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.
If you suspect your child may have autism, talk to your school nurse or health visitor in the first instance.
You should seek help when your child's symptoms have been occurring over several months, are having a significant impact on their day to day lives, and haven’t responded to interventions from prevention and early intervention services (such as youth counselling and behaviour support, evidence based parenting or treatment from primary mental health workers).
Schools are often the best people to speak to as they’ll know your child or young person well. Ask for a meeting with the school ‘Special educational needs coordinator’ (SENCO) to discuss your concerns and how your child can be supported. If you do need to make a request for help, you will need to do this jointly with the schol, and a School Support Plan will also need to be completed.
If your child or young person is having mild or moderate difficulties (such as mild depression, moderate behavioural difficulties, school refusal, family relationship difficulties, bedwetting and soiling), there are a number of services across Berkshire that can provide support. You can find these services through the Local Offer: find your local service here.
If you feel your child has a mental health difficulty in addition to their autism, you should ask to be referred to our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
Although not always the case, some children may also have signs of other problems or conditions alongside autism.
Children and young people with conditions such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sensory processing difficulties might also display aggressive behaviour when they feel out of control, over stimulated or anxious, or when they’re finding the sensory environment difficult.
Anxiety is common in people with autism. And anxiety is an increasingly common problem among children and young people, with approximately 1 in 10 people experiencing it at some point in their lives.
Sensory processing difficulties can affect children with autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
Autistic people can often have trouble sleeping.
Interacting with others, initiating conversations at appropriate times, understanding and relating to other people and taking part in every day family, school and social lift can be difficult for autistic people.
It is well recognised that autism can present differently particularly when girls and women mask or camouflage difference or difficulties. This can affect both the likelihood of being referred for an assessment and also potentially the outcome of an assessment if the differences are not well understood.
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.
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.
We can assess your child if they’re suspected of being on the autistic spectrum and are aged between one and 17½ years in West Berkshire, and five and 17½ years in East Berkshire.
If the young person is over the age of 17 1/2, please see the Berkshire Healthcare website for information on the Adult Autism Assessment Team.
There is no medical test for autism. A decision about diagnosis is made based on detailed information about the child’s early development and how they are now. This information is gathered by talking to you, an individual assessment with your child, and gathering information from school.
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 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.
SHaRON Jupiter is an online support and advice service for parents and carers of children with autism provided by Berkshire Healthcare in partnership with agencies including Autism Berkshire, Parenting Special Children and Autism Support Workers in Berkshire.
If you’d like to join SHaRON, please ask your child’s CAMHS clinician, support worker or Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) to make a referral.
If you’re unable to get a referral form completed by a clinician, support worker or SENCO, Autism Berkshire will forward a completed referral form on your behalf.
Berkshire West Autism and ADHD Support Service (opens in new window), provide autism support on behalf of the BOB Integrated Care Service. It offers pre and post assessment advice and support for families with children and young people aged up to 25.
Phone: 01189 594 594 - select option 1
Email: contact@autismberkshire.org.uk
Autism Advisor for Families
Email: Autism.Advisor@brighterfuturesforchildren.org
Autism Spectrum Service for Information, Support and Training (ASSIST)
ASSIST is a Wokingham Borough Council Service which offers information about autism, local events and the opportunity to attend courses run for parents who have a child with a recent diagnosis of autism.
Phone: 0118 974 6881/6882
Email: assist@wokingham.gov.uk
ASD Family Help
ASD Family Help is a charity offering free support and advice to individuals on the autism spectrum as well as parents, carers and professionals within the Wokingham Borough.
Phone: 07707660599
Email: contact@asdfamilyhelp.org
Kelly Evans, Autism Advisor for Families
Phone: 01635 503646
Email: Kelly.Evans1@westberks.gov.uk
The Margaret Wells-Furby Children’s Centre
The Margeret Wells-Furby centre runs courses for parents of children aged up to 8 years old with autism.
Phone: 01344 456416 or 01344 354170
Email: Elaine.Allan@actionforchildren.org.uk or CDC@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
The Shine Team
The Shine Team supports children in mainstream educational settings who have an autism spectrum diagnosis by providing an training to staff working specifically with pupils on a 1:1 basis, or in small groups to support social skills and/or transition years. SHINE also offers autism specific workshops to parents and carers, including EarlyBird, EarlyBird Plus and Cygnet programmes.
Phone: 01628 762253 (Mon-Fri 9am-12pm)
Email: info@theshineteam.com
The Autism Group offers support and social opportunities for young people on the autism spectrum (specifically in the secondary school and above age group). It also offers autism training for parents, carers and people living and working in the Thames Valley area. The team is based near Maidenhead.
Special interest groups: For more information, contact Ruth on 07454 375071 or email clubs@theautismgroup.org.uk
Training: For more information, contact Dawn on 07463 337851 or email training@theautismgroup.org.uk
Parent Support: For more information, contact Tricia on 07423 636339 or email tricia@theautismgroup.org.uk
There are many conditions that can cause social communication difficulties for children and young people, including hearing, speech and language difficulties, learning difficulties, dyspraxia, depression and anxiety, bullying and emotional worries about the home. It’s important to consider these possibilities before making a request for help for the Autism Assessment Team.
Before making a request for help, please make sure the checks outlined below have been taken.
When all these checks have been completed – and the child is showing evidence of difficulties in social interaction, social communication and repetitive and restrictive behaviours that can’t be attributed to other factors – a request for help should be made to the Autism Assessment Team. Please see 'How to ask for help' for how to do this.
If the young person is accepted for an assessment, this pre-assessment information is vital in helping us decide about diagnosis at a later stage. If the information doesn’t support an assessment, we’ll advise the family or carer what support or assessment might be more appropriate. This reduces the chance of a young person attending an assessment they don’t need, and will allow them to access the right support more quickly.
We accept requests for help from professionals who know the child or young person. Ideally, a request should come from a professionals that knows the child best, such as their teacher, special educational needs co-ordinator or health visitor.
After completing the checks above, visit our request for help page to request support. Please note that the Request for Help form will need to be completed in collaboration between the family and school, and that a School Support Plan will also need to be completed.
Please note, we also have training available for professionals, please see our PPEPCare Training page.
First work through our pre-assessment checklist above, after which you can make a request for help (opens in new window).
We only accept requests for help in West Berkshire. Referrals in East Berkshire need to be made to the Community Paediatricians using our form.
After autism diagnosis - child
After autism diagnosis - information for parents
After autism diagnosis - young person
Getting help now
Waiting times
Your referral to the Autism Assessment Team
Autism Berkshire: Autism and ADHD support service (Newbury, Reading, Wokingham)
Gems: Autism and ADHD support service (Bracknell, Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead)
Ambitious about Autism
The Autism Group - East Berkshire
GEMS
National Autistic Society
National Autistic Society - after diagnosis leaflet
Parenting Special Children