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Do you have Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)? Do you have an amazing autism brain?
We are the specialist Autism service for South Staffordshire. We are here to assess and offer support to you and your family. If you are aged between 0-19 years old (up to 25 if you have an EHCP) and have a diagnosis or a working diagnosis of ASC, then you and your family can access help and support through us. You can find out more about us from our website or you can ask your parents to call our duty line on 0300 303 0691 (9-5; Mon-Fri) and we can try to help you with any problems and difficulties you might have related to your autism.Having autism means that your brain works a bit differently to most other people. Every person with ASC is different but some things people with ASC may find difficult are social communication (knowing what to talk about; understanding others; making sense of facial expression and tone of voice); social interaction (knowing how close to stand to someone; knowing when to talk; understanding jokes; making friends) and social prediction / rigidity of thought (needing routines; not liking changes; not knowing what will happen next). There are also some people with Autism who have sensory differences (not liking loud noises or bright lights; only wearing certain clothes; not being able to sit still). We have helped lots of young people with these things.
Young people can come to us for help and support with lots of different things, like anxiety or worries; low mood; anger; behaviour that can cause them difficulties with others; sleep; speech, language and communication difficulties; low self esteem (not feeling good about themselves) or just to understand their autism a little better. We can support parents over the phone with advice calls or you can come to one of our workshops to help understand what your autism means for you.
We also make sure that we look at the strengths that having an autism brain can give you! Having ASC can make some things harder but it can also make some things easier, like knowing lots about a special topic or having a really good memory! Don’t worry if you don’t like groups, you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, but it can sometimes be nice to meet other people who understand what it is like to be you. For some people, we may offer 1-2-1 sessions with a clinician if this is needed.
We have lots of different people who work within our service such as Clinical and Counselling Psychologists, Assistant Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Nurses. This means that we can help you with a lot of different things! We are all really friendly and would like to hear from you if there is anything you would like some help or support with. Remember: there is no such thing as a ‘silly’ worry or question so get in touch. We are here for you and look forward to hearing from you!
