quick link to an employers perspective on Autism and employment - showing how people on the spectrum can and do make excellent employees. Enjoy!

http://highlandpark.suntimes.com/news/10064116-418/some-employers-find-those-with-autism-especially-suited-for-jobs.html

We have a week of special posts about Autism and Social Inclusion coming soon, so be sure to check back regularly. Or why not follow us on Twitter @autismcareuk 

Could we help someone you know be more socially included?

If so please get in touch with us via info@autismcareuk.com

A touching post today from the Chinese version of the now ubiquitous Talent Show....

In the clip Weijun, 18, plays a traditional Chinese instrument called the Erhu alongside percussion instruments. This is indeed no easy task.....

There are no English subtitles in the clip but you can tell by the judges' reactions that it goes down a storm.

In another part of the show (not available online it seems) Weijun also showed his incredible memory skills by naming the days of the week on which a wide range of dates have fallen.

So is this evidence that attitiudes to disability in China are changing? It is hard to say. This is, however, a very inclusive clip.

There is no doubt that having an Autistic finalist on what is a massively popular show in the country will have a positive impact in terms of Autism awareness. 

Check out the clip over at -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ6_W7_Zztw

In the last of this week's techno related posts we have a couple of links about the trend towards using robots for Autism Therapy (specifically with Chldren but increasingly it seems with Adults). Perhaps not surprisingly, the concept comes from the USA.   

The basic idea is that Robots can help with learning social interactions in a non threatening and low arousal way.. but as the first post suggests, there are a set of complex ethical issues that surround the concept. We invite you to take a look and make up your own mind...

http://www.chicagonow.com/daily-downers/2011/10/robots-as-autism-therapists-what-could-possibly-go-wrong/  

Secondly, here is a youtube clip about 'My Keepon' a small robot again designed to help overcome social interaction anxiety. This device is definately aimed at children (and became a crossover hit on the toy market)..but you have to admit it is extremely cute (as in the first few seconds of the clip and the picture below) ..!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYR4vJODw3A

On a serious note, we hope you have enjoyed the posts this week. In particular we hope you have found our article on Telecare and the 'Good Practice Checklist' useful and thought provoking. If you think that we could help you or a loved one design a support package with or without Telecare please do get in touch with us at info@autismcareuk.com

We would like to do more themed weeks here on the blog and would love your suggestions. Again, please just ping them over at the above address!

Don't forget- you can follow us on Twitter @autismcareuk

As part of our Techology Week here is a quick link to our friends at Research Autism and their recent conference on Computers and Autism which had some excellent content including perspectives from people on the spectrum as well as the professionals.

A really useful event in getting beyond the enduring stereotype that "All people with Autism are good with computers" and exploring the real issues.  

http://www.researchautism.net/pages/about_research_autism/research_autism_events/20111124_computers_autism

Presentations from the event are available online and some are very thought provoking. Note that to access the presentations you will need to register, but this is free.

Why not also check back to our last post - ACUK's good practice checklist for Autism and Telecare?