Nurturing Your Autistic Young Person: A Parent’s Handbook to Supporting Newly Diagnosed Teens and Pre-Teens

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When a parent is told their child is autistic they instantly enter a world of misinformation and bias, often propagated by big organisations who claim to want to "help". Many parents inadvertently end up following advice that causes harm. Cathy's book offers the practical insight and guiding hand to help parents of autistic children navigate in what can be a confusing landscape as they journey to understand and embrace their child's neurotype. Autistic children and young people thrive when adults in their lives understand and support them effectively, but for adults new to the world of autism this can pose a confusing challenge. This wonderful book provides the answers needed by parents or teachers of a newly identified autistic child or young person. Accessible and comprehensive, full of practical examples and strategies, the neurodiversity-affirmative approach outlined here will promote wellbeing and help prevent future mental health problems for autistic young people. Set across 77 acres, less than 7 miles outside of Durham City, New Warlands Farm is home to our vocational training centre Giving young people the space and time to explore and embrace their autistic identity, in a way that is positive and empowering, is essential for their sense of self and belonging. Further information

Nurturing Your Autistic Young Person: A Parent’s Handbook to Nurturing Your Autistic Young Person: A Parent’s Handbook to

So what’s the book all about? It’s the book I’d like to have read when my daughter got her autism diagnosis, seemingly out of the blue. It’s also the one I’d like to have read when my son was diagnosed at 18, presenting completely differently to his sister. That is to say, it’s very clear that every autistic person is different, just as we are all different. Unfortunately, an autism diagnosis carries with it a stigma, and becoming aware of this stigma can be damaging to a young person’s wellbeing as they get older – and the later they are recognised as autistic, the more problematic this becomes. This marvelous book is like a trusted friend who can relieve your worries and confusion while explaining the most promising approaches to raising a happy, healthy, and creative autistic young person. It condenses a tremendous amount of useful information into an engaging and friendly read. I'll be buying multiple copies to give away. Consider the environment: would they prefer to be somewhere familiar? Think about the sensory input such as lighting and sounds. Georgina Durrant, author of ‘100 Ways Your Child Can Learn Through Play’ and Founder of The SEN Resources Blog.to support with processing (providing additional visual tools or methods that work for that young person) If you are the young person’s parent or carer, it is likely that you will have your own thoughts and feelings about this whole process. You may have battled for years to try and get an autism assessment or are carrying the weight of comments from ‘well-meaning’ family members or professionals. There may be layers of guilt or worry over whether you are doing the best for your child. I have worked with many, many families over the years and I can tell you this is all ‘normal’, whatever that means!

Nurturing Your Autistic Young Person - Hachette UK

Rebecca Duffus is an Advisory Teacher working with students and educators in mainstream and specialist schools, plus local council and education services. Here, Rebecca discusses the importance of supporting young people to understand their autistic identity. No stone has been left unturned in this wonderfully accessible, comprehensive cornucopia guide for parents and carers. The inclusion of 'real people' voices in the case studies throughout is particularly powerful and combined with the almost limitless information, advice and resources, this book is a must have for anyone wishing to support their late diagnosed teen or young adult. However, so often I will meet a young person who is at crisis point, and ask the team around them if they have an understanding of their autistic identity, to be told ‘No’. They may have been told about their diagnosis but been given little support to understand what this means, nor had the opportunity to meet other autistic young people, therefore being left feeling isolated, which can also impact their mental health. What can we do to increase understanding of autistic identity in young people? When I began to feel that, everything changed for me. I began to see that I had a future. I was given the opportunity to learn about myself, understand my brain, and start to make adaptations to my life which made it easier to navigate. I needed a healthy way to direct my anger at my experiences into something useful. So, I joined my local CAMHS young people’s council, to be able to have influence in shaping services. I then stood for election as a public governor for my NHS mental health and learning disability trust. I am now in my fourth year as governor. I started university to study mental health nursing, and I qualify later this year. I became a trustee for the Autistic Girls Network, of course. I started to write blogs, give talks, and work alongside organisations to create change.Autism is the word used to describe a lifelong difference in a person’s neurology. It’s very difficult to say exactly what ‘it’ is because it can’t be separated from the person. This guidebook does what it says! All of us need nurturing, we also need help to find our way. For our young people this book maps the way forward from wherever you are on the autism journey. It aids the avoiding of potholes, wrong turns and dead ends to open up a road to less stress and increased confidence. It turns out that this late diagnosis is more and more common, particularly in those that present in an internal way, who tend to mostly be girls. It turns out our child is NOT fine in school. In fact, they are so anxious, school is traumatising them more and more to the point they may actually become unable to attend. It also turns out that we’re parenting just fine thank you very much, and that since at least one of us is likely to be neurodivergent we’re probably parenting in a much more appropriate way for our neurodivergent child than all those neurotypically-framed parenting courses they tried to send us on.