Local area co-ordinators for autism and mild learning disability

The Local Area Co-ordinators (LACs) provide support to those with an autism or mild learning disability diagnosis in East Dunbartonshire.

They offer information sharing and signposting to all families about local services, as well as close one to one support for those over the age of 14 who have a formal diagnosis. They use an asset-based approach to identify what your personal goals and ambitions are, then help you overcome any barriers in working towards them.

Some main areas that the LAC’s can offer you support with include:

• Signposting to local organisations and supports if there is anything you or your family want more information about
• Introducing you to social or activity groups to meet new people and try new hobbies
• Support to have a positive experience of school (one LAC allocated to every secondary school in East Dunbartonshire)
• Communicating with schools, employers, health professionals etc. if you need extra support explaining your needs
• Finding volunteering experience
• Preparing for, finding and help to sustain paid employment
• Finding further education opportunities
• Filling in forms (bus pass, Blue Badge etc.)
• Accessing local services which might be of interest to you (mental health services, getting benefits, housing etc.)
• Help with independent living skills (budgeting, managing tenancies etc.)
• Information and signposting for those considering pursuing an autism diagnos.

They also run a monthly parent and carer forum for those who have a caring responsibility for someone on the autistic spectrum. The meetings alternate between online on Microsoft Teams and in person (between Kirkintilloch and Milngavie). They open to families caring for those at any age, or stage of diagnosis. Through the mailing list for the parent and carer forum, they also send out a monthly ASN newsletter with information about local opportunities.

To receive one to one support from the team, they require you to fill in an ‘introductions form’ (below). This can be filled in by anyone (teachers, social workers, health professionals, family, self-referral etc.) Please fill in as much information as you can so the team can understand what you are looking for before they make initial introductions. Please remember that the team can only accept introductions for one to one work for those who are over 14 and have a formal diagnosis of autism and/or mild learning disability.

If you would like some more information about what the team can offer, or to discuss a potential introduction, please email – LACs@eastdunbarton.gov.uk

The team have gathered together information about local services and supports for those with an ASN living in East Dunbartonshire. You can access support information on the Autism spectrum services webpage. 

• Accept introductions for one to one support for people who are over 14 years old with a formal diagnosis of autism and/or mild learning disability
• Offer informal signposting about services available to those under 14 or on the diagnostic waiting list
• Signpost people to local social groups and activities which might interest them
• Support to prepare and look for further education opportunities (and referring into appropriate organisations who can also help)
• Support to prepare and look for employment opportunities (and referring into appropriate organisations who can also help)
• Support to prepare and look for volunteering opportunities (and referring into appropriate organisations who can also help)
• Support someone to attend a new group for the first time
• Run a monthly parent and carer support group as well as offering signposting and advice for local families
• Attend school Team Around the Child (TAC) and transition meetings
• Help filling in forms (ie. bursaries, bus passes, Blue Badges)
• Ongoing support leading to school transition time, and afterwards
• Applications to the Independent Living Fund
• Introductions to local services (i.e. advocacy, mental health services, housing support, benefits)
• Meet for informal check-ins to catch up with how you are doing (i.e. go for a walk)
• There is no end date to getting support from the team - we don’t close cases
• Offer autism zwareness training to staff and community groups.

• Accept introductions for one to one support for people with diagnoses other than autism or mild learning disability (those with mental health considerations CAN work with Employability LACs – but must be interested in looking for meaningful voluntary work or employment)
• Accept formal introductions for one to one support for people before they turn 14
• Accept formal introductions for one to one support for those on the waiting list for autism or learning disability assessment
• Have access to formal budgets (i.e. Self Directed Support (SDS)  packages)
• Accept introductions for people who live out-with East Dunbartonshire
• Accept introductions for people who have moderate or complex learning disabilities (refer into social work instead)
• Offer support if at ‘crisis’ stage (refer into social work instead if appropriate)
• Offer regular, ongoing direct support to attend activities (similar to a Personal Assistant)
• Offer ongoing support to travel to and from opportunities.

This report highlights the work undertaken by the Local Area Coordination and Outreach Teams, both of which sit within Social Work Day Services, for the year 2023. Both teams have used a combination of qualitative and quantitative feedback, including participant and one to one feedback forms, parental feedback forms and pictures/videos to help evaluate the work of both teams. The report aims to help readers understand the operational and strategic work of both teams, and to help break down the data gathered from January 2023-December 2023. It will also allow readers to understand how data can support the teams to develop better practice, gain a better understanding of the needs of those we are working alongside, and how to better joint-work alongside partners.

The Local Area Co-ordination Team worked alongside 227 individuals who were diagnosed autistic, or diagnosed with a mild learning disability, and were aged over 14. Below is a graph to highlight the profile of those worked alongside in 2023.

Breakdown of people working alongside the LAC team in 2023.

• Number of people known to statutory social work and LAC - 43
• Number of people archived as work completed - 49
• Number of clients known to LAC in 2022, still working with LAC in 2023 - 96
• Number of new introductions in 2023 - 131
• Total number worked alongside - 227

As you can see from the above, only 49 out of the 227 individuals (19%) who worked with the team were known to statutory social work services, many of whom were transitioning from children to adult services, and who would not meet the adult eligibility criteria. We have not reported on these exact figures for the year, but as part of our review for this coming year, we will include these statistics for the end of 2024 report to help us understand the number of individuals we are working with who would no longer meet eligibility criteria under adult services. We hope this would indicate the work of the LAC team in actively participating in preventative work.

