§ Sir Harold Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the research undertaken by private institutions and hospitals known to his Department on the problems of autism and related questions.
§ Mr. Ennals:My Department does not hold central records of research undertaken by private institutions and hospitals but we have recently completed the finding of a study, undertaken by Professor Michael Rutter of the Institute of Psychiatry at the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley hospitals, London, of a behavioural approach to the treatment of autistic children.
Other research in this area funded by the Department has been in the university field. Professor Townsend at Essex university has completed a study of the provision and ultilisation of welfare services for autistic children and Professor Newson and Dr. Newson at Nottingham university are just starting an investigation of the management and functioning of autistic children of normal intelligence is a social context.
I understand from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science that the Medical Research Council is supporting projects relative to autism entitled "Language, play and social behaviour in severely retarded and psychotic children" at the Council's social psychiatry unit and "Children's general and specific mental abilities at different intelligence levels" at its development psychology unit. The Council has also made a grant to the Institute of Psychiatry, for a project entitled "Association between enuresis and psychiatric disorder and enuresis and urinary tract infection in childhood ". In addition, the Social Science Research Council is supporting a project at the university of Southampton on symbol utilisation by non-verbal autistic children.
§ Sir Harold Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state his estimate of the number of persons in the United Kingdom held to be suffering from autism; and whether he has any figures by regions and age groups.
§ Mr. Ennals:No precise figures are available of the total number of persons 132W in the United Kingdom held to be suffering from autism, nor of their distribution by regions or age group. Research studies have suggested that some four to five children per 10,000 might be described as autistic. On this basis, and assuming that the life expectancy of autistic people is not significantly less than average, something of the order of 25,000 persons in the United Kingdom may be suffering from autism.
§ Sir Harold Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state the amount of funds provided by his Department for research into the causes and treatment of the autistic syndrome and subventions made by him for institutions housing and treating those so suffering.
§ Mr. Ennals:During the years 1970 to 1977 my Department made over £64,000 available for research into the treatment of autistic children. In addition, the Department has recently approved a grant of more than £22,000 over two years from October 1978.
Other relevant research is supported by the Medical Research Council for which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science has responsibility, and I will publish in the Official Report, as soon as possible, any information on the amount of funds being provided.
My Department does not give financial support to the establishments run by voluntary organisations which provide for autistic people. Many health authorities and local authority social services departments are providing services to sufferers and their families and, as my right hon. Friend indicated in his further reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Mr. Moonman) and other hon. Members on 25th July, they do not in these cases make any separate provision exclusively for those suffering from autism and I cannot estimate the total expenditure on them.—[Vol. 954, c. 718–22.] I am considering whether there is any advice which I could usefully give authorities on the provision of services for this group.