The "A" Word

jane10 your post says what I was trying to explain but you said it more eloquently

There are bound to be a lot more adults than children on the spectrum. Children grow up and turn into adults.

And services and schools don't seem to realise that!

www.autism.org.uk/services/work/work-search.aspx

I have no personal experience of autism but I do know of a family where the parents and grandparents are having great problems excepting it, so from that point of view the programme does seem realistic.

There are several specialist employment agencies for people with ASD but fewer actual employers! Of course most people on the spectrum are not diagnosed and are working in all sorts of jobs and professions. It tends to be the less cognitively able people with ASD who struggle to find meaningful occupation after school. I'm cynical of course but its borne of years of experience -but school transition services seem to think that pushing people on to FE colleges is all that's needed. These can just be dumping grounds who take the money then push them out the other end to virtually nothing. Families then have to somehow identity and arrange funding for what comes next -whatever that is! I know I'm an old fogey but the self directed support agenda has left families really struggling on several fronts. Its a sair fecht as we say up here!