The Autism Awareness Campaign – United Kingdom was launched in 2000 by British parents and carers

Ivan Corea Hector Vernon Ivan Seneviratne Corea (Sinhala language, Sinhala: හෙක්ටර් වර්නන් අයිවන් සෙනෙවිරත්න කොරයා) was a priest of the Church of Ceylon. Early life Ivan Corea was bor ...

and his wife Charika Corea in response to the

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

diagnosis of their son, Charin.

Objectives

According to their website, Autism Awareness Campaign – United Kingdom was started in 2000 "to campaign on behalf of parents, carers, children and adults with autism and

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's, is a diagnostic label that has historically been used to describe a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and no ...

, for better public services in health, education, specialist speech therapy and respite care; for independent research into the causes of autism; for greater public awareness on Autism and Asperger's Syndrome", as well as other areas where they believe there is a shortfall in public-service provision. They have lobbied for greater "awareness" of the condition and for independent research on the causes of autism.

Events

;2002 United Kingdom Autism Awareness Year The Autism Awareness Campaign of 2002 initiated debates in the

Parliament of the UK The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

and the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

for Autism Awareness Year, supported by 800 UK organisations including the British Institute of Brain Injured Children, The Disabilities Trust, Autism London and the

National Autistic Society The National Autistic Society is a charity for autistic people and their families in the United Kingdom. Since 1962, the National Autistic Society has been providing support, guidance and advice, as well as campaigning for improved rights, ser ...

. 9 Jan 2002 : Column 226WH, Autism.
UK Parliament, 9 January 2002. Retrieved on 20 July 2008. A major conference on autism was held at the

King's Fund The King's Fund is an independent think tank, which is involved with work relating to the health system in England. It organises conferences and other events. Since 1997, they have jointly funded a yearly award system with GlaxoSmithKline. Th ...

in London and the first ever service for autism was launched in 2002 by the couple who initiated

Autism Sunday Autism Sunday, also known as the International Day of Prayer for Autism and Asperger Syndrome, is an event observed annually on the second Sunday of February. History Autism Sunday was first held in 2002 during Autism Awareness Year in the Unit ...

– it was held at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. Autism Sunday is now a massive worldwide event, celebrated in many countries. ;2007 House of Commons autism debate and meeting with Prime Minister The Autism Awareness Campaign helped raise "awareness" about the condition in 2007 in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

when Lee Scott, MP for Ilford North, brought a debate on autistic children. Ivan Corea met with the

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

and Lee Scott MP in April 2007. He presented the Prime Minister with a report calling for a national strategy on autism and a 10-year plan of action in the UK. The call for an urgent review on autism services was supported by leading British charities and community organisations including faith communities. Parliamentarians signed an

early day motion In the Westminster parliamentary system, an early day motion (EDM) is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by a member of Parliament, which the Government (in charge of parliamentary business) has not yet scheduled for debate. Hi ...

on autism (EDM 1359) backing the call for a national strategy on autism and change in policy for people with autism and

. Ivan Corea met with the British Prime Minister-in-Waiting,

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

in June 2007 to urge him to launch the national strategy and 10-year plan on autism,Gordon Brown Urged To Take Decisive Action On Autism.
Medical News Today, 19 June 2007. Retrieved on 20 July 2008. particularly in building state-of-the-art "autism schools". World Autism Awareness Day The Autism Awareness Campaign UK were involved in the first United Nations World Autism Awareness Day, declared by the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

on Wednesday 2 April 2008 on the recommendation of the State of

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. The campaign called on the United Nations Secretary-General,

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

to launch a world autism strategy. A CNN interview with presenter Max Foster was televised to mark World Autism Awareness Day on 2 April 2008. International coverage about the Autism Awareness Campaign UK was also given on

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and the campaigners received national coverage in the United Kingdom. The campaigners released a film to mark the United Nations World Autism Awareness Day with British peer the Baroness Uddin in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Open Every Door, written by the award-winning Sri Lanka-born singer and songwriter,

Nimal Mendis Nimal Mendis (1934–2015) was a Sri Lankan singer and songwriter, and was one of a handful of Sri Lankan musicians to appear on the BBC television programme ''Top of the Pops'' (1968). Mendis was a longstanding member of the Performing Rights ...

, was aired on the UN World Autism Awareness Day by CNN. London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic bid

Lord Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British sports administrator, former politician and retired track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, inc ...

appointed Ivan Corea as a

London 2012 Olympic bid London 2012 was the successful bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, held in London with most events taking place in Stratford in the borough of Newham. The British Olympic Association had been working on the bid since 1997, and presented ...

Ambassador; the Autism Awareness Campaign UK were fully involved with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic bid.Support for Olympics results in special posting.
''The Guardian'', 7 March 2005. Retrieved on 20 July 2008.

References

External links

Autism Awareness Campaign UK: Campaigning for all people with Autism
(official website) {{Pervasive developmental disorders Autism-related organisations in the United Kingdom Charities for disabled people based in the United Kingdom 2000 establishments in the United Kingdom Health campaigns Disability observances Neurodiversity Public services of the United Kingdom

Objectives

Events

See also

References

External links