Following consultation on the provisional recommendations, the National Collaborating Centre for women’s and children’s health and the Autism in children and young people Guideline Development Group (GDG) have considered and responded to stakeholder comments and amended the draft guideline. 

The revised full guideline is now available on the web for a pre-publication check of factual errors. Factual errors are instances where there is an objective error of material fact in the guideline.  They do not include disagreement about scientific or clinical interpretation or judgement, because this cannot be defined as an objective error of material fact. 

This is still draft guidance and has not been sent out to the NHS. The pre-publication check is not a second consultation or an opportunity to reopen arguments and issues highlighted during consultation on the draft guidelines.  The GDG will already have considered these issues in forming the recommendations contained in the draft for the pre-publication check.

Registered stakeholders for this guideline are invited to report any factual errors in the guideline via this website.

Pre-publication check dates: 7-28 July 2011

Pre-publication check documents

• Full guideline
• Appendices to full guideline
• Consultation table and with developers responses
• Pre-publication comments form

Please use the report form to notify any errors and return by email to: autism@nice.org.uk

The Institute is unable to accept:

• More than one form per stakeholder organisation
• Forms received after the deadline (5pm on 28 July 2011)
• Comments that are not on the correct form
• Confidential information or other material that you would not wish to be made public
• Personal medical information about yourself or another person from which your or the person’s identity could be ascertained.

What will happen to your response

• After the closing date, the NCC, GDG and NICE will meet to consider the stakeholders’ responses.  If any corrections are necessary, the developers will revise the full guideline and resubmit to NICE.
• All reports of factual errors and responses will be published on the NICE website with the final guideline.
• No action will be taken upon receipt of personal, individual comments and late comments.

Please note: the pre-publication check will take place before editing of the recommendations is finished. Therefore there may be changes in some recommendations in the final published version, for reasons other than factual accuracy.

Acknowledgement

You should receive an automated acknowledgement from the email box when you email your report form.  If you do not receive this acknowledgement, please contact the relevant Guidelines Coordinator to ensure your comments have been safely received.

Anticipated publication date: September 2011

Further information

• More information on NICE’s guideline development process