The information below highlights where the new introductions came from in 2023 (please note we prefer the term introduction rather than referral as it is more person-centred and recognises the person as an active participant in their support).

Profile of introduction

• Self or other introduction - 16
• Introductions made from third sector - 14
• Introductions made from Social Work - 20
• Introductions made from schools - 81

As you can see from the above, the majority of introductions have come from schools. This highlights the fantastic joint working of the LAC team and the local secondary schools, supported by Educational Psychology and the Additional Support Need Manager for Education. Each Local Area Coordinator is now attached to a secondary school (see above for this information), which means there is consistency for the young person and their families through the transition process. Local Area Coordinators are now invited to the Transition Pupil Support Group Meeting that takes place annually in each school, as well as Team Around the Child Meetings, usually organised by schools as well. LACs will also attend key transition meetings to help compliment the work of other agencies at this key moment in a young person’s life.

The information below highlights some of the key pieces of working undertaken by LACs during the year. Many of the individuals the team are working with, are still at school, and as part of our ingoing improvement to data collection, we will look at recording more statistics in terms of additional work the team are doing (independent living fund applications, bus pass applications, support to access other community supports etc.).

Summary of work undertaken

• Number of people into employment - 9
• Number of people supported to job search, referred to Enable or other Employment programmes - 21
• Number of people supported through transitions - 27
• Number of people supported to volunteer - 22
• Number of people introduced to social groups - 36

You can see that there has been a wide range of work completed by the team during the year year, including supporting the employment agenda thanks to funding from the Shared Prosperity fund which has been allocated by the Skills for Learning, Life and Work Team to fund one of the LAC posts in 2023.

In addition to this, the team made approximately 402 contacts through the shared mailbox. This will include introducing people to local mental health services such as East Dunbarontshire’s Association for Mental Health (EDAMH), supporting parents and carers to find out more about what is on offer for individuals and families with neurodivergent conditions in East Dunbartonshire, and introducing individuals and families to other third sector organisations and supports such as Carer’s Link, Ceartas and East Dunbartonshire Voluntary Action (EDVA).

The team write up case studies for each individual they work alongside to help bring together the participant journey. Below are a selection of case studies from the year from each worker

