services for autistic adults in England?

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I was talking to a friend in England who said that there weren't any services for autistic adults.
But in the past I've spoken with another friend in England with Asperger's who gets all kinds of services.

Can some of you Brits tell me who my friend should contact to get assistance/support for an autistic adult who is (just) managing to live independently in England? Thanks!

Sorry if I shouldn't post in this section (I saw this thread in the new posts thing), but there are services for autistic people, yes. The National Autistic Society does stuff to help us, and there's Disability Living Allowance we can claim for, plus for those at school you can get help from TAs, laptops (for various reasons such as if you have dyslexia or dyspraxia), etc.

There's probably more that I don't know about too, but I suggest that your friend should seek assistance from the NAS.

Hmm I was briefly filled with optimism about getting help to sort my life out after getting my AS diagnosis a month or so back, but now I'm getting pretty despondent again. See my thread from a couple of weeks ago on this forum.

Your GP is supposed to be the gateway to obtaining services. Mine had nothing to offer other than a local service called "complex needs" which I've since found out is basically activities+therapy in large groups, intended for people with personality disorders/severe emotional problems. Not very useful, methinks. Possibly I need another GP - but I don't know how to do that other than trying out every one in the area, and I'm not sure if they let you do that!

The National Autistic Society claim to offer advice for us adults - I've spent some time on the phone with them, they are very nice at least. They didn't find any listings for adult services or even just support/social groups in my county (Oxfordshire). All I managed to get was the name of a counsellor who supposedly has some autism experience. Maybe I should contact her, but I really begrudge spending my precious savings, especially since I don't know when I'll be able to face working again.

On a more positive note, I did chat with someone in a different part of the country. His GP is very understanding and has got him a social worker (I think they're called care coordinators now) and access to various forms of psych help. So things are starting to work out well for him.

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Funding is a big part of the problem in the UK as in many regions the required services are either not present or over-subscribed. But there is one very great advantage to those on, on thought to be on the Autistic spectrum.

In April the UK Gov passed the Autism Act 2005. This requires each health service to make adequate provision for access to a range of services (including of course a formal diagnosis). This legislation is unique (at least across Europe) in that it's legislation directly aimed at just this one condition. Other legislation dealing with health or disability is generic.

It will be a bit of a battle to get to see the right person, but with a little effort and a good family doctor these things can be obtained. I have gone through this process with reasonable success, but note that the above legislation only takes full effect in January 2011. Please let me know if you need more information

Services in the UK are horrifically regional and horrifically variable, and the higher function you are, the less likely you are to qualify for any help at all. In my region the only effective help/support being provided for high function autistic adults is that which my partner and I are providing (or trying to provide). It says a lot about the paucity of services that the service users have to create their own.

Well I guess I am one of the lucky few. While there's a lack of services available where I live (Hampshire), my GP has helped immensely. I've a way to go in getting my life sorted but for about the 1st time ever I can see someone cares enough to at least try & help