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This compelling session started with Dr Lorcan Kenny (NHSE National Research Lead), who provided the policy context focusing on the NHSE Autism programme and the draft guidance for mental health provision for autistic adults. Next, Dr Richard Pender, who is a clinical psychologist and autism researcher, gave an overview of research on mental health care for autistic people. Tamara Pemovska (researcher at the MHPRU) presented findings from the MHPRU systematic reviews about improving mental health care for autistic adults, children, and young people, by identifying and examining any strategies, i.e., specifically developed mental health interventions for autistic people, adapted standard mental health interventions or service-level strategies, that have been tested with autistic individuals in mental health services. Dr Suzi Sapiets and Jennie Parker, both lived experience researchers, closed the first hour of the session by sharing their lived experience perspective on the systematic reviews.
All presentations are available here.
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The presentations were followed by a fruitful panel discussion with a diverse group of experts chaired by Dr Richard Pender. The panel discussion broadly focused on what needs to happen now to make mental health care acceptable and effective for autistic people, what are the challenges, and what is going well. Eva Driskell (carer) and her daughter Alex (person with lived experience) shared their experience of mental health care for autistic people from a carer and service user perspective. Amanda Timmerman (lived experience researcher) spoke about barriers to mental health care that autistic people face. Robin Jackson (lived experience researcher) reflected on what would be useful to support autistic people with their mental health. Dr Lorcan Kenny discussed what NHSE has been doing to improve mental health care for autistic people, and Dr Chris Papadopoulos (lecturer, charity role, carer) highlighted what research needs to happen in this area. The audience asked several additional questions that deepened the discussion, relating to adapting mental health services for different severity of autism, mental health assessment tools for autistic people, as well as needs of gender-diverse or trans-identifying autistic people in mental health services.
The full panel discussion is available here.
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