We’re All Aware

This Mental Health Awareness Week is celebrating the power of community.

Belonging to a safe, understanding, caring community can make a huge difference to your mental health and wellbeing. It helps you feel connected and heard and improves self-esteem.

So why, if ‘we’re all aware’ do so many autistic young people fall through the net, not meeting the criteria for statutory services to support their mental health? Or not having the real opportunity to belong? Surely, (early intervention) prevention is better?

Being autistic shouldn’t mean struggling with your mental health is dismissed as ‘part of being autistic’. Having your feelings invalidated does so much harm. Sadly this is often statutory MH services initial response. When research shows us self-harm and suicidal ideation are so much higher in autistic people why is this the response and not considered a priority? 

There is also a no man’s land between child and adult services, where young people are too old 16/17 to go on a waiting list that they’ll never reach the top of before turning 18 and then what feels like being ‘pushed’ on to adult services to start the referral process again. 

Everyone deserves to be happy. 

All too often our counsellors are seeing parent/carers and young autistic people struggling with their mental health. Our therapists are working with young people in autistic burnout and crisis (but not at risk enough for statutory services to support?). Young people feeling that they have failed, feeling isolated and that they do not deserve help. Young people who are unable to go to school/college or even leave the house.

As a small grassroots organisation we adapt quickly and develop services, support and social groups to meet need. By enabling autistic young people to learn about themselves and providing personalised strategies and tools at an early stage, we give them a voice, hopefully avoiding burnout and withdrawal at a later stage. This takes time and investment. It takes time to build relationships. It takes time to build trust. It takes amazing, qualified, experienced counsellors and therapists who work with us to provide the right support.

The Express CIC community thrives on helping each other, supporting autistic young people to express, connect and be themselves and providing opportunities to truly ‘belong’.

If you would like to find out more see www.expresscic.org.uk/what-we-do 

To support our work www.localgiving.org/donation/expresscic/start