Early Intervention
Our Early Intervention Service is a partnership service, led by Autism NI, which aims to build and strengthen relationships for families of autistic children aged 17 and under. The service supports families in the Belfast, Northern, South Eastern and Western Trust areas in a number of way, including:
Encouraging early childhood intervention through a programme of practical skills training
Training courses for parents and family members
Support groups for family members in the community.
Families are referred to this service through the Belfast, Northern, South Eastern and Western Trusts and will engage in a home-based programme. These meetings will provide family members with practical tools and support to manage their children's behaviours, play and socialisation. Each meeting will last approximately one to two hours and topics discussed may include:
The use of visual structure to help a child understand
Structuring the home environment
Setting up and maintaining positive routines
Daily living skills and play skills
Organisation skills, for example, homework schedules.
Training will also be available to support parents and family members to build up knowledge, skills and coping strategies. Ongoing community support will be available in the form of local support groups.
“The Autism Resource Officer worked with me to access local support that benefitted me and my child such as the local women's centre. Even though I have lived within the area, I had never availed of their resources”. (Parent)
ELLEN’S STORY
Ellen has a 3-year-old daughter Amelia (pictured left) who is autistic and non-verbal, and recently received our early intervention service.
“We were referred to Autism NI for our 3-year-old Amelia who has (autism) and is currently non-verbal. We didn’t know what to expect when we were first contacted by Autism NI, however the services we have been provided by Autism NI can only be described as life changing for our whole family! Amelia is our youngest daughter and before she was diagnosed, we had very little to no real understanding of (autism) but after our journey with Autism NI that has all changed.
We were lucky enough to have six weeks with Autism NI’s Early Intervention Officer and she was amazing with Amelia and the rest of our family. Within weeks she had Amelia using visuals and making choices. Playing in a structured way with toys she can now play with on her own, which we honestly thought we would never see happen! We still continue to see improvements with Amelia from applying the play techniques she taught us. She was also there with a listening ear and her advice for everyday tasks also made such a difference to us and left us all struggling less with things such as bedtime, bathing, dinner time and so much more. She even had time for a quick play and some ideas to help Amelia’s four-year-old sister Georgina to interact with Amelia!
We found Autism NI to be an inclusive service for our whole family. Amelia’s oldest sister Matilda was able to attend a week long siblings summer scheme and whilst having incredible fun doing the usual summer scheme activities she was also able to form her own support network with siblings from other families who have children with autism. Matilda also benefited from a far broader understanding than we could ever offer of how Amelia struggles with everyday things and ways for Matilda to deal with all those extra feelings and worries that come from being an autism sibling!
We honestly cannot thank Autism NI enough for all the help and support they have given and continue to give our family from direct interaction with our family through classes to advice on support and so much more! This time last year we didn’t know what to do or who to turn to but now we feel far more confident going forward!”