Ms Julie Tonge:

We definitely see the benefits of that. However, I would recommend that the committee consider the views of autistic people on that. Quite often, young people in particular do not really see beyond college. They often leave school and think college is the next step and they do not welcome suggestions that they pause. Even students who we recommend should take a pause in their studies, take a leave of absence or take some time out, are quite often very reluctant to do that. They do not realise life will go on and this will not matter in the long run. They see themselves as being left behind by their peers. While I can see the benefit of that from our perspective, I would be interested to see how autistic people and particularly autistic young people and school leavers would view that.