Charity highlights importance of specialist roles to support neurodiverse children
Amrit Virdi
Friday, March 22, 2024
Safer London has said its expert caseworker roles to support neurodiverse children are vital at a time where there’s a “lack of money for services”.
The two caseworker roles were introduced in August 2023, with the specialists having training and advanced knowledge in working with neurodiverse children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Safer London say 26% of young people they worked with last year were neurodiverse.
-
Children's Workforce Guide to Qualifications and Training 2023/24
-
Additional Family Costs for Children on the Autism Spectrum
Speaking to CYP Now during Neurodiversity Celebration Week (18 - 24 March), Safer London caseworker and neurodiversity adviser Lee Bulmer said: “Money for services is lacking. Unfortunately, going into schools you often see a young person with clear autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) not being looked after, which is baffling sometimes, and quite sad.”
Bulmer revealed that the charity is creating “standardised” training for all of its staff to be aware of how to work with neurodiverse children, specifically those with autism.
“I’ve started writing training, specifically autism training, meaning that staff will now go through standardised modules. We are looking to expand this to ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and more.
“Having a baseline knowledge is really important and that’s something that Safer London realised we need to put into place,” said Bulmer.
This comes as former children’s commissioner Anne Longfield said that support for conditions including autism and ADHD should be offered on a “needs-led” basis rather than forcing families to wait for a formal diagnosis.
Longfield revealed a “crisis” in children’s autism assessment in a report published by the her think tank The Centre for Young Lives and the Child of the North initiative. According to the report, there has been a 306% increase in the number of children waiting for an assessment since the pandemic.
Research by Loughborough University and Family Fund also revealed that additional costs for families of children on the autism spectrum are rising, with everyday non-specialist goods and services costing families at least an extra £51.10 per week.
