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The Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC) have continued our long-standing collaboration with the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom to support early autism identification through the training of local professionals in the Social Attention & Communication Surveillance (SACS) tool.
Developed by Associate Professor Josephine Barbaro at OTARC, the SACS tool enables professionals to identify early signs of autism in children aged 11 to 60 months and is the world’s most accurate early screening tool. Through a new partnership led by OTARC Training Coordinator Maddie Francis, and working with Professor Jonathan Green and Susanna Vosper of IMPACT CIC United Kingdom, we have rolled out SACS training to 100 National Health Service (NHS) professionals across Coventry, Stockport, and Warwickshire so far in 2026.
Delivered through the La Trobe University short course platform, the training is strengthening early identification for autistic children across a wide range of community and clinical settings, whilst IMPACT CIC plays a key role in coordinating delivery across sites and supporting implementation aligned with NHS priorities. The shared focus has been on ensuring the training is embedded within existing NHS workflows in ways that are both sustainable and scalable.
Across the three regions, participants trained have included:
- Clinical Lead Health Visitors
- Community Nursery Nurses
- Consultants in Community Paediatrics
- Neurodevelopmental Practitioners
- Principal Clinical Psychologists
- Preschool Autism Team Lead & Learning Disability Nurses
- Specialist Community Public Health Nurses (SCPHN)
- Speech and Language Therapists & therapy assistants
Early feedback indicates that while the SACS tool is supporting identification for children who go on to receive a high likelihood of autism outcome, it is also proving valuable for those who receive a low likelihood outcome. One Community Nursery Nurse who works at sites in Coventry and Warwickshire, UK, reflected:
“I completed the SACS checklist. This little one really responded to the activities and managed to interact well. The parent and I were really impressed with the checklist, and it was a really good tool to reassure parents…
[The] Mum had talked a lot about autism so it was really useful to explain what he was doing, and what we were looking for…. overall, very positive feedback for the SACS checklist.”
As SACS continues to expand internationally, the rollout across Coventry, Stockport, and Warwickshire marks an important step in strengthening consistent early identification practices in the UK.
OTARC remains committed to practical, evidence-informed approaches that can be embedded in real-world services to improve early identification pathways for children and families. This work is a clear example of that commitment in practice, and we look forward to seeing the training and implementation carried out further under this collaborative agreement.
