Autism Acceptance Day 2025: Time to Update Autism Act 2009 with Research Evidence?
UK House of Lords Calls for Research Evidence to Consider in Updating the Key Piece of Autism Legislation
Outline:
The Context.
The Call for Evidence: what is it?
What, when, how?
The Upper Chamber of British Parliament Launched a Call for Evidence to Mark Autism Acceptance Day on Monday April 3rd, 2025.
It happened days after key autism experts testified on the complex issues related to health and Quality of Life (QoL) of autistic and AûDHD people across lifetime, that ranged from identifying autism to providing healthcare to Autistic & AûDHD individuals.
This Call for Evidence of the Upper Chamber of British Parliament (House of Lords is vaguely equivalent to The Senate in the US Congress, only with far more pomp and circumstance) is a big deal. But what does it mean, exactly?
This is a brief introduction to the concept, clarifying who can answer the Call, and what kind of contributions are being sought at this time.
Why?
Why Is It Happening?
The Committee wants to update the existing legislation related to Autism: are working. In order to accomplish that task, they need to understand how well the status quo has been working, and what needs to change.
What Questions is the Committee Asking?
“To give everyone interested the opportunity to respond, the call for evidence is open for two months, which is longer than usual.
The committee invites interested people to submit written evidence by Monday 2 June 2025.”
The Committee is asking to submit evidence on “key questions about how to improve support for autistic people”, in their own words.
Specific questions listed on the Parliament's site include this list:
How can public understanding and acceptance of autistic people be improved?
How can the Government improve assessment, diagnosis and post-diagnostic support?
How can the Government improve the identification and support of autistic people when they need it (including if they do not have a diagnosis)?
How can access to healthcare be improved?
How can community support be improved?
How can access to education be improved?
How can support for autistic people to find and stay in work be improved?
How can support for autistic people who are in contact with the criminal and youth justice systems be improved?
I reckon it's a pretty good list, touching on all the key issues we are facing today.
Who Should Respond to the Call for Evidence?
Unfortunately, there's some confusion around this, with some propagation of incorrect information on social media (eg, some posts on LinkedIn suggesting that only the autism researchers can submit their evidence).
So, I copied the information from the government website:
“The Committee wants to hear from a wide range of people and organisations with different experiences and perspectives. We particularly welcome your views if any of the following apply to you:
you are an autistic person (including if you have a diagnosis or if you consider yourself autistic)
you have an autistic person in your family, or you care for/support an autistic person
you work with autistic people in your job
you work on research into how to support autistic people.
What is the Timeframe for Submission of Evidence?
I applaud the Committee for extending the timeframe for submission. That's inclusivity in action!🙂
To repeat, you can submit the evidence until Monday, 2 June 2025.
How Do I Submit My Evidence?
The short answer: use whichever way works best for you.
Again, from the website:
“We want to make sure you can send us evidence in a way that works for you. You are welcome to:
work with someone else (such as a friend, family member or carer) to prepare your evidence
ask someone else to submit evidence on your behalf
ask for help from an organisation that supports you to prepare your evidence
submit a voice recording as evidence, which we will transcribe into a published written document”.
How Much Should I Write?
Personal advice: be as concise as possible.
The recommendation is “less than 6 pages”.
If you write more than 6 pages, include executive summary on the first page.
How Do I Actually Submit My Evidence?
Quoting,
“You can:
send us your written submission online in Word document format using the form available at https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/3625/
send your written submission or voice recording by email to HLAutismAct2009@parliament.uk.
Further information is available on the Committee’s website. You can contact us at HLAutismAct2009@parliament.uk if you need help to send us your evidence, or if anything is unclear.”
committees. parliament.uk/call- for-evidence/3625/