1. Client A self-referred to the LAC team. Client A requested LAC support as they had completed their undergraduate and master’s degree and felt like they were struggling to enter paid employment on their own. Due to this, Client A felt like they were unable to meet their goals. On their introductions form they had also stated that they would like support with their mental health and improving their self-esteem and confidence. I met with the client, and we identified goals and began to build a relationship. Client A was working for a company on a zero hour’s contract and was not being offered any shifts so was ready to gain employment which used their degree. As they was ready to go straight into employment, we discussed a referral to Enable and they agreed to this. Whilst we were waiting on Enable to make contact, we began job searching together. Client A had three interviews in the one week, so we practiced interview questions together and planned the route to each interview location. As the interviews were for similar jobs, after the first interview, we met and went over the answers for the questions and prepared answers for the questions as we felt it would be similar questions asked in the next two interviews. Unfortunately, Client A was unsuccessful in these interviews. Client A then began employability support with Enable. To support Client A’s mental health, we discussed the options available in East Dunbartonshire and they chose EDAMH. I made an introduction on their behalf. Another one of their goals was to attend social groups so I spoke through the list of social groups in the area, and they decided to join Women’s Group, MAGSS and EDICT. Client A is now applying and going for interviews for jobs related to their degree and becoming more confident doing this. They are feeling more confident within themselves, and socialising with their peers through the social groups and through receiving support for their mental health. Client A is now working towards their next goal of starting up an autism magazine with the support of the LAC’s.
2. Client B was referred to the LAC team by her mother, after she found out about our service through a friend who attends out Parents and Carer’s Forum. Client B had just completed a college course which focussed on life skills and independence and was not sure what to do once this finished. The family were keen for Client B to begin volunteering and to attend social groups. I met with Client B and her mum, discussed the LAC role and what social opportunities were available and asked Client B what her goals would be. After time to think about all her options, Client B decided she would like to do a course with Gavin’s Mill to gain barista skills and skills in cooking and catering. We met with Gavin’s Mill for more information on the course and signed Client B up for this. She was also interested in New Roots Gardening Group. I supported her along to this and she likes attending this group weekly. I also supported Client B along to EDVA to discuss volunteering opportunities. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do so EDVA suggested she join the youth programme that they run. Through this Client B joined a walking group which she enjoys weekly. As Client B has a diagnosed learning disability, and has never had a social work assessment, I referred her to the Joint Learning Disabilities Team with her permission for an assessment of her needs and to potentially access formal day services support. Client B is now looking to access financial support. They have had an appointment to discuss this with CAB and now I am supporting her to apply for these.
3. J has a diagnosis of autism and borderline personality disorder, as well as complex mental health challenges. She was told that once she turned 18, she would no longer be eligible for formal social work input and her support from CAMHS would stop – something which caused her a great deal of anxiety. I was able to pick up support at this time and got to know her through meeting for regular walks. I supported her to get some travel practice by catching the bus from her house to the college so she became familiar with the route. I also supported her to meet with the college student support service who advised her on the additional help that was available to her at college if needed. She started the course but was overwhelmed with the full-time hours, so I then supported her to arrange to study part time instead. Once she felt settled on the course, we looked into other opportunities which she could try to fill her week and encourage her to have positive experiences out of the house. She joined a local hospitality course where she received a certificate in barista skills, and also joined a local social club for young people with additional support considerations to meet new people. We went together to the Citizens Advice Bureau to go through an income maximisation check, then I helped her to complete the application forms to apply for benefits. Throughout this time, her parents attended the LAC Parents and Carers Forum to receive some peer support from other local families.
   Although J experienced a number of struggles with her mental health over the years, she is now much more confident and has recently celebrated her one-year anniversary without self-harming. She is next planning on building towards finding some paid employment with support from the team.
4. A has a diagnosis of autism and lives at home with his mum and seven siblings. He left school and signed up to a ‘life skills’ transition course. His mum did not use technology so was unable to keep up with the demands of enrolling for college so without any support/ He was told that he was going to lose his college placement and would have nothing else lined up. I was able to pick up support for A at this time and met with him to support him to finish his college enrolment by completing his Personal Learning Support Plan, as well as his bursary and taxi application. I also supported him to complete an ILF application for funding for a laptop, as well as an annual gym membership and bike so he could travel independently around the local area. Due to the business of his mum’s other caring responsibilities, he did not have many opportunities to leave the house and engage with his peers. Therefore, I also supported him to sign up for a local sporting group, which he now attends weekly and has made some new friends. We are also in the process of finding some volunteering on one of his days off college so he can get some work experience.
   Although A was facing a year with no college placement and distance from his peers, he is now happy at college, making other local friends, keeping fit, building his confidence and getting some work experience for the future, and there has been a significant change to his mother’s caring responsibilities in the process.
5. ‘MM’ has been known to the LAC Team since 2022. He was looking for employment support as he has struggled to secure employment since he finished his college course in 2021. MM wanted to work in Early Years, and whilst studying for an HNC in Childhood Practice he couldn’t complete a ‘normal’ placement due to the pandemic. This then meant that MM had very little experience. His week was made up with volunteering at Barnardo’s and the Boys Brigade, and he spent the rest of time with family. MM's confidence was low, he was incredibly anxious, and this came across when he interviewed. We started to meet weekly to search for roles, and it quickly became apparent that MM struggled to travel to places he hadn’t been before. We had to keep the job search to a local area where MM could get the bus to. In early 2023 I arrange a volunteering placement at a nursery in Springburn. MM was there for around eight weeks. Over the course of 2023 we met weekly to apply for jobs, during which time MM applied for over 50 jobs and went to 22 interviews but he was unsuccessful, with the feedback stating that he needed to be more in-depth with his answers. We spent time creating competency-based answers to questions that he could practice and then use in the interview, I attended an interview with him to get an idea of how he answered the questions so I could support him with tips and techniques, MM requested to see the questions before he arrived at interview, so he felt less anxious and had time to process each question ahead of the interview. MM also emailed and CV dropped all the local nurseries to see if he could volunteer to build his experience but unfortunately none of the nurseries replied. He also undertook training to enhance his skills, interview skills, time management, a first aid course and Makaton level 1. Throughout the entire time MM was committed and dedicated, he took on board all my advice and was determined to achieve his goal of working with children. That hard work paid off and he was offered a role working as a Child Care Assistant.
6. ‘JM’ contacted the LAC Team for the first time in 2022. She had recently graduated from college with a HNC in Early Years. JM had applied for a role in an early years centre prior to contacting the LAC Team, she hadn’t been successful but had asked for constructive feedback. On meeting JM, I could see how keen she was to become an early year’s practitioner, she was keen to work for a council early years centre and she felt-part time hours would be best. JM has a car and is comfortable commuting to work as long as she can practice ahead of starting her role. Over the next couple of months, we spent time together applying for roles within early years centres, JM worked really hard on her application, and I supported her to ensure she had captured everything she wanted to say. JM was successful in securing an interview and we spent some time preparing to ensure her examples covered the key questions she thought she would be asked. JM was successful at interview; she secured a part time position in a location that she was happy with. Since JM started her role in November 2022, she has unfortunately had a run of bad illness, some resulting in hospital stays which has led to her developing extreme anxiety around being sick. She has had several absences and has hit the triggers as per the council absence policy. During my visits I supported her to understand the policy. We discussed at length how disclosing her diagnosis might help, as she had an incident at work one day and her peers were worried about her. I then supported JM to an absence hearing which was beneficial as she chose to disclose to her manager her diagnosis and it has now meant that supports can be put in place if JM is feeling overwhelmed. JM’s manager has agreed to a set shift pattern to see if that helps with her health. All supports were put in on a trial basis and will be regularly reviewed to ensure they are still working.

In 2023 the team were looking to support two of the groups set-up and run by LACs, to become independent groups.

Firstly, the team worked hard with New Roots Limited (now an interest company by guarantee) to help become a self-sustaining organisation who support food growing and horticultural groups across several sites in East Dunbartonshire. The organisation will now operate as a social enterprise and having been heavily supported by LAC staff for the past seven years, now only requires light touch support for introductions,  funding applications and liaising with potential partner organisations. This has freed up capacity for the LAC team to look at other development opportunities and has led to a successful take over by the group’s original tutors (who are now directors). This has led to a positive change within the group, allowing participants to make more of the decisions within the group.

