• A psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic group-based programme for caregivers of children newly diagnosed as autistic.

  • It helps parents share information and strategies and offers wellbeing support through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which helps people adjust to new circumstances and process complex feelings.

  • The Empower-Autism programme has been developed from existing clinical practice, theory, research, and service-user collaboration. 

    It takes a holistic and collaborative approach to address the needs of parents and caregivers in the post-diagnostic period. It does this through integrating problem-focused psycho-education about autism and ways in which parents can support their children, and a manualised Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) psycho-therapeutic approach.  This supports parents with their emotional response to the diagnosis, their general mental health and wellbeing, and their management of any stress that may arise as a result of their child’s condition, the surrounding context, or any other factors. 

    Within the sessions, peer support and the sharing of expertise are promoted through facilitated group discussions in which everyone’s experience and expertise is valued

  • There are five sessions lasting three hours each. They take place online.

    SESSION 1
    Introduction to autism and ACT

    SESSION 2
    Autistic ways of processing; the education system and managing stress

    SESSION 3
    Communication, understanding and interaction

    SESSION 4
    Who and what matters to you? (ACT) 

    SESSION 5
    Your child, their world: sensory processing and emotional regulation

  • We want these groups to be accessible to all.  We are currently supported by the National Lottery Community Fund and can offer our parent groups for free.

    If you are interested in attending a group, please check you meet the following criteria and then complete the form in the section below to register your interest and we will be in touch.

    • My child has been diagnosed within the last 2 years

    • My child is between 2 – 15 years old

    • I am able to access online meetings

    • I am able to commit to a three-hour weekly session for five weeks

Parent Enquiry Form

By submitting this form, I consent to be contacted by the Empower-Autism team.