The latest Learning from Lives and Deaths – people with a learning disability and autistic people (LeDeR) Review has been published. The report highlights the significant health inequalities people with a learning disability and autistic people face.

Our response to the review

Tim Nicholls, Assistant Director of Policy, Research and Strategy at the National Autistic Society, said: “This report highlights the barriers we know many autistic people face when getting help from the NHS, including a lack of understanding about autistic people’s needs, inadequate autism training for staff and insufficient referrals to specialist services.
 
“The report shows the largest cause of death for autistic people is suicide, misadventure or accidental death (29%). A relatively low number of reviews of autistic people are included in the report so we are cautious about making conclusions. However, we know that, without support, too many autistic people can end up developing mental health problems like anxiety or depression and end up in desperate and tragic situations.

“It’s disappointing that there are no national recommendations in the review, after a nearly two-year gap since the last review, and these should be included in the future. The Government and NHS must learn from these findings and improve support, understanding and training to prevent avoidable deaths of autistic people. Much more needs to be done to create the fair and equal healthcare system that autistic people deserve.”