Quality standard

Quality statement 5: Treating the core features of autism: psychosocial interventions

Quality statement 5: Treating the core features of autism: psychosocial interventions

Quality statement

Autistic people have a documented discussion with a member of the autism team about opportunities to take part in age-appropriate psychosocial interventions to help address the core features of autism.

Rationale

Psychosocial interventions should be considered for autistic people and their families and carers, because evidence suggests that they can help in the management of the core features of autism for some people. Different types of psychosocial interventions should be considered, depending on the age and needs of the person. Current practice suggests that the availability of psychosocial interventions for autistic people is variable.

Quality measures

The following measures can be used to assess the quality of care or service provision specified in the statement. They are examples of how the statement can be measured, and can be adapted and used flexibly.

Structure

Evidence of local arrangements to ensure that all autistic people have a documented discussion with a member of the autism team about opportunities to take part in age-appropriate psychosocial interventions to help address the core features of autism.

Data source: Data can be collected from information recorded locally by healthcare professionals and provider organisations, for example, from service protocols.

Process

The proportion of autistic people who have a documented discussion with a member of the autism team about opportunities to take part in age-appropriate psychosocial interventions to help address the core features of autism.

Numerator – the number in the denominator who have a documented discussion with a member of the autism team about opportunities to take part in age-appropriate psychosocial interventions to help address the core features of autism.

Denominator – the number of autistic people.

Data source: Data can be collected from information recorded locally by healthcare professionals and provider organisations, for example, from patient records.

What the quality statement means for different audiences

Service providers ensure that there is sufficient availability of the appropriate psychosocial interventions for staff to be able to offer autistic people the opportunity to take part in psychosocial interventions to help address the core features of autism.

Health and social care practitioners ensure that they have documented discussions with autistic people about age-appropriate psychosocial interventions to help address the core features of autism.

Commissioners work with providers to ensure that age-appropriate psychological interventions to help address the core features of autism are available for autistic people.

Autistic people and (if appropriate) their families and carers have a discussion with members of the autism team (or other health or social care practitioners) about whether they would benefit from taking part in activities to help them with the main signs of autism. For children these activities could include play-based learning and improving social skills. For adults they could include leisure activities, improving social skills, and help with day-to-day activities and with getting a job.

Source guidance

Definitions of terms used in this quality statement

Psychosocial interventions for children and young people

This describes social-communication interventions to address the core features of autism in children and young people, including play-based strategies with parents, carers and teachers to increase joint attention, engagement and reciprocal communication in the child or young person. Strategies should:

  • be adjusted to the child or young person's developmental level

  • aim to increase the parents, carers, teachers or peers' understanding of, and sensitivity and responsiveness to, the child or young person's patterns of communication and interaction

  • include techniques of therapist modelling and video-interaction feedback

  • include techniques to expand the child or young person's communication, interactive play and social routines.

The intervention should be delivered by a trained professional. For pre-school children consider parent, carer or teacher mediation. For school-aged children consider peer mediation. [NICE's guideline on autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: support and management, recommendation 1.3.1]

Psychosocial interventions for adults

The most appropriate psychosocial interventions for autistic adults should be identified based on the person's specific needs. The decision-making process should be based on recommendations 1.3.1 to 1.3.5 in NICE's guideline on autism spectrum disorder in adults: diagnosis and management. Recommendations 1.4.1 to 1.4.12 describe the different types of psychosocial interventions and how they should be delivered.

Core features of autism

The core features of autism are described as qualitative differences and impairments in reciprocal social interaction and social communication, combined with restricted and stereotyped interests and activities, and rigid and repetitive behaviours. [Adapted from NICE's guideline on autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: support and management, introduction]