Update - 28th October 2021

We are moving forward with plans for our co-designed consultation and can now provide an update.

We have split the process into several phases:

• Phase 1 – working with approximately 15-20 autistic people (and some parents/carers) to decide who should be involved in co-designing the consultation.
• Phase 2 – co-designing the consultation with the group agreed in phase 1, ensuring that autistic people will be consulted from a wide range of backgrounds.
• Phase 3 – running the consultation.

We are currently having initial discussions as part of Phase 1, facilitated by an independent organisation, Hopkins Van Mil. They are experienced at designing, facilitating, and reporting on stakeholder engagement programmes relating to complex and sensitive issues. They were not known to our team prior to this process.

The initial plan is that Hopkins Van Mil will help with Phase 1 and possibly Phase 2. Facilitation of Phase 3, the consultation itself, will need to be decided upon as part of the co-design process.

 We will continue to provide updates as this plan progresses. Thank you for your patience.

Simon Baron-Cohen on behalf of the Spectrum 10K team