Autism charity Autistica has joined forces with CareTech Charitable Foundation to create the Social Care Action Fund, intending to establish new ways to ensure autistic adults receive personised, safe, and effective care.
Autistica will support researchers with funding to develop successful proposals. Investing a total of £100,000 over the coming three years through the Grant Development Awards. In addition, they will support the National Institute of Health Research who runs a yearly call for Research for Social Care with an additional £500,000 to five research studies centred around autistic adults.
The head of research at Autistica, Dr. Lorcan Kenny, said: “Autistic people face substantial inequalities in terms of their life expectancy, health, and well-being. For many autistic people, high-quality social care support is key to alleviating these inequalities, we must base this support on a solid evidence base that shows the care provided is not only safe but also that it actually improves lives. Yet barely any high-quality evidence like this exists, it is time to change this and the Social Care Action Fund is a fantastic step in the right direction.”
In addition to contributing £160,000 towards the fund, CareTech Charitable Foundation will supply researchers with assistance with the recruitment of participants, insights through CareTech staff, and visits to CareTech locations. Furthermore, they will ensure the project have a real-world impact on social care practices.
Read more about Autistica’s partnership with NIHR to fund breakthroughs in social care for autistic adults