In 2015 we engaged with people with autism and their carers to better understand their experiences to help us develop future services across south east London. You can read the key findings from this engagement below and in the summary report of findings.
Following this, we recruited two people with lived experience of autism and worked with them and partners to design a new community autism service.
New Community Autism Service
The new service will launch in spring 2026 and will be delivered across south east London by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Oxleas NHS Trust.
This service will provide multidisciplinary, person-centred support to autistic adults whose needs are not able to be met by existing services. There are circumstances, however, when it is more appropriate for autistic adults to be supported by a specialist community autism team.
The new team is in the process of being recruited and established. It will provide a broad range of healthcare support, both physical and psychological, to people with support needs in everyday life related to autism. The service will provide timely access to specialist need assessments and support to enable to people to live as independently as possible in the community.
Background
The Learning Disability and Autism Programme of the South East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been undertaking some work mapping services for autistic people across south east London. We identified some key gaps which are priorities for further service development. We also gathered the views of autistic people, and carers of autistic people, to further map services and to understand what services should look like.
How people were involved
We created alternatives ways for people to participate and share their experience and tell us what they think.
| A questionnaire asking for the views and experiences of autistic people and carers of autistic people. We were keen to hear from as many autistic people, and their carers living in south east London, as possible. |  |
We invited autistic people, and their carers, to attend two focus groups where we discussed: - how we can ensure we are aware of gaps in services for autistic people
- how we address these gaps to ensure autistic residents of South East London get their needs met
|  |
We also recruited two lived experience members to actively participate in our working group.
Through the online survey and the two focus groups, autistic people and their carers shared their experiences, highlighting key gaps in support and making recommendations.
Key findings:
- While 89% of respondents had accessed services, 75% said that they would welcome more tailored mental health support.
- Respondents also reported the need for support in ‘understanding my autism’, services to help with communication needs, and daily life skills.
- Carers identified similar insights, with 75% highlighting the gap in services that support the person’s mental health needs. They recommended, as a high priority, the need for services to help autistic individuals build independence and navigate transition to adulthood.
In additions the two focus groups revealed four key priorities:
- Improving training and awareness for frontline health professionals
- Involving autistic people in improving services
- Improving communication and information sharing
- Stronger collaboration between services
Read here a summary report.
In 2015 we engaged with people with autism and their carers to better understand their experiences to help us develop future services across south east London. You can read the key findings from this engagement below and in the summary report of findings.
Following this, we recruited two people with lived experience of autism and worked with them and partners to design a new community autism service.
New Community Autism Service
The new service will launch in spring 2026 and will be delivered across south east London by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Oxleas NHS Trust.
This service will provide multidisciplinary, person-centred support to autistic adults whose needs are not able to be met by existing services. There are circumstances, however, when it is more appropriate for autistic adults to be supported by a specialist community autism team.
The new team is in the process of being recruited and established. It will provide a broad range of healthcare support, both physical and psychological, to people with support needs in everyday life related to autism. The service will provide timely access to specialist need assessments and support to enable to people to live as independently as possible in the community.
Background
The Learning Disability and Autism Programme of the South East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been undertaking some work mapping services for autistic people across south east London. We identified some key gaps which are priorities for further service development. We also gathered the views of autistic people, and carers of autistic people, to further map services and to understand what services should look like.
How people were involved
We created alternatives ways for people to participate and share their experience and tell us what they think.
| A questionnaire asking for the views and experiences of autistic people and carers of autistic people. We were keen to hear from as many autistic people, and their carers living in south east London, as possible. | |
We invited autistic people, and their carers, to attend two focus groups where we discussed: - how we can ensure we are aware of gaps in services for autistic people
- how we address these gaps to ensure autistic residents of South East London get their needs met
| |
We also recruited two lived experience members to actively participate in our working group.
Through the online survey and the two focus groups, autistic people and their carers shared their experiences, highlighting key gaps in support and making recommendations.
Key findings:
- While 89% of respondents had accessed services, 75% said that they would welcome more tailored mental health support.
- Respondents also reported the need for support in ‘understanding my autism’, services to help with communication needs, and daily life skills.
- Carers identified similar insights, with 75% highlighting the gap in services that support the person’s mental health needs. They recommended, as a high priority, the need for services to help autistic individuals build independence and navigate transition to adulthood.
In additions the two focus groups revealed four key priorities:
- Improving training and awareness for frontline health professionals
- Involving autistic people in improving services
- Improving communication and information sharing
- Stronger collaboration between services
Read here a summary report.
