Unravelling autism

Unfortunately, although most parents of autistic children do seek assistance by their child’s second birthday, a diagnosis often isn’t made until they’re six. You may have to push for an early referral for assessment by a community paediatrician, child and adolescent mental health services, together with social services, speech and language therapists, and pre-school special educational needs teachers.

At home, parents can help their child to develop effective ways of communicating socially, often through play. Repeating and practising everyday situations, having structured routines and simple rewards help autistic children come to terms with the way the world works.

Some parent training support schemes such as ‘More than Words’, ‘Adapted Hanen Program’ and ‘Early Bird Programme’ developed by the National Autistic Society give valuable advice to parents.

Get help and support

• Seek out local support groups – you don’t need to wait for a diagnosis to learn more about autism.
• Talk to adults who are autistic. They can give real insight into the condition. Temple Gandin and Wendy Lawson are both highly successful autistic people who have written books, given lectures and run workshops, etc.
• Many parents are told that their child has severe learning difficulties as well as autism. More often than not this is not true: they do have difficulty in learning, but this is because they are autistic, not because they have a lower intelligence – not quite the same thing, is it?
• Autism is treatable and with the correct input, children can make huge strides.

More information from:

Autism UK

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