Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru	National Assembly for Wales
Bil Awtistiaeth (Cymru) drafft	Draft Autism (Wales) Bill
Arolwg Ar-lein DAB56	Online Survey DAB56
Ymateb gan Cyfrannog ar-lein 56	Evidence from Online Participant 56

Please refer to questions in the Online Survey.

Question	Answer
01	Not sure I have two sons with identical diagnostic profiles. However, they are completely different in their outlook and personalities, and this is the same with how they react to similar situations. A rigid 'definition' cannot allow for the expression of individuality that is each person with Autism/Asperger's. Having a rigid definition may do more disservice to individuals who don't 'accurately' fit that description. It is only words, at the end of the day, and people are human and complex. I would hate for people to lose out because they don't fit a particular description - and believe me, one way or another, we have already experienced this detriment over the years! People on the spectrum are MORE than their diagnosis. Neat boxes should not be ticked!
02	Not sure
03	Not sure Save us from the 'Jobsworth' (well-meaning or otherwise) who has had an afternoon's 'training' in Autism Spectrum Disorders and now thinks they know everything there is to know about my kid - and will rigidly exclude us if the kid doesn't measure up to this!
04	Yes
09	Yes
10	Yes But PARENTS of Autistic youngsters should be included.Parents are the real experts QBE - even if they don't realise it yet. Parents are always the ones who are treated like dumb bystanders - when in actual fact, they are in the thick of it, every moment of every day.
11	See above.
12	Yes: "Oh, your kid is too good for our service"/ "Oh, your kid won't cope here". Many, many times we have heard this. So where is my High Functioning Asperger's lad to be educated then? Where is he to be included? Falling between the gaps in so-called provision is just an everyday experience. If you are bright and intelligent and have Asperger's, so you have particular challenges with being in mainstream, then the alternative (usually with basic ABC, and locks on the doors!) isn't right for you either. So where do you go? Where? Between two stools as they say. There ISN'T any provision. My lad (after several months of fruitless searching across counties and even into England) just looked at me one day and I knew the only thing left I could do for him was take him home and home-school him myself. Such is the 'Provision' of educational 'services' for HF Asperger's kids here. I hope it has improved from 10 years ago, but somehow....I doubt it.
13	Yes
14	How secure is this info?? Who, exactly, gets to see it/regulate/control it?? Does the Autistic person/their nominated person/Carer have any right/s to alter or correct it??
16	Not sure Depends on which organisations you mean. Foe example: Nat Autistic Soc, yes.  Dept. of Work & Pensions, no!
17	It should happen all the time.
19	It should not be written so much in stone that it becomes outdated quickly yet Autistic people and their families are made to comply with outdated aspects of it; so it must to some extent have flexibility and regular sympathetic - not punitive! - updates