I can imagine the parents that are reading this haven’t had a good night sleep in years and are pulling their hair out to find solutions. Well, you’ve come to the right place! Sleep difficulties is something that is heavily linked with children with Autism, so it is crucial that parents have the strategies to support in this area. In this article, we’ll be giving you 3 strategies that could help your child get a better night sleep (which in turn means that you’ll finally get a good night sleep).

As always, if you still feel like you need more support, you can always book one of our FREE Clinical Appointments by clicking here.

Bedroom Environment

Ok so the first thing that you need to consider when supporting your child in getting a good night sleep, is the environment in which they sleep in. This includes things like room temperature, how bright/dark the room is etc. This is the first thing that parents should be analysing and there are a few helpful questions that might support you in getting a better understanding of this. The first is, does my child struggle in falling asleep? If this is the case then it may be due to the next strategy below. However, if your child is ok at falling asleep but struggles in staying asleep, then it is most likely due to the environment.

The best thing to do in this situation is to seek advice from an occupational therapist, as they have a good understanding of senses. Ultimately, if your child has specific sensory sensitivities (such as sensitivities to sounds), then this will have a knock-on effect on their sleep. There could also be simple strategies that could be implemented, such as installing black out curtains if your child is sensitive to light (e.g., daylight). Nevertheless, an Occupational Therapist would be able to advise you on the different sensory needs your child may have which could support them in having a better night sleep.

Bedtime routine

Every single person on the planet has a bedtime routine! Whether we are conscious of it or not, there are certain things that we might do every evening before we go to sleep. These rituals or routines are a way for our brain telling the rest of our body that we are winding down and about to sleep. This is the same with our children. Now, there is a difference between a helpful bedtime routine and a not so helpful bedtime routine, which is most likely why a lot of parents are struggling.  

Now, all children are different, and some may have different needs than others, so there may be a lot of trial and error involved in developing a helpful bedtime routine for your child. For example, if your child is generally very hyperactive and struggles to drift off to sleep, in many cases, this means that they haven’t gotten all their energy out. It may be worth implementing a family walk (or jog for some children) a few hours before bed to really tire them out. In addition, it may be that after the walk, there is a period of relaxation which doesn’t involve over-stimulating activities in low level light. This will hopefully send the message that it is nearly time for bed and for the brain to naturally produce melatonin for sleep.

Worry Box

There are a lot of children (especially with Autism) that may internally worry about things which keeps them up at night. You might notice that your child finally tells you what was bothering them all day, right before bedtime, which keeps them awake for several hours. In this case, bedtime routines and environments may not be working until those anxieties are addressed. Think about it! There have probably been lots of times where you haven’t been able to sleep due to having things on your mind. This could be the case for your children.

This is where the worry box comes in. It may be difficult for your child to communicate their worries to you verbally, which is probably why they struggle in telling you what they are worried about. By having a worry box, this provides that safe place for them to vent their worries and frustrations, whilst giving you access to the source of their anxieties. There are many families who discuss the contents of the worry box at regular times and is something that the whole family uses. By doing this, you can support your child in processing their worries and possible finding tangible solutions. This may alleviate some of their anxieties and support them in being able to have a good night sleep.

Still need support. Why not book one of CareGen’s FREE Clinical Appointments to speak with an Autism Specialist to see if we can support you further with your child’s sleep? Just click here to book a date and time that suits you!

As you may know, national waiting times within the NHS for Autism Assessments are averaging 2-4 years. For context, this means that a child can be referred when they are 5 years old and may not be seen until they are 9 years old. However, what if we told you there was a way that you can jump the que? Many families aren’t aware of the different options to be seen quicker, and we’re here to tell you about a few of them.

Need to speak to an Autism Specialist? Why not book a FREE Clinical Appointment by clicking here and booking a time and date that suits you?

Priority list

This is probably the best kept secret of all time. Did you know that every Autism service has a priority criterion and if you meet one of these criteria’s, then you’re automatically bumped up the list. Examples of this could be if there is an active child protection case involving your child or if they are a looked after child. In some areas, one criterion could be if your child is about to transition into primary or secondary school, as to provide support for this difficult time. The best part is, each service is different so some may have several criteria that you or your child meets, which means you are seen faster.

