How do we get autism support right in Aotearoa New Zealand

Thank you to the autistic individuals, parents of autistic children, family/whānau, professionals, and researchers who completed the survey and shared their experiences of the autism support system in Aotearoa and suggestions for how we can get autism support right in the future. [...] The understanding of the general community was most commonly rated as ‘bad,’ with the understanding and acceptance of police, employers/managers, and employment support services was most commonly rated as ‘neutral,’ and the understanding and acceptance of family/whānau, friends/peers, and colleagues most commonly rated as ‘good.’ The understanding and acceptance of both family/whānau and friends/p. [...] Non-autistic parents rated the understanding and acceptance of colleagues, the general community, and employment support services lower than professionals and the understanding and acceptance of friends/peers significantly lower than autistic adults. [...] The understanding and acceptance of primary and secondary teachers was most commonly rated as ‘bad,’ the understanding and acceptance of tertiary teachers was most commonly rated as ‘neutral’, and the understanding and acceptance of pre-primary teachers received equal ‘neutral’ and ‘good’ ratings. [...] The understanding and acceptance of the legal and justice system and Work and Income New Zealand were most commonly rated as ‘bad’, while the understanding and acceptance of Oranga Tamariki was most commonly rated as ‘neutral.’ The understanding and acceptance of the legal and justice system was rated as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ by a higher percentage of participants (56% total) than Oranga Tamariki an.