If you need urgent help

Please be aware that the National Autistic Society does not offer a crisis or emergency service via any of our helplines, email inboxes or services. We are a UK Registered charity and UK residents can access urgent help or support by contacting the services listed below.

Immediate risk or danger

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact emergency services, such as the Police.  

Telephone: 999 
Textphone users: 18000 

You can find out more about contacting the Police here: Police UK

Urgent medical attention

If you or someone you know needs urgent medical attention, or is suicidal: 

• Go to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department of any hospital or make an emergency GP appointment. 
• Call 999 if there is an immediate risk of harm. 
• If you live in England, Scotland, or Wales, call the NHS non-emergency line on 111 if medical advice is needed. You can also access advice online at: 111 Online   
• If you live in Northern Ireland, contact your trust’s GP out-of-hours service if medical advice is needed.  

Safeguarding concerns 

Our charity does not have authority under UK legislation to investigate, assess or intervene in cases of abuse or neglect. 

If you or someone you know may be at risk of abuse or neglect, contact your local children or adult safeguarding services to report your concerns.  

You can find their contact details by typing into a search engine: “[your Local Authority/Trust* name] [ adult/child] safeguarding team” 

To ensure you are using a trusted webpage, you can check that the web address ends in ‘.gov.uk’ (for Local Authorities in England, Scotland and Wales) or ‘.hscni.net’ (for Trusts in Northern Ireland) 

If you are worried that a child may be at risk of harm, the NSPCC can offer support and advice. 

*Use your local Health and Social Care Trust name if you live in Northern Ireland.

Help with mental health issues

You can find the telephone number for your local urgent mental health helpline using the following links: 

• NHS England  
• NHS Wales 
• NHS Scotland  
• Lifeline Northern Ireland

Other helplines and listening services:  

• If you are having a difficult time, you can call the Samaritans any time, day or night, on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org 
• Shout 85258 a free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope. 
• Mind Infoline: 0300 1233393 for information and signposting (9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday)  
• SANEline: 0300 304 7000 for anyone experiencing a mental health problem or supporting someone else (4pm to 10pm, every day) 
• Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) – 0800 58 58 58 for anyone over the age of 15 who needs to talk (5pm to midnight every day).   
• National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK offers a supportive listening service to anyone with thoughts of suicide. Call on 0800 689 5652 (6pm to midnight every day). 
• Helplines Partnership provide a list of UK based helplines for a range of different concerns and locations. 

Please note: these services are delivered by other charities. Information about each service, including their privacy policies, can be found on each of their websites.