New Support Offered To Parents Of Autistic Children

Parents and carers of autistic children are being offered new help from a Market Harborough autism support group.

Two of Spectrum’s team have qualified as trainers to deliver the National Autistic Society’s free EarlyBird Plus programme – designed to help support parents of youngsters aged 4 to 9.

Hfm’s Darren Harte spoke to Alison Leham, from the group, to find out more:

Spectrum is run by local volunteers and has hundreds of members across the Harborough district.

They offer weekly support groups, advice, a friendship network, signposting to services and a range of inclusive activities and events for families with autistic children or who are on the pathway to diagnosis.

Left to Right Caroline Stevens of National Autistic Society, Vicky Davies and Alison Lehman of Spectrum Pic: Andy Carpenter

Caroline Stevens, chief executive of the National Autistic Society, said: “We launched our EarlyBird programme over 25 years ago. In recent years, we have been able to reach more people by training organisations, like Spectrum, so that they can deliver the programme themselves.

“If you are autistic, the world can be overwhelming sometimes. It can be too loud, people can ask too many questions too quickly and it can be hard to communicate in certain social situations. But autistic children have many strengths too. And, with the right understanding and support at home and school, can achieve great things.

“This is what EarlyBird Plus is all about, it equips parents, carers and professionals with the tools they need to give the best possible support. Working together, we can create a society that works.”

To find out more about the EarlyBird Plus programme and Spectrum, contact them at spectrumautismgroup@yahoo.com

More details about the group HERE