Extraordinary Parenting – Autism
“A programme to support parents with a new diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)”
Dear parents and carers,
We know navigating the period before and after a diagnosis of autistic spectrum condition (ASC) can be a rollercoaster of different emotions, fears and worries for parents. We want to make sure you are supported as you learn to help your child to understand the world around them. We hope that by helping you to understand autism and by sharing what we have learnt along the way, you will be able to better understand how your child experiences the world and therefore find ways to make their home and school life easier.
To make sure that this course is tailored to your child’s exact needs, you will be one to one with your autism specialist psychologist.
This programme has been co-produced with Nadine Kendall and other members of the Harwood team, and is delivered by specially trained psychologists. Nadine has lived experience of navigating an autism diagnosis, following the diagnosis of her son. She is extremely well connected in the autism world, and through the course passes on to you what she has learnt along the way. The majority of our parenting experts have lived or personal experience of neurodiversity
Our aims:
- To help you understand the way your child sees the world, learning more about the way they think, process and relate in the world through the lens of autism.
- To learn how to support your child to navigate and understand the neurotypical world around them.
What we hope you will learn:
- What does Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) mean for your family.
- How to support your child emotionally.
- How to communicate with your child effectively, allowing for the differences that ASC bring, and how to interpret your child’s communication with you.
- Using visual structures to help your child (feel safe, prevent problems, and change behaviour).
- Understanding how sensory needs might impact how your child experiences the world.
- How to manage difficult behaviour.
- What extra support there is out there for parents including important organisations, charities and support services.
The Extraordinary Parenting - autism programme is run over 4 sessions, each lasting for one hour. The content will be tailored to your child and situation, but the topics to be covered will include:
1. Your family and ASC: What does ASC mean for your family?
- Exploring your story and what you have tried so far
- The strengths and challenges of your child
- What ASC means for your child
- What is ASC (Jargon buster)
- Looking after yourself
2. Understanding Communication
- Communicating with your autistic child
- How communication might be different
- Understanding my autistic child’s behaviour
- Social communication
- Encouraging flexibility: Focus on using visuals
3. Understanding my autistic child’s feelings
- How emotions are different with ASC
- Denying feelings
- Validating feelings
- Helping Anxiety
- Helping them to recognise their feelings
4. Understanding your child’s sensory interests
- What are your child’s sensory needs
- What are the 8 senses
- How do senses differ with ASC children
- What are your own sensory needs and how can we use these to help us understand your child
- What are the consequences of sensory differences
- Strategies for managing sensory needs
- Managing meltdowns
Don’t worry if you don’t manage to take all of this in. We will give you a resource pack at the end which will contain all of the information from the sessions plus a lot more useful information.
Where: All 4 sessions to take place on zoom.
Cost: £640. This includes all of the resources from the sessions plus an extra resources pack full of hand-picked tools, which many parents say are invaluable.
Note: We do a combined autism and ADHD course for parents of children with both diagnoses. This is a 6 session course. Total cost including resource pack: £960
Once your course finishes, if you need ongoing parenting support or top up sessions from time to time, this can be arranged at our usual therapy rate.
