Autism is a lifelong developmental condition that affects the way children and young people communicate with and relate to other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them. Autistic people often prefer routine and might struggle with change. They might have particularly intense interests and might be good at noticing patterns and small details.
Autism is a spectrum condition, which means that while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways. Autism is associated with strengths such as attention to detail, noticing patterns and a passion for things that interests them.
Autism isn’t a mental health difficulty, although some young people with autism might also have mental health issues. Children and young people with autism frequently suffer from high levels of anxiety due to their difficulties in dealing with what’s going on around them.
Autism means that a child or young person has difficulties in three main areas:
Difficulty processing and retaining verbal information (literal interpretation); difficulty understanding jokes and sarcasm; difficulties with social use of language; difficulties understanding and using body language, facial expression and gesture
Difficulties with friendships and working co-operatively; might find breaks and lunchtimes more difficult to manage because they’re usually unstructured; might appear at times to be inappropriate or unusual in what they say or do (this isn’t done on purpose to annoy or upset people but is based on a lack of social understanding about ‘unwritten’ rules of conversation and behaviour)
A lack of social imagination and creative play; difficulties with flexibility of thought; difficulties with coping with changes, displaying rigid thinking and behaviours; an unusual need for structure and routine; a tendency towards unusual, restricted and intense interests
As well as the areas outlined above, many children and young people with autism will have difficulties with fine and gross motor co-ordination and organisational skills. They can also be affected by sensory sensitivities (sensitivities to noise, lights, smells, etc). They also tend to experience higher levels of anxiety; this can have a significant effect on their behaviour so the impact of anxiety on daily life shouldn’t be underestimated.
Autism: the positives
There are many positives of an autistic mind. This poster from the University of Leeds highlights the positive features you may encounter. But remember that every experience of autism is unique and no one person will identify with every feature of autism.
Visit this page to find out some strategies to help and support a child with communication, sensory needs, emotions and behaviour.
Much of the same support available after an autism diagnosis is also available while a child or young person is waiting for an autism assessment. Find out what support is available now.
Our team is made up of speech and language therapists, psychologists, community paediatricians (West Berkshire), specialist mental health practitioners, specialist nurses, assistant psychologists and administrators.
Once we receive a request for help for autism, we’ll ask you and your child's pre-school/school to complete some information about your child as an initial screening process to determine whether an autism assessment is the best way to meet your child's needs.
If your returned questionnaires don’t suggest autism, our team will get in touch with you to discuss signposting to other services.
If, based on the questionnaires, support from our team is required, we’ll send you information about support available while you wait for the assessment, current waiting times and information on workshops you may like to attend. We will also provide a letter to take to your child’s school or pre-school regarding the support they may need in that setting.
Please note if your child is not in any educational setting, family questionnaires are sufficient.
We provide a support helpline two to three times a week for parents and carers whose child is on the waiting list for assessment.
We also offer support and help 24 hours a day through our online support network SHaRON Jupiter.
We’ll assess your child as soon as possible. But, although waiting times are reducing, there may still be a wait and we will inform you of this in your referral pack.
Each assessment is conducted by two clinicians (sometimes three). One team member will gather information from you about your child, while the other spends time with your child to observe their communication, social interaction and play/interests. Where possible we will do this at the same time (ie you will be seen in one room and your child in another at the same time), but sometimes the appointments will be offered on separate days.
We will also review the information provided from the questionnaires completed before the assessment and from other professionals who know your child. At the end of the appointment we will discuss our findings with you. Often a decision can be made on the same day. Sometimes further information is requested and this could include a visit to school to observe the young person and discuss them with a member of staff. If this is the case we will arrange for you to come for a feedback session after the extra information has been gathered.
For more information watch our video below on what to expect at an assessment.
The assessment may lead to a diagnosis of autism. If this is the case we will provide information about further sources of support and make recommendations for the support your child should receive. Once an assessment is complete, parents and carers are given information about support available at home and at school. This includes information on autism-specific parenting workshops and groups in their area, and access to specialist advisory teachers where possible. Parents will also be invited to join an online support network.
A number of children that come in for an autism assessment will not receive a diagnosis of autism. If this is the case we will discuss your child's strengths and difficulties and make recommendations about further sources of support your child should receive. This includes information on autism-specific parenting workshops and groups in the area, and access to specialist advisory teachers where possible. You’ll also be invited to join an online support network for parents and carers.
After the assessment, we will write a detailed report to summarise our findings and include all our recommendations for supporting your child both at home and in school.
If your child has other difficulties in addition to or instead of autism that may need further assessment, we will refer your child onto the relevant services.
If you are thinking about possible autism please visit our information on how to request help:
For families: How to request help for possible autism and/or ADHD: information for families
For professionals: Guidance to our request for help process for possible autism and/or ADHD for professionals
If you are considering paying for a private assessment, it is worth bearing in mind how your school or local authority would respond to the assessment and any recommendations made, and check how the assessment will be conducted and whether it meets NICE or good practice recommendations.
If you have a private assessment, please let us know so that we can remove your child from our waiting list. If you have any difficulties following a private assessment you can send us a copy of the report, and as long as it meets good practice guidelines we will be able to write a letter stating that they do not need further assessment.