The second group to become more independent is the Sounds of the Gallery Band. Having secured a new venue to rehearse in as well as additional funding for the band’s Musical Director to take on more of the administration of the group, this has again led to the LAC Team supporting on a light-touch basis, similar to how they support New Roots. We hope to continue to support these groups develop further over 2024.

Community Learning and Development

The Team continues to be part of the Community Learning and Development (CLD) Strategy with active involvement with partners across the CLD community (involved in projects with the Community Development Workers, the Equalities Lead, East Dunbartonshire Voluntary Action and the Youth Development Workers). The team have also attended two in-person ‘gatherings’ for all CLD staff to help reconnect to partner teams post-COVID. There is also continuing work with the CPD sub-group in terms of delivering in-house and partnership training and information sessions to al staff to help build capacity whilst utilising existing resources. The focus for 2024 will be to contribute towards the new local CLD Strategy which will be in place for the next three years.

Autism and Neurodivergence Strategy

The Team have been heavily involved in the strategic and operational work of East Dunbartonshire’s Autism Strategy. Towards the end of last year, the team were involved in supporting the lead for the Autism Strategy in pulling together the work that had been achieved over the past 10 years. This has included some of the work highlighted below, as well as creating access guides for each of the Community Hubs and leisure centres. In 2024, the team will be helping to deliver the new Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, including helping to facilitate a sub-group which will inform the main group.

Housing Strategy

One member of the team has been heavily involved in supporting the development of an autism friendly housing pack alongside the Housing Team. This means that anyone with a neurodivergent condition, moving into a local authority tenancy, should have an easy-to-follow resource pack that will allow them to navigate and check off all the things they are required to do as a new tenant. It also details what to do if something breaks, or if they need support with something. Alongside this Housing Officers have had autism awareness training and the plan for 2024 is to look at how we support maintenance and customer service staff to increase their knowledge when supporting an autistic person in their home or over the phone. This member of staff will also be involved in the new Housing Strategy that is set for development in 2024.

Trauma Informed Network

One member of the team has been heavily involved in the Trauma Informed Network, attending meetings, and feeding back to the rest of the team about the ongoing work in East Dunbartonshire around Trauma Informed Practice. This member of the team will also become a trainer. (Train the Trainer for Level 2) and will contribute to the ongoing work of building a trauma informed workforce across East Dunbartonshire. They have also been involved in organising the Meet the Services day which will be held in April 2024 an opportunity for members of the public to meet with HSCP services from a wide range of areas (mental health, day service, drug and alcohol teams etc.).

Delivery of autism awareness training

One member of the team leads on the delivery of autism awareness training. In 2023, this member of the team, with support at some of the in-person trainings, delivered autism awareness training to 147 people. This included partner organisations, colleagues in other internal services, and those living and looking for work in East Dunbartonshire. The feedback from all of the training activities has been overwhelmingly positive with 100% of individuals having a positive experience and noting that the training was most relevant to the work they were undertaking. For 2024 the focus will be continuing to deliver sessions on an ad-hoc bases, but also looking at how we can work with employers to help them gain a better understanding of the neurodivergent community in their work places, and also work with the team to look at employment opportunities. 

The Spectrum Film Club

The Spectrum Film Club is an accessible film club that meets monthly to watch films together which have been chosen by the group’s members. In 2023 it won the award for Best New Community Cinema at the prestigious Film Society of the Year Awards run by Cinema for All. The group runs from Kilmardinny House on the third Tuesday of each month.  It continues to be supported by the LAC Team and an autistic volunteer.  It is hoped the club will be handed over to a member of the outreach staff in late 2024.

Parent and Carers Forum & ASN newsletter.

The LAC Team continue to facilitate the Parents and Carers Forum which is open to anyone who has a caring responsibility for an autistic person (this can be a person of any age, not just 14+ and at any stage of diagnoses, so this will include individuals awaiting a diagnoses). In 2023 the team facilitated 10 Parents and Carers Forums. Five of these were in person and five of these were online. On average we had eight people attending each session, with some online meetings welcoming as many as 14 parents carers. Every month, new parents joined. In 2023 we welcomed speakers from Enable, Creatovators, Salveson Mindroom, Social Security Scotland, The Richmond Fellowship and Rookie Minds to help explain to parents and carers how their services might be able to support their child/family. The team also continues to compile a monthly newsletter which brings together all the neurodivergent activities, promotes services and lets people know about events in one convenient place. This goes out to 500 parents and carers across East Dunbartonshire as well as 50 professionals and teachers from our partner organisations. Feedback from the Parents and Carers Forum indicates that parents like the variety of meeting other parents and carers to share experiences, but also value the input from external speakers and services.

Regular attendee of the forum:

‘The guest speakers part is always very good, but the interaction with other parents is also good.’ 

Feedback from those who attend the forum indicated that the team should look to rotate the evening:

‘I don't attend as it always a Wednesday evening. That's my late night at work so it's impossible to attend. Could you rotate evenings?’

