Autism Training in CAMHS

Dear South West Essex Primary Care Trust (PCT),

We have found out that Essex local CAMHS professionals can be
dealing with children with autism even though they have no basic
autism training.

Is this ethical? Is this helpful? Is this professional?

Essex parents say this finding does not surprise them.

Quotes from parents:

“I always assumed (obviously wrongly) that CAMHS were expert on
Autism. That explains why so many people proclaim they are
useless!”

“We found out the hard way with our eldest that our CAMHS knew
diddly squat about autism.”

We would like to know, please ...

Is there supposed to be a minimum autism training requirement for
all CAMHS staff in the UK, specified by the Department of Health,
or other regulatory body?

What sort of training is this? Who provides it?

If so, how do you check that staff have this minimum training
requirement?
E.g.: Are jobs advertised with this as part of the JD / criteria?

Does CAMHS offer it's staff in-service training? Who provides this?

Are you in contact with local parent groups? Have you had any
consultations with them about the quality / effectiveness of
service that you provide for children with autism?

We know of so many children / young people with autism who have
been damaged by the education system, and then this damage is
further compounded by (untrained in ASCs) CAMHS "professionals".

What are you doing about this?

We would like to see all CAMHS staff properly trained in autism, as
it is a complex, multi-layered and so very often misunderstood
condition - even by so-called experts / professionals.

Parents often have to adapt their behaviours and lives around thier
child(ren), and this fact is often grossly misunderstood /
misinterpreted by so-called professionals / experts, (who are often
untrained in autism), and the parents are blamed.

One example re course in autism:

http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergradua...

NAS training:
http://www.autism.org.uk/training

Yours faithfully,

[P. Smith]

Dear Huggett Timothy (5PY) South West Essex,

We have found out that some Essex local CAMHS professionals -
despite having no autism training - can be dealing with children
with autism.

We would like to know, please ...

Q.: Is this true?

Q.: How many CAMHS professionals, out of the total practising, do
NOT have any autism training?

Q.: Is there supposed to be a minimum autism training requirement
for all CAMHS staff in the UK, specified by the Department of
Health, or other regulatory body, that you are required to comply
with?

Q.: What sort of training is this? Who provides it?

Q.: If so, how do you check that staff have this minimum training
requirement? E.g.: Are jobs advertised with this as part of the JD
/ criteria?

Q.: Does CAMHS offer it's staff in-service training? Who provides
this? Whay does it consist in?

Q.: Are you in contact with local parent groups? Have you had any
consultations with them about the quality / effectiveness of
service that you provide for children with autism?

Thank you,

Yours faithfully,

[P. Smith]

Dear Freedom of Information (5PY) South West Essex,

Thank you for your response.

Yours sincerely,

[P. Smith]

Dear South West Essex Primary Care Trust (PCT),

http://www.cfps.org.uk/what-we-do/public...

Yours faithfully,

[P. Smith]