Our response to Kemi Badenoch’s views on autism

Mel Merritt, Head of Policy and Campaigns at the National Autistic Society, said: "Kemi Badenoch’s comments and the statements in the ‘Conservatism in Crisis’ document are not only offensive to autistic people but detached from reality and demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding of autism and disability.

"Politicians need to stop looking to the autistic community as a political football and instead recognise the difficulties and challenges that so many autistic people face in their daily lives. They need to engage in good faith to make a positive impact rather than dismissing their needs. Our charity would be happy to provide factual and evidence-based information about autism through one of our excellent autism awareness training sessions.

"Autistic people and their families face huge delays and long fights to get support across all aspects of their lives, including diagnosis, health, education and social care. It is greatly concerning that in 2024, elected politicians still don’t understand that autism is not a mental health condition and to say that ‘anxiety’ is a neurodivergent condition, is completely incorrect.

"Being autistic doesn’t offer economic advantages and protections, only three in 10 autistic people are in any form of employment, the lowest of any disability. Reasonable adjustments are in no way an immediate pathway into economic privilege, but a legal right to make sure autistic people can participate in work, education and live a dignified life.

"To say children with a diagnosis of a neurodivergent condition, like autism, ‘may well get better treatment or equipment at school’ and ‘even transport to school’ is to misinterpret legal protections and adjustments that give young people access to the education they need and should be entitled to. Parents of autistic children have to fight too hard and too long for support; often having to pay for expensive legal battles, that overwhelming find in favour of families."