Published on 12, July, 2020
Well, I finally had a carer's assessment and got signposted to the NAS for information and possibly a course for parents to adult autistic people (or for ND families as a whole). Is there such a thing? Or have I been fobbed off?
Is there even an NAS helpline any more? (And apologies if I've missed it due to feeling very stressed about things).
Hi Jenny Butterfly,
As a starting point, you may find it useful to have a look at our autism page on our website which has a vast amount of information. The page contains information on the basics of what the autism spectrum is, how it's defined in a clinical sense, and the characteristics of autism:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism
In addition, our Parent-to-Parent service may be of interest to you, they offer a confidential telephone helpline, providing emotional support (via a one-off call) to parents and carers, of autistic children. (This includes grown up children).
The volunteers are all parents of a child or adult with autism and can provide a listening ear, understanding and a chance to talk things through.
You may like to talk about your child (or grown up child) who has received an ASD diagnosis, is awaiting a diagnosis, or maybe has identified signs of autism.
After the call, volunteers send information which may be helpful for that family.
You can find further information about the service and an online enquiry form here:
https://community.autism.org.uk/f/parents-and-carers/35263/guide-to-the-national-autistic-society-parent-to-parent-p2p-emotional-support-helpline
https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support/parent-to-parent-helpline
You might find it helpful to contact your local National Autistic Society branch. Our branches offer support to local autistic people and their families. If you interesting in checking if there is a local branch near to you, please follow the link below:
https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/local-branches
Kind Regards,
Rosie Mod
Many thanks. I'll give it a go but i'm now beyond the starting point and I'm looking for specific information and guidance about severe withdrawal and burnout, total non engagement with services, the world in general and, to an extent, family too plus hygiene issues. And when it comes to these I need robust advice and guidance rather than emotional support. The issues have been talked through extensively but I've not found a way through and it's been years.
I couldn't find a local group (County Durham) and am unsure about the online groups - is there one that is purely for parents to adults (especially without LD)? I'll try the Parent-to-Parent service but am getting desperate.