Staff working in mental health services in England have until November to sign up for training to improve care for autistic people as the final places on an autism training programme are released.
The National Autism Trainer Programme (NATP), which comprises a series of courses, is now in its final months of supporting staff to deliver training within their own workplaces to improve support for autistic people.
Since launching in 2023, more than 4,000 professionals across England have been trained through NATP and over 600 are registered for the remaining places so far. The final NATP course runs from 28 November.
Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou, NATP strategic co-lead and associate professor at University College London, described the programme as ‘ground-breaking’.
‘From recognising and making adjustments for sensory and communication differences to developing environments where autistic voices are listened to and respected, so many working cultures have become more neurodiversity-informed and inclusive,’ she said.
Research indicates seven out of 10 autistic people develop a mental health condition such as anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although they are more likely to require mental health services than non-autistic people, they don’t always get appropriate care.
For example, mental health problems are often misdiagnosed amongst autistic adults, who are more likely to be given a sequence of diagnoses for their mental health problems and to disagree with the diagnosis they receive.
And, on average, autistic adults spend about five years within inpatient mental health services once admitted, compared with 39 days for non-autistic people.
Research has shown that autistic people are up to seven times more likely to die by suicide than non-autistic people.
The programme has been co-designed, co-produced and co-delivered with over 110 autistic people to improve the knowledge, skills and confidence of professionals within mental health services in supporting autistic individuals.
This includes challenging stereotypes about autism, building understanding of mental health conditions in autistic people and developing neurodiversity and trauma-informed and experience-sensitive approaches to their care.
The course is open to eligible NHS England staff who currently work or may work with autistic people, including those without a diagnosis, in inpatient and community mental health services.8
Staff from residential special schools and colleges, and children and young people health and justice services, can also sign up.
It is delivered by two not-for-profit organisations on behalf of NHS England.
Anna Freud, a mental health charity for children and young people, delivers the training in partnership with AT-Autism, a non-profit UK autism training, clinical services and consultancy provider.
Full details on training dates and available settings are on Anna Freud’s website.
