Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline Launch

Speech to launch Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, 2 April 2008. 

It is a great honour to launch the Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline. And what better occasion than today - the first World Autism Awareness Day.

My colleague Chris Carter, Minister of Education, is currently overseas otherwise he would have joined me at this launch today. Therefore, I want to acknowledge that this is a joint Health and Education initiative and the valuable contribution both Ministries have made.

I was surprised to learn that up until 60 years ago there was no name for the disorder which affects approximately three people in every 1,000 worldwide. And in New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD affects more that 40,000 people.

Recognising this disorder with an awareness day is a big step in raising the profile of a disorder which can cause disruption in families and isolation for individual sufferers.

Life-long developmental disorders affecting social interaction, patterns of communication and behaviour create barriers for ASD sufferers. And it is easy to understand how isolating this disorder must be on a daily basis without understanding, acceptance and support.

The Guideline
The Guideline I am launching today helps us to put the disorder in perspective by focusing on the needs of three groups - sufferers, whanau, and service providers.

This has been six years in the making. Work began in 2002 to develop a broad and comprehensive Guideline which outlines the various levels of support required for people living with ASD.

A ‘whole of life’ approach was taken to developing the Guide through quality research and analysis. And crucial input was gained from experts in the field both within New Zealand and overseas.

The result has given us guidance on wide-ranging aspects of ASD including diagnosis, infancy, education, right through to adulthood and across the many aspects of peoples’ lives and life stages.
The Guideline provides a comprehensive evidence base for the development of education, health and social services and support. It also seeks to provide the best evidence currently available to assist with informed decision-making to improve these aspects of peoples’ lives.

It will help us to develop good practice and help people make sense of the large amount of ASD research that is currently available.

A World first
We can proudly state that this document is a World first. This is no small achievement.

We can also quite rightly consider ourselves World leaders in this area. You should all congratulate yourselves for developing a sound document that will not only benefit New Zealanders but others around the Globe.

I am certain that countries will now look to New Zealand as a model for their own development in this area.

Government’s plan of action
The government is implementing this Guideline through the Ministries of Health and Education.

To reinforce our commitment to assisting the success of the Guide, Budget 2007 provided the Ministry of Health with $18.16 million over four years for implementation. This is in addition to the Ministry of Education’s $1.5 million per year for research, evaluation, professional learning and information sharing about ASD.

The ‘living guideline’ approach is a very innovative response to the problems associated with keeping abreast of research developments. I can also confirm that workshops and training will be used to promote the guideline and ensure it fulfils its purpose by reaching the people it needs to.

Conclusion
Today we have launched a ground-breaking example of health, education and disability service leaders working together for the benefit of people with autism spectrum disorders.

They will provide an up to date evidence base for both policy and service provision.

Importantly, as a result of this Guideline, people with ASD will receive more support than they are currently. They’ll get the right support at the right stage in their lives. Their families will benefit and so will service providers.

Implementing the Guideline will encourage a more active involvement with communities and in all aspects of life within New Zealand.