Help with Autism

Autistic people can have phases of good mental health or times when they are struggling with their mental wellbeing.  This can mean a greater risk of experiencing some anxiety or depression.

If your child is autistic, they may experience the following things to some extent:

• Difficulty recognising or understanding other peoples feeling, and expressing their own
• Being over or under sensitive to things like loud noises and bright lights, and finding crowded noisy spaces challenging
• Preferring familiar routines and finding unexpected changing to those routines challenging or distressing
• Having intense and specific interests in certain things
• Difficulty reading body language and facial expressions, and understanding figurative language such as irony and sarcasm

It can be really challenging as a parent when your child is experiencing this and it might feel hard to know how you can help.  There are things that you can do to support your child including working on practical strategies together and finding the right professional help if they need it.

Ways in which you could support your child include:

• Try to open up a conversation with them to see what is going on
• Find a place to talk that is quiet or calm
• Try talking whilst doing an activity
• Find out what kind of communication works for them
• Keep daily routines as predictable as possible
• Give them extra space to re charge
• Support them to understand what strategies help them to manage difficult situations
• Seek professional help if you are concerned
• Support them to do daily things that are helpful to our wellbeing
• Counselling and therapy may be really useful for your child

For more about how autism is diagnosed in Bolton please see the Autism Pathway in Bolton – SEND Local Offer

Further information on Bolton’s local offer is included within the support for parents and carers of a child with autism document at the bottom of the page