Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure greater awareness among parents of the symptoms of autism in children.

The NHS Choices website provides information on autism. Health professionals such as general practitioners and health visitors may also be a source of advice for parents, before any formal referral for a diagnostic assessment is made.

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires all local authorities to provide special educational needs and disability information, advice and support services for their local families. This includes information on autism support.