SERVICES

All autistic children are different, however as a parent you may have very similar experiences and concerns.

EDUCATION

Working with parents at home, or teachers and teaching assistants at school, we help to build the necessary skills and decrease undesirable behaviours. Skills such as language and communication skills, social skills, motor skills, independent life skills (such as eating, toileting, dressing, bathing, sleeping) classroom and group skills or academic skills, are all target areas for development depending on the child or young person’s needs.

Detailed assessments are conducted with home or school or both, to determine the child or young person’s levels in each of the different skill areas. A program is then designed to increase any skill areas that are developmentally delayed. Parents, or school staff, or both, are trained in methods and strategies that maximise learning in each of these areas, and how to follow the program and take correct data on their progress. Progress is monitored, any feedback or extra training is given based on observations of the program being implemented. A multi-disciplinary approach is used as we work with other professionals such as Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists or physiotherapists. Reports for Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) assessments or annual reviews on progress are written. Relevant meetings with, for example, school SENCo’s, EHCP reviews or other professionals, are attended.

MENTAL HEALTH & BEHAVIOUR

Children and young people who display behaviours relating to anxiety, depression, physical aggression towards others, self injurious behaviours, running away, verbal aggression, property damage or criminal behaviours can be helped to reduce these behaviours.

By conducting assessments with those people who know them best and observations, information is gathered about their skills , their environment, medical issues, daily routines etc. Motivation factors, triggers and hypothesised functions (why they do such behaviours) are determined. Working with parents or school staff or both, goals are chosen ie which behaviours they want to reduce. There is a strong focus on building replacement skills/ behaviours using motivation and rewards. People who support the child or young person are all trained in what to do to prevent the behaviours of concern from happening, what to do if the behaviour is about to happen, strategies to use in the moment when they are happening and what to do after the behaviours happen. Data is taken so that progress on increasing the replacement behaviours, and decreasing the behaviours of concern can be monitored, with regular feedback and adjustments to the behaviour plans.

NUTRITION

Children and young people who have pica (eat inedible substances), are picky eaters and have a very narrow diet, have frequent diarrhoea or constipation or both, poor/ inappropriate meal time behaviours, can’t sit still or trouble paying attention, trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, frequent ear/ throat infections, runny noses or colds, frequent eczema or rashes, over sensitive to certain sounds or certain textures or touch may benefit from a change in diet and supplements.

Assessments are conducted which may or may not include laboratory tests looking at food allergies or intolerances, or nutritional deficiencies. A tailor made diet and program is designed to help the person reach their health goals that are set by the parents. DNA tests can also be used to determine the child or young person’s genetic susceptibilities. Three of the most common DNA tests ordered by parents relate to Health, the mind, and resilience. The table below shows the genes that are tested in each of the three commonly ordered DNA tests.

The diagram below shows how our best health (optimal health outcomes) are affected by several factors. While we can’t change our genes we can change our lifestyle, diet, exercise and supplements to help get the best health results and therefore best out of life.

Diet, exercise, supplements and lifestyle changes are recommended based on the outcomes of the DNA tests.