And that facilitators should be mindful of how we manage who gets the opportunity to speak:

‘Might be nice to divide the time a bit more formally so that everyone gets a chance to share. Sometimes the parents/carers who are last to share are rushing to get through. I've been in other groups where we hold a little egg timer or hourglass to remind us to leave time for others. If someone really needs extra time, we can decide to extend their time. But the external reminder helps those of us (ME) to keep track of time because we don't all have the same internal clock.’

In 2024 we want to strengthen our partnership with the Neurodevelopmental Team to help support more families access services and supports whilst they are awaiting diagnoses. We will also listen to feedback from parents and carers and adapt as best we can to meet as many needs as possible.

The team continue to take part in opportunities to further their knowledge and skills and to help improve practice. Staff have also utilised the Turas platform through NES, NHS Scotland’s CPD programme. Below is a list of training courses which staff have attended and shared with colleagues at team meetings:

• Mental Health Supporting Others
• PDA Training
• Understanding ADHD in Young Children
• Hoarding Awareness
• Adult Protection
• Trauma Informed Parenting
• Child Protection Training
• General ADHD training
• Stress Management and Resilience
• Talking About Wellbeing
• Self Directed Support Training
• Self Harm Training
• REHIS Elementary Food Hygiene
• Promoting Positive Behaviours Training

Creatovators

The LAC Team continue to support Creatovators to deliver their ‘You Are Not Alone’ sessions. This year the team supported eight sessions, delivering four presentations, supporting with the set-up and break down of each session, advertising and sign-posting and providing sign-posting support to families who attend. We continue to sign-post families to their Play Scheme sessions and have helped to make other introductions to different services within the Council and HSCP and other partner organisations.

Joint Learning Disability Team (JLDT)/LAC Case Conferences,

This initiative was initially proposed and set-up by the Team Leader of LAC/Outreach Teams and the Senior Social Worker of the JLDT. This was a small pilot project looking at joint working best practice for a small number of adults who were transitioning to the adult JLDT, but were already known to LACs. This then led to regular, eight weekly case conferences with members from both teams to ensure that there was no duplication or replication of work, but instead that team’s were working together to ensure good outcomes for those with a mild learning disability. This has led to an increase in appropriate introductions from the JLDT to the LAC Team, has led to better discussions and more awareness about outreach groups, and has led to a good transition for three adults who moved from child to adult services. In total 10 individuals were worked with by both teams and the goal for 2024 is to increase the number of appropriate referrals to support the JLDT. 

East Dunbartonshire Voluntary Action (EDVA)

The team continue to make introductions to EDVA for those looking to start their volunteering journey as well as introducing them to their No One Left Behind programme. The team also continues to be part of their Children and Families Network as well their Neurodivergence Network. EDVA have also been very supportive with regards to advertising and helping to recruit for volunteers for the groups with 90% of volunteers having come from EDVA.

Employability Case Conferences

Two members of the team had a remit to support the delivery of employment outcomes within East Dunbartonshire through No One Left Behind and other organisations which received funding via the Shared Prosperity Fund. They have been heavily involved in bi-monthly case-conferences held with Enable, EDVA and the Skills for Learning Life and Work Team to help prevent duplication and replication, to monitor the progress of the client journey and to provide on-going complimentary support to individuals and their families. This has included introducing people to Enable’s all stage programme when an individual is work ready, but has also included supporting nine people into and to sustain employment directly.

Other

The LAC Team have also been involved in a wide range of other pieces of work. This has included:

• Linking in with school liaison officers and being invited to early and effective interventions when discussing autistic young people
• Running One Stop Shop events for Autism Awareness Week to help  sign-post and support families of an autistic person
• Planning ‘LAC come and try’ week during the school holidays (although cancelled due to low numbers)
• Creating pre/post-diagnosis resources to help support families who might be going through or considering a diagnoses
• Providing support to outreach staff taking over the running of most groups
• Supporting two social work students with 90-day, third year placements within the team, with one worker acting as a link worker and taking the lead in developing a programme of work for the students whilst they have been in placement, including managing a case load.

The Local Area Coordination Team created online and in-person questionnaires for those they are working alongside and their parents and carers. Although the feedback was limited to a small amount of people, it was overwhelmingly positive. The areas which individuals found most helpful were; support looking for employment; help to access social groups; support to apply for their bus pass; and being introduced to other mental health services. Below are some testimonials which reflect the positive impact the team is having on individuals, while also highlighting the areas the team could improve on.

'The help I and my family have been given by the LACs over the years has been immeasurable. There has been so much that they have taken on board, things that I could not bring myself to deal with. There have been so many positive outcomes following the efforts of the LAC Team on our behalf, I cannot begin to thank them, and I know I would not have these positives, if it was not for them.'

‘She has been keeping me motivated in times where I have felt very low about my job situation and that is a lot for me.’

‘Having my Local Area Co-ordinator go with me to the groups at first. Helped build my confidence.’

‘H is probably the best support/social work person I've ever met. She's done so much for me in the little time she's been around, and I'll always be grateful. I actually think about subjects to talk about on the day we have our walk (but I forget most of them). If I could put a higher rating, I would.’

‘Maybe explaining more about what to expect in the groups’

‘Easier access to full time employment, especially within the Council. More apprenticeship positions offered through Area Co-ordinators support.’

