The National Autistic Society Wales welcomed the Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Strategic Action Plan for Wales as a good first step on the road to improving the lives of people with ASD and their families.

However, they raised their concerns that there were no specific actions in the plan around transition to further education and higher education for people with autism.

According to the society, late funding decisions were consistently raised as a key concern by parents, and they want to ensure that young people with ASD can make applications for funding 12 months before the start of the college term.

The committee also heard evidence from SNAP Cymru and Autism Cymru who agreed the transitional arrangements between schools and colleges for young people were unsatisfactory.

According to Autism Cymru it was critical for young people to know as far in advance as possible if the funding was available to them.

However the charity highlighted good practise by Cardiff and Bangor University who were running a university familiarisation week for autistic young people.

Prior to the start of term, the universities accommodated young people with their families and engaged them in various activities