We want Merton to be an autism-friendly borough in which people with autism are able to reach their full potential at all stages of their lives. With this in mind, we have developed a strategy for the next five years which takes a whole life course approach, encompassing children, young people and adults with autism and taking into consideration the needs of families and carers.

This is a joint strategy between the London Borough of Merton and Merton NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in collaboration with a range of partners, including NHS providers, Merton JobCentre Plus, Schools and the voluntary sector. In preparing this strategy we have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including people with autism and parents and carers, people working in education, housing, employment and health services to seek their views on what is working well and what needs to improve for people with autism.

The strategy is underpinned by a 5 year action plan which sets out the actions we will jointly take to deliver the aims of the strategy. We have also created an easy-read version of the strategy and a 5-page summary document.