Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru	National Assembly for Wales
Bil Awtistiaeth (Cymru) drafft	Draft Autism (Wales) Bill
Arolwg Ar-lein DAB103	Online Survey DAB103
Ymateb gan Cyfrannog ar-lein 103	Evidence from Online Participant 103

Please refer to questions in the Online Survey.

Question	Answer
01	No In all the interactions I have with autistic people, online and in real life - they all prefer to be referred to as “autistic “ rather than as a person with autism. I’m not sure if this will be asked further on in the survey but I would like to raise the following : The majority of this bill should be taken from the views of autistic people themselves. I believe there should be reference to making all “autism cures” illegal and punishable by law. It should also reference that restraint of an autistic  (diagnosed or not) child or adult should be illegal - by teachers, teaching assistants, parents, police officers etc unless there is a genuine concern for the autistic person’s welfare or that of another person. The practise of ABA (Applied Behavioural Analysis) should be outlawed, along with similar damaging practises and including any shock treatment. I’m not sure what a “behavior therapist” is but it doesn’t sound necessary so should be removed from the Bill. Working with organizations such as Autism Speaks should be outlawed as they promote harmful “cures” for Autism as well as the use of ABA (see above) which we know if harmful to autistic children and adults who are subjected to it. Schools and teachers should be taught POSITIVE message about neurodiversity as should Doctors, Nurses and Police Officers. Nothing for us without us and Actually Autistic should be the premise for all future research into how we can improve the outcomes and lives of autistic children and adults. Recruitment agencies and indeed all companies should also have a positive neurodiversity message ingrained in them to help support autistic adults in the workplace.
02	No See above, we should be promoting understanding, acceptance and appreciation of neurodiversity.
03	Yes Neurodiversity training should be mandatory for all health professionals, teachers, law enforcement and employers.
04	Yes Change the entire wording of the Bill to reference “autistic people” and remove all negative wording including the word disorder. Use the words “neurodiverse/neurodiversity “ instead.
05	Yes - the most important thing is this - in writing this strategy, you must consult with thousands of autistic people themselves in order to gain their views and perspectives- Nothing for us without us and Actually Autistic are two hashtags you can use on
06	Yes, as above - you need to gain the views of autistic adults for this.
07	No, this seems reasonable as long as autistic people themselves have been involved in the entire process from start to finish.
09	Yes
10	Yes You should remove “behaviour therapist” if you are referring to anyone who promotes ABA (Applied Behavioura Analysis) or any other such damaging practise. GP’s should be included in this list as I believe they lack awareness of how to identify and best Support autistic people.
11	Yes, GP’s, as stated above.
12	Yes, ignorance of autism in general. The fear of being seen as being “wrong” rather than just autistic/neurodiverse. This comes from a life time of possibly being treated this way by the general public. Talk to Autistic adults about THEIR experiences of life and ask them what might stop them from accessing services that THEY FEEL might help them. Ignorance from others is the biggest hurdle that autistic people face in life.
13	Yes
14	First of all the consent of the autistic person should be gained.
15	It should be written in the guidance.
16	Not sure As long as the autistic person’s consent is obtained before this information is shared.
17	It should happen all the time. It should be focussed on Neurodiversity- not on “disorders”. Promote understanding and patience as well as appreciation for neurodiversity in general.
18	The Bill could be good if it includes the views and requirements of autistic people themselves.
19	As I keep stating, the views of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of autistic adults themselves should be taken into account when drafting this Bill or any other bill or law that is about them.