The world’s first living guideline for autism has been
developed in New Zealand/Aotearoa to provide advice on how
to help autistic people live full and meaningful
lives.
Aotearoa
New Zealand Autism Guideline – He Waka Huia Takiwātanga
Rau is intended for use by primary care practitioners,
education professionals, service providers, policymakers,
funders, specialists, carers, and autistic people/tāngata
whaitakiwātanga and their families and whānau.
Dr
Andrew Marshall from the Paediatric Society of New
Zealand/Te Kāhui Mātai Arotamariki o Aotearoa says,
“Members of the Paediatric Society were part of the
writing group of the 1st edition published in 2006, and have
been involved in updating the Guideline ever since. We are
promoting the newly released third edition of the Guideline
as part of World Autism Awareness Day on 2
April.
“We hope the Guideline will create a better
understanding of how to empower people with autism to live
full lives and will be widely used by everyone supporting
people on the autism spectrum, particularly teachers,
carers, families and whānau.”
He says, “Areas
covered in the Guideline include assessment and diagnosis,
support for individuals and families, education, mental
health and wellbeing, living in the community, professional
development, Māori and Pasifika perspectives.
“A
key intent of the document was to capture the individual and
collective voices and experiences of those on the autism
spectrum, and these feature in the Guideline.”
Dr
Marshall says, “This document is the world’s first
‘living guideline’ for autism. That means it is updated
on a yearly basis by a Living Guidelines Group, of which I
am a co-chair. This will allow us to capture new evidence
and be more responsive to the needs of autistic people in
this rapidly evolving field.
“The development of the
3rd Edition of the Guideline was led by Whaikaha/Ministry of
Disabled People in partnership with the Ministry of
Education but also involved the collaborative effort of
researchers, clinicians, educators, community service
providers, and other government agencies.
“The
Guideline also provides a framework for improving services
for people with autism, based on robust and reliable
information. A recent international review of Autism
Guidelines in use around the world rated the NZ guideline
very highly for quality, and it was the only Guideline to be
recommended for use without modifications.”
“As
well as the Guidelines, our KidsHealth website also has some
easy to understand information on autism for parents and
caregivers at https://kidshealth.org.nz/autism-takiw%C4%81tanga.”
© Scoop Media