The impact of our Autism Help support programme

Carla Manini Rowden is Head of Advice and Support at the National Autistic Society. She shares more about what her team does and some of the positive feedback from people they help support.

Autism Help is one of our charity’s flagship programmes, which helps us work towards the vision of a society that works for autistic people.

Autistic people and their families need trusted, autism-specific advice and guidance covering key life stages.

Autism Help aims to:

expand our information and support
enhance our existing services
embrace new technology for better outcomes.

Autism Help includes a range of services, including our:

These services aim to give people the trusted information and personal help they need to confidently make their own choices and live happy lives on their terms.

Our team work hard to oversee these services and provide high-quality support. Many of our services are award-winning. For example, we recently won Silver in Excellence in Regulatory Compliance for our Online Community at the Verint Inspire EMEA Awards 2025. It is a privilege to work in this team, and we also work with some amazing volunteers who are equally passionate about supporting autistic people and families.

Most of the Autism Help team know autism and neurodivergence from their own lives, so we really care about what we do. We make sure everything we share is based on facts and real experience. We always try to be understanding, professional and helpful so autistic people and their families can receive the information and support they need and deserve.

We regularly receive feedback about our services, and we wanted to share some of the ways we’ve impacted people’s lives.

What people say about our advice and guidance

Our advice and guidance hub is based on quality evidence from lived experience, research and professional practice. In 2024/25, we reached 1.1 million people through our online advice. We will also be releasing new features and pages for this hub in 2026 to help even more people access the information they need.

“Your pages are without a doubt the most comprehensive with the most up to date information and explanations of autism in the English-speaking world... congratulations to all who make your pages possible, truly you provide much valuable support and information and are a great resource.  Thank you!!!!”

“Your guidance and support have been immensely helpful. I feel much more informed and empowered to move forward, thanks to your assistance.”

What people say about our Online Community

Our Online Community is a safe and welcoming space for people to ask questions and seek support from like-minded members. We have over 40,000 active members and around 400 members posting new discussion threads each month, bringing meaningful connections for many people.

“It’s great to have positive and life affirming conversations. It’s also amazing that people are so open about their struggles as autistic people (and as human beings generally too of course!) and I want to thank everyone because you never know how much you’re helping people by simply sharing your stories.”

“I don’t know where I would be without you all! This is the autism community! We should all be here to support each other.”

What people say about our Autism Services Directory

Whether it’s diagnosis, social care, support groups and more, our directory helps people find local autism services across the UK. This directory is often recommended by other charities, diagnostic services and GPs to support autistic people. Since April 2025, 124,800 people have used our directory to help find local support and services.

“This is so amazing. I remember being so lost. Never doubt the support of the @nationalautisticsociety directory.”

What people say about our parent to parent emotional support service

This service connects parents of autistic children and adults with other parents who have personal experience, ensuring empathetic and relatable support. We helped over 650 parents in 2025, and 100% of parents said they found the calls helpful.

“Thank you for holding space with me. I truly came away from our conversation feeling empowered.”

“It helped to share my concerns and to have reassurance I am doing the best I can.”

Many people tell us our Autism Help services help them feel supported and less alone. Every person we support makes a huge difference, but we know there’s more to do. Our goal is to ensure that every autistic person and their family can access the right support at the right time so they can live life their way.

Blog posts are a way to share the insight, experience and perspectives of our staff and the people involved with our charity. While individual people may share insight from their role at our charity, the views expressed do not necessarily represent the position or views of the National Autistic Society. Readers should also bear in mind that no part of a blog should be treated as a substitute for professional advice nor should the content be relied upon as being verified or complete. Blog posts follow our guidance on How to talk and write about autism.