You se Red, I am not sure there would be.
There would be more available yes but that's not the same as ahnded out is it?
There is a very vocal group (not sure if monority or majority) who don't really 'get' SN- what it costs, how it affects lives, why aprents struggle to work. That coupled with rates of ASD hitting 1% of the population mean that there will be a movement to steer away from it financially.
Now, charities such as the NAS emphasise that people like my DS1 when given help can be self supporting as adults- but then it takes employers who are willing wo work with support agencies to do that and employers don't want to, especiallyif there are 50 people for every job that don't need it (there are exceptions; there is an excellent model of a thriving firm that only recruits people on the spectrum but that is so rare).
Children like ds3 who won;t ever self support- from a purely economic viewpoint, why invest in theM?? Nthey don't breed (do won;t raise children to pay the next generation of taxes) and cost a fortune. You don't want them satrving (becasue of population sentiments)- but what else/
It's a growing issue; tehre are LEA's that try to avoid suporting ASD now as there are too many kids with it, social swervice depts that have blanket no ASD rules. Entire PCTs that ahve ditched their adult diagnostics service becuase too many poeople get diagnosed (bear in mind the viewpoint o my Lecturer, a distinguished Psych leading a highly regarded tertiary DX team) that adults only referr for dx if they are experiecing significant difficultiers- eg psych, or in financial, employment or relationships areas.
AS for teh DLA thing- ah yes. When George Osbourne announced that he talked about using it to acvoid work; except DLA is often paid alongside working. it's designed to meet the costs of the disability rather than provide living money etc- that's separate. He meant EMA is the thoughts of many people. A few weeks after the announcement he stated on about changes to EMA and my best guess is he didn't really initially understand the differences between the two, but won;t back down now.
Apparently DLA is the least fraudulently claimed benefit (the forms and paperwork are horrendous) so it seems an odd target but people fixate on the cases that do reach the news don't they, so it makes good publicity.
Quite how I am supposed to demonstrate AS annd anorexia / bullemia (awaiitng final label) in a ten year old to a visitng Psych though is anybody's guess; I know Riven on here is concerened as well about the MS diagnosis she has- where quite as per usual some days she can walk, some days she is in her wheelchair.
And in many ways I guess thats why threads like this get my goat; people are happy to rant about single incidences they know of someone wqho is a bit feckless, but campaigsn to support DLA etc get nowhere becuase people don;t see it as affecting them. If we could find a positive way to channelt hat evnergy imagine how much we could achieve- but we can't, we're trying and becuase the thoughts that would elad to soemone conceiving that they or those they love might need DLA are so painfulo, it's easiest for people not to face up.
Well, that's my explanation anyway.
In 2 years if we are lucky enough that we can continue to manage the costs I will ahve my MA in ASD; my background is aprental support so ideally I'd like togmo inyto that, probably not for profit or if DH's business takes off even charitable sector. I can see huge isuses there very soon.