Family support

EarlyBird is for parents whose child has received a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder and is aged under five. 

The programme aims to support parents in the period between diagnosis and school placement, empowering and helping them facilitate their child's social communication and behaviour in their natural environment. It also helps parents to establish good practice in supporting their child at an early age.

"Whilst there is no magic wand, EarlyBird is the closest thing you could wish for." Parent

It will help you understand your child's autism; get yourself into your child's world, make contact, and find ways to develop interaction and communication; and and develop understanding of your child’s behaviour and how to use structure to support them.

The programme draws from well-established practice in the field of autism. The approaches used include:

• the National Autistic Society SPELL framework
• techniques from the TEACCH approach
• Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).

"The knowledge we have gained has given us more confidence to analyse problems and hopefully prevent them rather than lurching from one crisis to another." Parent

We work with six families at a time. Two places are allocated to each family. The programme lasts for three months and combines group sessions with individual home visits, when video feedback is used to help parents apply what they've learnt. Parents will have a weekly commitment of a two-and-a-half hour training session or home visit, and to ongoing work with their child at home.