Below are some testimonials from parents and carers about areas where the team have done well, and areas which could be improved:

‘I actually don’t know how the support from the team could have been better, perfection is perfection. I adore the whole team but obviously because its been A and now H, I have/do deal with then I tell you from my heart and my sons that these ladies are our guardian angels and life would be back to the minefield / stressful awful place it was before our angels came on board. They have so many things to do for their clients yet never ever complain. They are pulled to bits trying to be in two-three places at the same time. No complaints, all dealt with dignity, compassion and love. There is not other name for these ladies except ANGELS.’

‘I can't fault any of the support from any of the team. I only worry there isn't enough of them to support everyone with what they need.
We just need more of them!’

'My son achieved his CSCS card and this was only achieved by H’s one-to-one support, as my son wasn't in education since 13'

‘He's doing more around his interests and strengthening relationships with people he knew before. He's increasing his social circle and growing in confidence.’

‘Ensuring transport is organised, and maybe practical reminders of appointments etc like a text.’

The aim for 2024 is to ensure that we capture feedback from families as they move to light touch or archive once work is completed, and to capture feedback from individuals and families on an annual basis. This will include supporting individuals to complete the questionnaire. This will allow the team to utilise the data to help improve the service.

As part of the new vision for Day Services, money was identified to fund 14 sessional workers (13 x 6 hour posts, 1 x 9 hour post) to help deliver the vision of taking on the social groups that had been developed by the Local Area Coordination Team to help free up capacity, and to help expand the reach and further development of these groups. From March - July 2023, the LAC and Outreach Team Leader, alongside the Day Service Manager, recruited an additional eight members of staff to support the existing three members of staff. In 2024 the focus will be to recruit the additional three members of staff. In 2023, the 11 Outreach staff members were able to develop several new groups (outlined below) as well as take on the running and support the expansion of existing groups that the LAC Team had created. This was developed off the back of extensive consultation with service users and their families. Below is a break down of each group and some information with regards to attendees, activities and feedback from participants as well as their parents and carers. As part of their induction process, all staff have received autism awareness and learning disability training, adult protection training, adult protection and real scenarios training (co-facilitated alongside the Senior Social Worker within the Joint Learning Disability Team) and how to develop and facilitate groups. The feedback from staff was overwhelmingly positive with 100% of attendees expressing how useful and informative the sessions were and 100% of attendees reporting they would use the information and knowledge from these sessions in their practice.

Evaluations have been collected and the data analysed for each of the groups collectively to reflect the overall impact the Outreach Team are having on those they support. A copy of these questionnaires can be found in Appendix B. A total of 43 people responded to the questionnaire.

Self-evaluation as well as the evaluation of each group is embedded into each Outreach Group. Each team is tasked with completing a short evaluation at each session which looks at what went well, but what could also be improved upon, as well as what staff did well/could improve on. The forms can also capture any feedback from participants or parents/carers and acts as a quick snap-shot of how each session has gone identifying areas of improvement for each group. Below is some of the data we have been able to draw from the evaluations:

A copy of these evaluation templates can be found in Appendix B

As part of the new vision for Day Services, the Team Leader along with the Day Services Manager has supported the development of a volunteer policy, handbook and supporting documentation. This can be sent upon request to any other services looking at developing a volunteering programme. Presently we have 10 active volunteers supporting the delivery of all Outreach and LAC groups (as well as supporting the Sounds of the Gallery band), with another two awaiting their Disclosures. We have another volunteer who is supporting the delivery of our sister service, Outlook’s groups, and another volunteer has now gained employment within Education. In addition, two of our previous volunteers have now gained employment within the Outreach Team, indicating that volunteering can provide routes into employment opportunities. The development of the volunteer policy and handbook, will support the development of work experience opportunities across a number of organisations including Day Services, East Dunbartonshire’s Leisure and Culture Trust and Facilities Management. This will be a focus for the Local Area Coordination team in 2024. 

Both teams will be entering a challenging time in 2024 given the financial climate being experienced all local authorities across Scotland. However, the teams have secured funding for a full-time employability LAC and a full time Multiply LAC to help deliver and achieve better employment and independent living outcomes for the neurodivergent community in the financial year April 2024-March 2025. The Outreach Team will also be developing a men’s group and a Manga, Anime, Gaming and Sci-Fi Society Group at the Allander once there is a full compliment of sessional workers. Despite the challenges ahead, both teams are dedicated to building a strong evidence base to justify their existence. Whilst self-evaluation is built into the Outreach Team’s practice, The Local Area Coordination Team will start a cycle of regular self-evaluation to allow better practice reflection and areas for development. The team’s will also bring together participant and parent feedback forms and will continue to use the data to inform best practice and identify gaps in provision. The team also hope to develop better evaluations tools through videos and will show case them at the end of the next financial year.

Heather and Ailsa started their role as Local Area Co-ordinators – ‘Adult Employability, Additional Support Needs and Mental Health’ in March 2022. Their role is to work one to one with adults who are autistic and/or have a learning disability and support them towards a positive destination. This could include building confidence to attend social groups, support to start volunteering, getting into employment and maintaining employment, or accessing further education. They also have a remit to support parents who have a disability or mental health consideration to either gain employment or further their skills to gain a promotion or receive better pay.

Clients

Since March 2023, the team have taken on clients to support them into a positive destination.

Of the introductions above, the team have worked one to one with each individual to support them to work on their goals. The below table shows the number of clients who were not in a positive destination when they were introduced to the team and are now in employment, volunteering, further education or attending social groups they were not accessing before.

