Please take part in our survey

I am writing on behalf of all the UK's leading autism charities to ask for your help in exploring with your membership how people with autism can be better served by them even in these tough financial times.

April 2 each year is United Nations World Autism Awareness Day when governments and society are challenged to think about how the lives of the 1% of the population that has autism can be improved.

Please complete the online survey at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/World-Autism-Awareness-Day-UK

People with autism have the same right to access public and private services as everyone else, but often find the experience daunting because of poor public understanding of how autism affects their ability to communicate.

We have therefore put together a short online survey which we hope will help respondents to learn a little more about autism and to think about how even small changes in the way they do things could make a big difference. 

You can help to us to reach the largest possible number of people across the UK by alerting your contacts to this survey (so please do forward this email widely).  Responding to the survey is of course entirely voluntary.  Our hope is that the public sector, and nearly 100 membership organisations representing people working in all the key service sectors will help us to spread the word.

The survey is being launched on 2 April and we are working to ensure that it enjoys good media coverage.  With your help we can reach a very large number of people and provide a real example of how by working together we can contribute to change.

Please do forward this email to anyone else you know who might contribute to this survey, or might know someone who could.

Thank you,

Sue Osborn

Chief Executive, Kingwood

Survey deadline
The survey should take 5-8 minutes to complete - and  your deadline is 6pm, Monday 2nd May 2011.

Further information
For background information see the following links:

• Click here for more information about this survey, and how it will be used
   
• Click here to read our confidentiality statement
   
• Click here for information on simple changes that will help you improve service delivery for autistic people.

UK organisations backing World Autism Awareness Day 2011 are:

• Ambitious About Autism
• Asperger’s Syndrome Foundation
• Autism Alliance UK
• Autism Anglia
• Autism Care (UK)
• Autism Concern
• Autism Cymru
• Autism Initiatives UK
• Autism London
• Autism NI
• Autism Plus
• Autism Sussex
• Autism West Midlands
• Autistica
• Berkshire Autistic Society
• Hampshire Autistic Society
• Hoffman Foundation for Autism
• Jigsaw School
• Kingwood
• NORSACA
• P.E.A.T.
• Prior’s Court School
• Research Autism
• Scottish Autism
• Smart Kids OK
• Staffordshire Adult Autistic Society
• Sussex Autistic Society
• The Disabilities Trust
• The Main Project
• The National Autistic Society
• The Wessex Autistic Society
• Together Trust
• UK Autism Foundation
• Wirral