Support - autism

What support can I access from SAANS following a diagnosis?

After receiving a diagnosis with SAANS, you will be offered post-diagnostic support in line with our stepped care approach, which is outlined on this page. 

We may also provide post-diagnostic support to autistic people who have not been diagnosed by SAANS.

Understanding and adjusting to a diagnosis of autism

In the first instance, you will be provided with information and resources to support your understanding of autism and how to manage any difficulties associated with your diagnosis, as well as how to maximise the strengths associated with being autistic. You will also be offered the opportunity to discuss the impact of a diagnosis and your support needs during a follow-up appointment with a clinician and, where appropriate, invited to attend our Understanding Autism group sessions, which are delivered either online or in person at SAANS.

Recordings of our group sessions are also available on the SAANS website for anyone to access before or after receiving a diagnosis. You can access these in the drop-down menu below.

Understanding Autism group

The Understanding Autism group is an educational group for adults who have been diagnosed as autistic.

We aim to give you with an opportunity to understand more about how autism affects you, and to hear about experiences from other autistic people.

The sessions are either held face-to-face at SAANS or hosted on Microsoft Teams. Each session lasts around two hours with a 15 minute break.

You'll have a chance to speak to clinicians and ask any questions you may have.

We will provide you with a workbook to guide you through the course and to enable you to take notes or write questions. Please find a link to the workbook at the bottom of this page.

Watch recordings of sessions

If you'd prefer to watch recordings of the Understanding Autism group sessions at home instead of attending the group, you can watch them on YouTube.

Session one - introduction

This session introduces the group and explains what autism is.

Watch this session

Session two - anxiety

Session two focuses on anxiety and explains what it is and why most autistic people struggle with anxiety. The session also explores some physical, psychological and behavioural signs associated with anxiety and offers some strategies on how to cope with and manage anxiety.

Watch this session

Session three - the senses

Our third session focuses on sensory sensitivities and difference. It offers a better understanding of this by explaining the different types of sensory profiles and how this can have an impact on your behaviour. We also look at coping strategies on how to manage the sensory difficulties and differences.

Watch this session

Session four - socialising

In this session we'll look at socialising. We will explore some of the difficulties with socialising that most autistic people struggle with. This includes looking at stress and anxiety and how they can make socialising even more difficult. We will introduce you to the Social Battery Model to help you think about things that may make socialising difficult for you, thereby ‘draining your battery’ and what could ‘charge up’ your battery to make socialising a little easier.

Watch this session

Session five - education and employment

Session five focuses on education and employment. We will look at how autism is seen as a disability under the Equality Act (2010) and reasonable adjustments in education and in the workplace. The session also offers information on services that work with and offer support to autistic people in education and the workplace.

Watch this session

Session six - strengths

In the final session we focus on the strengths that many autistic people have and encourage you to recognise these strengths and how useful it can be. Some of these strengths include attention to detail, resilience and in some cases, having great memory.

Watch this session

Stepped care - brief interventions for the core features of autism

Beyond developing an understanding of autism and learning strategies to manage any associated difficulties, we recognise that you may also require further specialist input from SAANS regarding autism. In such cases, we may offer time-limited one-to-one or group interventions, including:

  • peer support: including time-limited support to understand and adjust to an autism diagnosis or work towards specific goals with an autistic peer support worker  
  • psychological assessment, formulation and brief interventions: to support people to understand and adjust to their autism diagnosis, including managing associated emotional difficulties such as anxiety, low mood, and emotional-regulation problems
  • occupational therapy (OT) assessment and brief interventions: to support people where needs relating to being autistic are impacting on daily life, for example sensory processing differences
  • speech and language therapy assessment and brief interventions: to support individuals to manage any autism-related communication difficulties which are having a significant impact beyond other aspects of their autism 

SAANS services are for short-term and targeted therapy or support only. If you require other types of support, we may be able to recommend a more suitable service. You can also ask your GP or another professional who is supporting you for guidance. It is important to note that being autistic should not prevent you from accessing other mainstream services. You have the right to ask for reasonable adjustments to the environment or care approach, to ensure you are able to fully engage in any support.

Autism focused support outside of our service

There are many services and organisations in Sheffield, South Yorkshire and nationally that can provide support and guidance to autistic people.

Here are some of our recommendations.

Support for people living in Sheffield:

Support for people living in South Yorkshire:

Mental health support

It is common for autistic people to experience mental health challenges. You should not be prevented from accessing mental health services. You have the right to ask for reasonable adjustments to the environment or care approach, to ensure you are able to fully engage in any support. You have the right to ask for reasonable adjustments even without a diagnosis. 

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