Client activity

• Number of clients - 58
• Social groups - 9
• Volunteering - 17
• Further education - 15.

The expansion of the team to include Heather and Ailsa has not only enabled them to accept their own one to one introductions, but has also allowed the other LAC Team members to increase their capacity through working more closely with schools. In 2020, the whole LAC Team received a total of 20 new introductions for one to one work. This number increased to 80 new introductions in the year of 2022 – a rise of 400% within two years, something which would have been unattainable without the addition of Heather and Ailsa to the team.

The team have worked in partnership with the Working for Parents team to support parents who have a diagnosed disability or a mental health consideration. The team have supported parents to find employment or complete training to enable them to find better paid employment.

Introductions have been slow, so the team actively reached out to organisations to see if they knew of anyone that could be supported. This included speaking with the Joint Learning Disability Social Work Team, the Job-centre and Carers Link as well as mentioning the project in multiple different meetings.

To date, four introductions have been made. These have come from the Working for Parents Team, Joint Learning Disability Social Work Team and through the Local Area Coordinator service.

During the induction period, the team realised that East Dunbartonshire has a variety of employability programmes already in place which meant that some individuals were being supported by two or three different agencies for the same role which many found confusing.

Case reviews were set-up every two months with No One Left Behind and Enable -to discuss the progress of clients known to all parties and who would taking the employability lead on these clients. Working closely alongside the other employability programmes, the team ensured clients are being supported along their journey towards a positive destination.

The team have a good working relationship with the local Job-centre in Kirkintilloch and are planning to launch a monthly morning session on-site. The work coaches will book in clients to come and speak to the team about other support they can offer alongside employability.

Additionally, attending the Grant Funders Forum has really helped the sharing of information and ensuring clients are being introduced to the correct scheme. These forums are a chance to meet up and discuss issues, current status and good news stories. These meetings are incredibly helpful to keep communication open and aid understanding of the employment schemes available.

Heather and Ailsa created Positive Pathways after the team’s employment project -‘We Connect’ ended. We Connect was run in partnership with No One Left Behind and focussed on employability skills e.g. CV building and application forms. The team felt that this support needed to continue longer term, but the social side of meeting in person was also important for individual's development. The team thereafter created nine employability-focused workshops with a different topic each month, based in both Milngavie and Kirkintilloch. The sessions continue to run monthly and have regular attendees, however they are always open to new people joining. So far, the sessions have covered barriers to employment, the benefits of volunteering, CV building, applications, how to search for a job and now a confidence taster session. These sessions have allowed clients to create their own CVs and feel more confident applying for jobs and going for interviews.

The team have been working with schools throughout East Dunbartonshire. Each LAC has been assigned a different school. This has enabled better engagement with the key teachers and autism advisors within the schools and more of a presence for both staff and pupils. The team have attended Team Around the Child (TAC) meetings, autism-specific Pupil Support Groups (PSG’s), parent’s evenings and guidance teacher meetings. As a result, there is now much more of an awareness through teaching staff about the LAC team and what our service can offer, as well as more introductions for one to one client work (particularly for those preparing for transition) and more introductions to parents for support or accessing the parent and carer forum, which the team facilitate.

Through the work within schools, Me, Myself & Autism sessions were piloted in Douglas Academy. These sessions were run by Heather Wright and were open for those with an autism diagnosis or those awaiting one. These sessions were run in school for free, during the day for senior phase students and covered topics such as: ‘juggling’, ‘order and chaos’ and ‘explosion or meltdown’.

Also, through highlighting the Positive Pathways project with schools, some  expressed an interest in having that run with senior phase pupils who will be thinking about what their positive destination may look like and how they can be supported by exploring different topics such as: where to look for a job, how to create a CV and interview skills. The goal is to pilot in a few schools this year and then roll out in all secondary schools across the authority. 

This year, Ailsa and Heather have been focussing on working closely with colleges. The team have spoken with New College Lanarkshire, Glasgow Clyde College, Glasgow Kelvin College and City of Glasgow College. As a team we have also compiled a list of the main feeder colleges for those travelling from the East Dunbartonshire area. There is now a comprehensive list of the most appropriate courses for those with additional support considerations, as well as information about other courses available, bursaries and travel. This information has then been sent around schools and onto other agencies for them to pass around their clients for information.

The team have been in discussion with the colleges about the LAC role and have asked them to introduce us to any autistic students who have an East Dunbartonshire postcode, with the student’s permission, so they can be supported with their college journey and to think about next steps. This also allows the team to support any student who may be near dropping out or struggling with the course and require extra support. This has been an important step to ensure these clients do not fall in between the gaps of provision. Feedback from individuals and parents has been that they have been unsure where to turn for support previously as a lot of students with a Glasgow Postcode are then further supported by project search, but this is not an option for students with East Dunbartonshire postcodes.

Part of the role is to create and support opportunities within East Dunbartonshire. This year flyers were dropped off at local businesses to offer LAC support if/when the employer hires someone autistic or with a learning disability. It was highlighted that the team can provide funding support and autism at work training, as well as reviewing the role and reasonable adjustments. Initial face to face contact with employers was positive however this has not turned in to any further contact or leads.

