1.1 The importance of ongoing education

Educational placements stop at 18 or 19. However, because autism can be associated with delays in development, many would benefit from a more extended period of education in a broad range of skills.

Skills learned at school may be lost if there is no post-school placement to reinforce and practise them, and continuing education is needed both for learning daily living skills and enabling autistic people to gain employment, where possible. Social and communication skills can continue developing for many years. However, further education colleges may not have the resources to support young people with autism, and specialist colleges are sparse.