Welcome to the Berkshire West Autism & ADHD Support Service.
The service provides advice, workshops and courses for children and young people aged up to 25 who are autistic or have ADHD – or are waiting for assessment – and their families.
The service is a partnership between Autism Berkshire and Parenting Special Children, delivering services on behalf of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West NHS Integrated Care Board, which serves the Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire council areas. Please note that you must be registered with a GP surgery in the Berkshire West NHS area to be supported by this service – click here for a list.
You can contact the service or request places at workshops and on courses at any time using our online referral form*, by email at contact@autismberkshire.org.uk or calling 01189 594 594 (option 1) – please include a daytime phone number in your message, so our team can get in touch.
*If you are a health, education or social care professional who supports autistic children and young people and their families and you want to make a referral to the service, please click here for our referral form for professionals.
For parents and carers, support available includes:
- Helpline & Support Calls – The Helpline is a free and confidential service available from Monday to Friday (except bank holidays) offering advice and signposting to autistic young people, their parents and carers, and professionals who support autistic children and young people, and signposting to support for families of children with an ADHD diagnosis, or waiting for assessment. Parents and carers of children with an autism diagnosis or who are on the Berkshire CAMHS waiting list for an autism assessment can also request a one-to-one appointment with one of our family support workers for an in-depth discussion.
- Autism advice workshops: Understanding More About Autism; Sensory Differences; Supporting Behaviour; Emotional Regulation; and Eating & Mealtime Challenges; plus a series of five workshops tailored for parents/carers of autistic teenagers.
- Teen Life, a National Autistic Society course 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 of autistic and ADHD children cover:
- Sleep Difficulties
- Transition to Adulthood
Support for autistic and ADHD children and young people includes:
- Social confidence course for children and young people aged 8 to 13, to develop their confidence in social settings and boost emotional wellbeing.
- Tailored interventions, based on individual need, for children aged 5 to 7
Click here to download a leaflet about the service and the support available.
