Specialised Autism
Family Support Service

After diagnosis, families often need help in two main areas:  

• Understanding their child’s condition and how they can best support them
• Navigating the complex and confusing maze of potential support and entitlements

Parents have told us that they find online information confusing and “don’t know where to start with it” or “need to talk it through with someone in person”.  Others have said that they have tried calling helplines but either they are not open at times that the help is needed or the line is busy. 

Hundreds of people in the UK receive support from us each year, it is often the first port of call for a parent following a child’s diagnosis.  We welcome calls from parents, carers, family members, autistic adults and professionals to discuss concerns they have about autism.  Our staff are experienced and understanding and can provide information about autism and local support services.

Recent feedback from parents:

“The telephone call was amazing. That is the first time time where I felt fully understood and where my concerns about my daughter were valid. I’ve always felt like I don’t have the right to raise issues as she is ‘getting by’ and is ‘no bother’.  I’ve worried that she’s being taught to mask and that I wasn’t doing anything about it. I got upset as it was so lovely to be heard. I can’t thank you enough”.

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“Thank you both so much for your time on Friday. You did more to help me than my counsellor has done in weeks!  I’ve ordered the Autism Identity pack and booked onto a webinar already. Everything you said made complete sense, although I say everything you did to my clients on a regular basis, it was very easy to forget about myself and my needs so a relaxing weekend and some much needed ‘me’ time has made the world of difference”. 

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“I wanted to give you some feedback on the help that you’ve given us.   When I got in touch with you a couple of months ago, our little boy had just had his diagnosis and we were feeling lost. We’d had a lot of information but struggled to make sense of it all and turn it into practice.  His behaviour was difficult and I had lost my confidence, so I’d stopped taking him out. I was really unhappy about that because I was very keen to make sure he had lots of lovely experiences growing up”. 

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“Since we spoke to you, we have completely changed our outlook on how we raise him. We have stopped trying to make him act as if he were neurotypical and we have learnt to adapt to his needs. Others have followed and his life at home and at school is much happier.   We have found the practical advice that you gave us about how to deal with meltdowns has meant that we haven’t had any more instances of meltdowns that escalate, as we have learnt to help him stop them before they develop. He is now potty trained too, which is fantastic news”.

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“Your positivity has helped us to be kinder to ourselves and to help us relax into being better parents.  Working with you has made a big difference to his life and ours, so thank you so much for your time. I’m so happy I decided to get in touch with you”.

Currently we provide tailored pre diagnostic, throughout diagnosis and post diagnosis family support sessions by way of zoom calls, emailed correspondence, telephone calls and some face to face appointments. 

We send follow up emails for all sessions which include an overview of the conversation held and we attach resources and links, strategies, advice and recommendations and if necessary we print and post relevant resources to families. 

At Toby House we have an ongoing programme of webinars  for parents via Zoom. Subjects covered can include Social Stories, Toileting, Sleep and Managing Meltdowns, to name but a few. We also arrange and host support groups (currently via zoom) these include our Grandparents Family Support Group and Parents of Autistic Girls Support Group.

We research and create new resources and stay up to date with local offers and services available to signpost and inform our families.

Our zoom calls are always carried out by two members of the team ensuring a broad spectrum of experience available at each session.

 If you would like to take advantage of any of these services, please email support@ttht.co.uk  or contact us on 0300 3653055.