Autism

This is a specialist service which works with 3 to 16 year olds with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

We offer advice and support for parents, carers and schools, and accept referrals from a range of professionals in consultation with the family.

The Autism Spectrum team offer for Luton schools and settings

The Autism Spectrum team are a specialist inclusion service who offer information and advice on the nature and management of autism spectrum condition in mainstream schools:

“Where a pupil continues to make less than expected progress, despite evidence-based support and interventions that are matched to the pupil’s area of need, the school should consider involving specialists, including those secured by the school itself or from outside agencies.” (6.58 SEN Code of Practice 2015).

This may involve one, some or all of the following ways of working:

• A ‘surgery’ where children and young people are discussed and advice given in the session.
• Attendance at professionals’ meetings and other school/setting meetings for pupils known to the service. Liaison with other teams and local services (such as health based speech and language therapists and paediatricians) in relation to planning and development of support for autistic children and young people.
• Consultation with school staff (and parents) to explore interventions that have been put in place, look at pupil assessment information and make further recommendations on teaching and learning strategies. We may work with the school staff to achieve a better understanding of the factors that may be preventing the child from making progress; this could include classroom or setting observations with staff. Where a child/young person is not in a school/setting a home visit may be offered for the purposes of assessment.



Any assessment should include:

• the views of the child/young person
• the child/young person’s strengths, challenges, interests and aspirations which we use to inform interventions
• the views of the parent where appropriate
• the views of other professionals involved, where appropriate
• recommendations, based on the assessment, to support the child to make progress


• Advice on supporting access to a mainstream curriculum for autistic pupils and young people.
• Advice and support in setting up social skills groups for children and young people.
• Advice on appropriate specialist resources for autistic pupils.
• Contribution to staff development by providing a range of autism training courses for school and setting staff (and governors) on specific themes and areas of need.
• Delivery of a Luton Living Well Autistic Conference on a two yearly basis, where professionals, stakeholders, young people and their families can gather to learn more about autism and raise their aspirations.
• Specialist input from Early Years Advisors for 0 to 7s for Luton schools and resourced nurseries.
• Provision of training and workshops across the school year for primary and secondary staff on a range of key topics, such as 'Understanding autism' and 'Autism and distressed behaviour'. We also offer bespoke training for INSET or other group sessions by arrangement with the school or setting.
• The Autism Spectrum team promote the Autism Education Trust National Standards and other frameworks across our schools and settings.

The Autism Spectrum team offer for Luton’s ASC Provisions

• Support as above for mainstream schools.
• Regular termly meetings/visits to discuss pupils placed in the provision and track progress, offering advice and support.
• Annual meeting to monitor the implementation of the service level agreement with individual provisions.

The Autism Spectrum team offer for children, young people and their families

• Support to families from the point of diagnosis through Families in Luton Autism Group (FLAG), an online support group; or SWAN (Support with Autism Network) which is a face to face support group for families hosted by Windmill Hill Special School.
• Support for planning for school transitions
• Access to a range of resources and information through our online padlets, including topics such as 'Local support for families on the autism spectrum in Luton' and 'Autism and early years'.

How to refer

We accept referrals from a range of professionals. Children and young people will usually have a diagnosis of an autism spectrum condition. Parents must be consulted and consent to the referral.

Our work is usually carried out in the school or setting: in exceptional circumstances this is sometimes undertaken in the child/young person’s home.

Who are we?

Our team consists of a:

• senior advisory teacher
• two advisory teachers who see pupils aged from 7 to post 16
• two early years advisors who see children between 3 to 7 years

Staff are well qualifies and highly experienced in supporting children and young people on the autism spectrum.

The Autism Spectrum team is traded for out of borough schools.

Costs

For details of costs, please contact:

Karen Thomas
Telephone: 01582 548168
Email: [email protected]