Nevertheless, services won’t just offer you this information unless you ask for it. This is why we always advise individuals and parents to at least ask for a copy of your local Autism services priority criteria. It gives you the opportunity to have a look at this and decipher whether you meet any of them. If you do, then this could save you so much time and headache of not waiting years for an Autism assessment.

Accessible Private Assessments

Now I know what you might be thinking! “I can’t afford to go private” or “who has that kind of money just lying around?”. However, what if we told you that there are many ways to access private services without having to break the bank? Since CareGen was founded, we aimed to make Autism assessments as easily accessible as possible for the ordinary family. This is why we are still one of the cheapest private Autism assessment services in the UK, however this still isn’t enough! So that is why we are now offering pay monthly finance for all our services. This allows families to access our services, whilst chunking payments into affordable monthly payments. By doing this, many families are now jumping the que and getting access to autism assessments far quicker than they would have if they had waited for the NHS assessment. If you would like to know how much our services would cost per month then click here!

One misconception that a lot of families have is that they will somehow miss out on future NHS services if they opt to go private. This is false as many NHS Autism services offload their waiting lists onto private Autism assessment services. This means that many of the Autism assessments that are carried out within the NHS are from private services that have been commissioned to support with the massive waiting times. Therefore, there is an understanding that if the private assessments follow NICE guidelines, they will be accepted by the NHS and therefore give you access to the NHS post-diagnosis.

Need to speak to an Autism Specialist? Why not book a FREE Clinical Appointment by clicking here and booking a time and date that suits you?

One of the biggest changes that NHS Autism assessment service experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, was the change in completing Autism assessments. As all the clinicians that work within CareGen also work within NHS Autism assessment services, we thought we would explain why the NHS are now completing their Autism assessments online. This is also why we at CareGen complete our Autism assessments online, as to keep our assessments as closely aligned to the NHS as possible.

Need support? Why not book a FREE Clinical Appointment with an Autism Specialist at CareGen? Just click here to book a date and time that suits you!

Managing Waiting Times

Since the first lockdown, NHS Autism services were scrambling trying to figure out how to continue offering Autism assessments and to not let waiting times increase further. Many clinicians at CareGen who were also working with the NHS at the time were worried that waiting times for Autism assessments could have reached 6 years or more, which would have been unacceptable. This is why the decision was made within the NHS to trial completing Autism assessments online. Thankfully, with additional training for clinicians, the NHS were able to offer online assessments to families and have been doing so in this manner for the past 3 years.

Since then, a lot of Autism assessment tools have been modified to allow for online usage. In addition, as this has been the standard for several years now, it has allowed clinicians to become quite good at spotting the signs of Autism via online platforms like Zoom and Attend Anywhere. Therefore, families should be reassured that the assessing clinician will be able to accurately assess you/your child for Autism in this manner.  

Easier Access for families 

Another thing that NHS Autism services found during the pandemic was the increase in people attending their Autism assessments. Believe it or not, despite the waiting times being ridiculously high for Autism Assessments, there are a lot of families that don’t turn up for their assessment. Obviously this causes delay and frustration to the clinician, as this time could have been better spent with a family that wanted to engage in the assessment process. Nevertheless, due to assessments being offered online and in the comfort of their own home, services found that more people were willing to engage in this rather than having to leave their home with their child.

In hindsight, this make a lot of sense as it can be difficult for people with Autism to go to a new place to meet a new person to discuss personal things. Therefore, by offering this assessment in the comfort of their home, we were able to see a lot more engagement for individuals. This is one of the reasons why NHS Autism Services have opted to offer online Autism assessments indefinitely.

More Assessments Offered

The last reason why NHS Autism services are now offering online assessments is due to clinicians being able to offer more assessments. This is due to less travel time which usually takes a large part of clinicians time during the day. You would think that clinicians would have one building where they complete Autism assessments, however that is not always the case. There are usually issues with room bookings within a particular building which often results in having to change rooms and in some cases even change buildings. This obviously takes a lot of time, however with the introduction of online assessments, all these issues disappear.

With less travel time means more assessments can be offered to families, and in turn reduce waiting times. This is also why we at CareGen offer online assessments as to reduce the waiting times for families that want to access Autism Assessment services. In addition, we can offer Assessments nationwide which was previously not an option. This means that we can help more families throughout the UK to get the support they need.

Need support? Why not book a FREE Clinical Appointment with an Autism Specialist at CareGen? Just click here to book a date and time that suits you!