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New Berkshire West service joins up Autism & ADHD support

Autism Berkshire and our partners Parenting Special Children are delighted to announce that we have been selected by the Berkshire West NHS Clinical Commissioning Group to deliver Autism and ADHD support for children and young people and their families in the Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire areas from January 1, 2021.

Autism Berkshire’s chief executive officer, Jane Stanford-Beale, said: “Both charities have been providing services on behalf of the NHS for a number of years and we will build on that experience with the new Berkshire West Autism & ADHD Support Service.

“We want to ensure that local children and young people who are autistic or have ADHD – or are on NHS waiting lists for assessments – and their families get high-quality advice, courses and support.”

Sally Murray, of Berkshire West NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, added: “We are very pleased that our partnership working with Autism Berkshire and Parenting Special Children will be continued and enhanced. Our collaboration provides local children, young people and their families with vital support to make sure they live as full and happy lives as possible.

“This work is more important than ever during the current, and post-Covid climate, as these youngsters and their families deal with the impact this pandemic has had on their lives.”

A key feature of the new-look service is a single point of contact to access support for autism and ADHD, available via an online contact form, by email at contact@autismberkshire.org.uk or by telephone on 01189 594 594 (option 1). People’s needs will be assessed and they will then be registered for support or signposted to other appropriate sources of advice and help.

For parents and carers, services will include:

  • Home visits – an in-depth one-to-one discussion with parents or carers
  • Autism advice workshops: Understanding Autism; Managing Anger; and Meeting Sensory Needs, from the National Autistic Society (NAS) Family Seminars programme. Autism Berkshire is a licensed NAS training provider.
  • NAS Teen Life courses for parents and carers of autistic children aged 10 to 16
  • ADHD advice workshops: An Introduction to ADHD; Anxiety and ADHD; Managing ADHD Behaviours.

Additional workshops/webinars for parents and carers will cover:

  • Autism and Girls, with Berkshire autism advocate Carly Jones MBE; Emotional Regulation; Food Refusal; Sleep Difficulties; Transitions to Adulthood.

Support for children and young people will include:

  • Tailored interventions, based on individual need, for children aged 5 to 7
  • Groups for children and young people aged 8 to 16, looking at social interaction skills and strategies to boost wellbeing and independence
  • NAS SocialEyes courses for 17 to 25-year-olds, to further develop social interaction skills and wellbeing and independence in young adults.

Visit the new Berkshire West Autism & ADHD Support Service pages on this website to find out more about the service, workshops and courses that are available to autistic children and young people and their parents and carers, and how to get support.

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