Services for Parents

Support for Parent/Carers and adults aged 18-25

We know how confusing and difficult the autism diagnostic assessment process can be, and the daily challenges of living with autism in the family. We aim to provide autism-specific information, advice and support to parent/carers, as well as linking you with similar parents and children if you wish.

We provide practical information and advice, details of relevant services, or sometimes just a listening ear.

Our two family support staff, Becky Loveless and Sam Burkin, cover the whole of Oxfordshire, so are kept busy running advice surgeries, training, and support groups; as well as coordinating our holiday activities.

For parent/carers of children aged 13 and under

Becky Loveless, our Family Support Worker, supports families who have a child aged 13 and under.

For young people aged 14 – 25, and their families.

Sam Burkin, our Community Outreach Worker, supports young people aged 14 – 25, and their families.

We provide
  • Our Fact File – a directory of useful information and services – the perfect place to start! The Fact File is available to download here
  • Regular email bulletins with news, events, and useful information
  • Advice surgeries and occasional home visits
  • Individual support and advice
  • Strategies to alleviate and cope with challenging behaviour
  • Linking local families and children
  • Support groups – we run two parent support groups but there are many more listed in our Fact File
  • A support group for parents who are themselves on the autism spectrum (or who suspect they are!) meets in Abingdon on the first Monday of every month 10am-2pm.
  • Signposting and access to other services
  • Challenging Behaviour and Autism course – a popular course which we run twice a year in venues across Oxfordshire
  • Other training courses and workshops, on request

Parent Support Groups

There are a number of support groups for parent across Oxfordshire – some are autism specific and others are more general for parents with children with additional needs. For a list of Parent Support Groups in Oxfordshire please see our Fact File.

Make a referral for a child or adult aged 18-25

We highly recommend all families refer to us soon after their child / young adult has received a diagnosis; or when they arrive in Oxfordshire. Referral Forms are for each person on the spectrum, so if there is more than one child on the spectrum we will need a form for each child.

Referral Forms may be completed by parent/carers or professionals – but we do need the form to be fully completed, ideally including an email address. Once we have received a Referral Form the parent will receive a welcome email/letter and be added to our mailing list to receive regular email bulletins and all our news of training, activities, and events (unless you tell us you do not wish to receive this information). Parents will also be invited to download our Fact File and if they require more support they may book an advice surgery with Becky or Sam.

Please complete the relevant Referral Form:

Referral Form for children under 13

Referral Form for 14-25 Year Olds

If you’re already known to us and would like to contact a member of staff, please see our Contact Us page for details.

Contact Us

If you’re already known to us and would like to contact a member of staff, please see our Contact Us page for details.

Training courses for parents

We work in partnership with relevant professionals from across Oxfordshire, including Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford Health and private individuals, in order to deliver appropriate and flexible training.
  • Challenging Behaviour
  • Sensory Processing
  • Sexuality Awareness
  • bespoke training on request
“loved this course – it has changed my life, my son’s life and my whole family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” – parent attended Sensory Processing course.

Details of our courses are usually sent by email to parents on our mailing list.

To join our mailing list please complete one of our referral forms:

Referral Form for children under 13

Referral Form for 14-25 Year Olds

If your email address, or other details, have changed please email us and let us know