To ask the Minister of Health (i) to detail the work his Department has undertaken with Causeway Neurodiversity in identifying, diagnosing and supporting adults with suspected special educational needs (SEN); and (ii) to detail how his Department can better work with charity groups such as this to facilitate a better understanding of, and better support for, adults with suspected SEN.

The Department of Health and HSC partners work closely with the Department of Education and the Education Authority to support children with special educational needs throughout their time in school and transition into adult services. Those transitioning to adult services may present with health and social care needs, accessing a range of supports dependent on assessment.

Causeway Neurodiversity is one of the partner members, of the cross sector Northern Area Autism Forum and the working groups established to deliver an Action Plan. The Forum is chaired by Northern Health and Social Care Trust and provides a multi-agency approach to all issues, including health, employment and housing, impacting on people with ASD and their families in line with the Autism Strategy. The Department engages with this Forum on a quarterly basis. The Trust has provided seed funding for Causeway Neurodiversity to help with set up costs and to help them offer support for neurodivergent children, young people, adults and their carers/ families.

My Department continues to engage with autistic people and the sector through the Department’s Autism Forum established in 2021, which is co-chaired by autistic advocates, to consider issues and challenges on a thematic basis. The Forum comprises of people with lived experience of autism and the community and voluntary sector organisations who represent them. My Department also continues to attend regional Autism Fora and Stakeholder Groups on a quarterly basis to enable continued engagement on the aims and improvements to be achieved in the Autism Strategy. More recently my Department worked with the voluntary and community sector in the development of the Learning Disability Strategic Plan. This work sets out to finalise a service model for learning disabilities and a framework for disabled children. This work is being progressed alongside a refreshed approach to transitions for children with learning disabilities or autism, which is linked to the ongoing End to End Review of SEN, progressed by the Department of Education.