On 15th October, Laura Haupt from SIASS, joined representatives from the Educational Psychology team, NAS Sutton, School Nursing, and SPCF to present at Bandon Hill Woodfield’s “Parents Coffee Morning.” Of approximately 20 parents in attendance, only a handful had ever heard of SIASS or knew that there was a free, impartial service to support families of children and young people with SEND in Sutton.
Laura shared with the parents in attendance that SIASS is here to offer information, advice, and support on a wide range of challenges around SEND. We offer guidance through SEND processes and collaborative problem solving, all while remaining impartial and rooted in the law. After each presenter shared about their service, several parents took the opportunity to ask questions about what our service offers and to ask for advice on how to access the support they are seeking. This in term led to great partnership working as many queries had to do with where to find resources for Autism, particular resources to support children with Autism whilst at home. In some cases, those parents were signposted to the NAS representative and other cases SIASS shared with parents where they could find the information they were looking for.
Signposted resources included:
Autism and Social Communication – Cognus
Early Intervention and Identification (Paving the Way) – Cognus
NAS Sutton Branch – A branch of the National Autistic Society
PDA Society – Pathological Demand Avoidance – Part of the Autism Spectrum
The A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting Strategies and Solutions – SarahNaish | naotp
One of the key pieces of advice SIASS offers to parents of children who are pre-diagnosis (which the Autism service and NAS also recommend) is that it’s never too early to start supporting your children at school and at home “as if they were Autistic.” Rather than waiting for diagnosis, use the recommended support strategies now. It will not hurt, and may dramatically help your child feel more regulated and less anxious, leading to a calmer home.
For advice and support, please call us on 0208 323 0462 or email sutton@siass.co.uk
Visit the SIASS website