Cold calling employers did not work as the team did not have clients ready to work in those industries. Instead the team, contacted employers when they had clients who have a specific interest to work in those industries. This had a much more positive response and the team have managed to place people within these employers whether it is paid employment or volunteering.

The next piece of work is a survey for employers which will go out via the Council's social media platforms. The survey results will give the teaman insight to opportunities within East Dunbartonshire.

The team are also very keen to work with the Council's HR & Recruitment team as they would like to create a working relationship where our Autism Community Group can review role profiles, job adverts, and the application and interview process to make sure it is disability friendly. Initial contact has been very supportive however due to the HR Team being very busy the team haven’t managed to secure a date to meet and discuss in more detail.

The ASN newsletter was developed in May 2022. It was created to pull all the activities and updates in the local area in to one monthly news update. This was to reduce the amount of emails being sent to parents and carer’s each week and to provide information to external organisations to share with their clients.

The newsletter has been well received, and the team aim to send out around the middle  of the month. It includes activities, research and news updates from our groups. Each month it is issued, we have received emails from external agencies, parents and carers requesting new people to be added to our mailing list.

Client A

Client A is a 28-year-old man who has been known to our service for five years. Client A’s main interest is in sound production and he wants to go into a voiceover career. Client A is part of the Autism Community Group and regularly attends monthly meetings to give his views and opinions in order to feed these back to wider strategy meetings within East Dunbartonshire Council.

Client A was looking to find work within the sound industry which is a niche area and difficult to find employment in. After speaking with a few companies, we discovered Client A was required to build on his knowledge and experience before applying for roles. He then decided he wanted to start his own business in this field but wanted a part time job to financially support himself to achieve this. He began editing podcasts for Carer’s Link on a voluntary basis to build up experience and knowledge.

Client A has been involved with local employability programmes before but wanted to focus on employability support with the LAC Team. The Local Area Coordinators sourced and supported Client A along to a training course about Sound Production which supported him to build on his knowledge and skills. Client A and the team then completed job searching and found an Administration Assistant role with the Scottish Union for Supported Employment and he decided he wanted to apply for this role. The Local Area Coordinator’s then helped client A with updating his CV, application support and interview preparation and he was successful after interview. Client A is enjoying his role with SUSE and working part time has allowed him to start his own business – Vorpal Sound Studio’s which he hopes to build on in the coming year. The team have also provided in job support for Client A and met with his line manager to discuss working together to ensure Client A feels supported in employment.

Client A’s on working with the Co-ordinators are:

Client B is a 19-year-old man who made contact with the LAC Team in 2022. He had found out about the LAC Team through National Autistic Society. Client B was looking for support to find a job. He had recently completed a course at college, however had missed the application date to apply for the next course so was seeking employment until the next academic year.

Client B was applying for every job available as he was keen to start earning his own money as he was no longer in further education. The LAC Team made a referral to Enable to their employability scheme, to support Client B to apply for jobs and with interview preparation. During the summer of 2022 Client B was successful in securing a job at a retailer. The store was a distance from his house, but he was willing to take two trains to get there. Initially everything seemed to be going ok however after five weeks I received a call from Client B to advise that he had not passed his probation period and then disclosed a number of things that had happened during the five weeks of employment, such as, management not taking into consideration Client B’s disability, not providing appropriate training, and raising issues due to the location he was from.

Through discussions with Client B, he decided he wanted to appeal the decision to end his probation period early. With the help of his family he wrote an appeal letter to the retailer's head office. Client B and I spent time preparing for the appeal hearing, I took Client B through the format of the meeting, and we prepared a document of what he would like to say during the appeal hearing meeting and what outcome(s) he would like to achieve. Client B did very well to articulate the lack of support he had received during his first few weeks of work and the lack of consideration given to his disability which management were aware of.  Client B won his appeal hearing and was able to pick a new store to work in, fortunately the store closest to his house had vacancies. He has now been working in this store for a number of months by the end of 2022, the training was a lot better, he seems to be getting on well with colleagues and they understand his disability. Client B is really enjoying working for the retailer and has put his last experience in the past. He is incredibly proud that he had the confidence to challenge the decision and hopes in the future that no-one else will be treated the way he was again.

The Local Area Co-ordinators (LACs) are here to support East Dunbartonshire residents who are over the age of 14 and with a diagnosis of autism and/or mild learning disability. They can also offer signposting and advice to families who have someone at home with a diagnosis, or who is awaiting diagnosis.

The LACs get to know the person on a one to one basis and develop a personalised plan to support them to work towards achieving some of their ambitions and goals. This could include things like: finding new hobbies or social opportunities, accessing local services, finding further education, volunteering or preparing for employment.

The LAC Team can be particularly useful for those preparing for transition from secondary school by being a consistent support for the person and their families when they try to navigate what comes next.

Some key areas that the LAC Team can offer support with at transition time include:

• Identifying suitable college courses
• Support writing bursary applications
• Visits to look at college campuses
• Applying to the Independent Living Fund
• Getting a bus pass
• Liaising with college/university/work to request that reasonable adjustments are made
• Signposting to services and resources to develop independent travel skills
• Looking at other options available if college is not the next step
• Finding volunteering or social groups
• Looking at other vocational courses
• Determining if the person could access any benefits
• Parental support – someone to contact if you have any questions

If you would like more information or to refer someone to the service, please contact the team: LACs@easdunbarton.gov.uk