Whilst you are on our waiting list for an assessment we would recommend the drop in service to discuss any concerns or issues that you face. The team have lots of ideas and strategies that you could try and have resources you can access. Unfortunately we are not a crisis service and therefore, if necessary,  we would always signpost you to the most relevant service if you face significant difficulties. Support appointments are available to individuals after their assessment.

Support appointments are always service user led  meaning it depends on what type of support you need. The most common support we offer includes helping individuals to understand their assessment outcome, help developing autism related strategies and to help to identity specialist support (ie benefits, housing, employment etc). Don't feel embarrassed about asking for support, we understand everyone is different and have different concerns.

We understand that you may be really anxious about attending appointments and might find attending alone difficult. We would always suggest attending initial appointments with a relative, friend or support worker and aim to attend follow up sessions alone. It is really important for us to understand you, and what your goals are but it can sometimes be difficult for individuals to be truly open with us when they attend with someone else.  

Support Appointments are usually one hour. If more time is needed we would book a follow up appointment for you or we would recommend the drop in.

After your assessment it is important to explore what help and support you need. The PCP will help you to plan next steps and look at who can support you following your assessment. It is called person centred because it is important for us to know what goals, support and aspirations you have and how we can support you with this.

For help with any benefit enquiries, including PIP, we recommend contacting Thrive, a local organisation who help us with benefit enquiries, applications and appeals. We can provide you with the most up to date contact details for them. For specific help with PIP applications we would also recommend visiting www.gov.uk and also the National autistic society -  www.autism.org where you can find booklets on completing the PIP process. . The Citizen Advice Bureau  also offer help and support with benefits.

If you have a diagnosis of Autism then we would recommend attending  a support appointment where we can explore your difficulties and look at ways to communicate those difficulties to your employer. If this approach doesn't work we recommend Access to Work, a government funded support package available to autistic people. Full details of how to access this support can be discussed during your support appointment.