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We want to hear from you: please tell us about your experience of the online community.

Hi, my name is cathynorris1987! I feel alone and incompetent as a parent of children with autism.

cathynorris1987

Hi everyone.
Just thought I'd introduce myself. I am 34 and have 3 beautiful boys. My eldest son, Finley, will be 13 this month, and was diagnosed with Autism 3 years ago. This lockdown has been a real struggle, especially with what his school is expecting from him.
My second son, Aiden, who is 10, is also under assessment for Autism. He is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum to Finley.
What I've found throughout this process is how alone I feel, and incompetent as a parent. I dont feel am able to help my boys with all of thier needs, because we as a family have just had no support at all.
I look forward to getting to know you all and sharing your stories
?

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franklinbill

We are glad to have you here.

Warm welcome!

janer1967

Hi and welcome

Sorry how you feel and that you gave had no support think this has been the case for lots in your situation during lockdown

Hope being back at school will make it a little easier for you

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @cathynorris1987

I can imagine that having two children with autism must be a challenge, so you're certainly not incompetent as a parent.

I can absolutely appreciate that it can feel really isolating going through this so I wanted to point you towards a couple of resources, which I've linked below.

You're of course more than welcome to share more here on the community too. I've moved your post into our parents and carers category, and we have a category for discussions around autism too. I've also renamed your post slightly so that other members can find it more easily.

Scope- Navigate

Navigate is a national mentoring service, that provides online emotional support for parents and carers of disabled children who are finding out about their child’s additional needs.

Navigate is open to any parent or carer who:

lives in England or Wales
has parental responsibility for a child under 18
this child is on a pathway to diagnosis or has received one in the last year

Navigate is a programme of up to 6 sessions with a personal adviser, who will help you to talk about your feelings and concerns.

The service will help you with:

organising your thoughts and feelings
practical advice and suggestions
coping strategies and insights
taking positive actions and helping you with emotional wellbeing

You will have weekly catch ups with your adviser online and by phone. Your adviser will work with you on a one-to-one basis, helping you to:

explore your needs and personal goals
agree your action plan, and
provide you with support, if you need it

Scope- Parents Connect

Parents Connect is a 6-week support programme for parents and carers of young disabled people. Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, sessions will be run online until further notice.

The service is free and for parents and carers who are:

aged 18 or over
the parent or carer of a young disabled person between the age of 0 and 18
living in England or Wales

The online sessions will be in groups of up to 12 parents or carers. There will be 6 parent sessions, usually one each week. After you apply we will try to find a time and date that will work for you.

Each session will:

encourage you to talk to others in the group
provide you with information about local and national services
last a couple of hours

National Autistic Society Parent-to-Parent Emotional Support Helpline

Parent to Parent is a confidential telephone service providing emotional support to parents and carers of autistic adults or children. The service is provided by trained parent volunteers who are all parents of an autistic adult or child.