It is widely understood that autism is a developmental disability which affects areas of social understanding, social communication and flexibility of thought. People with autism also have an impaired ability to understand and appreciate the feelings, thoughts and wishes of others.

What is often not so widely acknowledged is the individuality of the condition. No two people with autism are the same in the way in which this disability affects them.

Within Autism Solutions we start from the premise that each individual's autism is just that - individual.

Most of the individuals we support, or have contact with, have experienced former situations in which they have simply been labelled as “autistic” and been “forced” to be part of a group in which they evidently do not appear to belong. This has often led to multiple placement breakdown with a resultant negative affect, not only on their quality of life, but on their self-esteem and on the way in which they view the world in future.

Individualswith autism must have their ability to interact with other people and the world at large assessed in order to provide the best guess possible of how they will “fit in”. Too often it is autism which is assessed and not their own autism.

Autism Solutions always assess each individual’s autism and then try and devise the best package of support which the individual needs. This often involves single-person services and, within Autism Solutions’ services at least, never more than a three-person shared service. The support plan will also assess the ways in which the environment in which the individual lives has to be adapted to be individually autism-friendly. That environment includes not only their physical surroundings, but the other people with whom they have contact, be they staff, families and friends or other service users. Strategies are based on an open, total-communication approach, a thorough understanding of autism in general, and the individual’s autism in particular, and on a “behaviourist” approach which acknowledges that people do everything for a reason – we do not approve of explanations such as “naughty”, “childish” or  “they are just trying to get their own way”. We do not judge, penalise or withdraw activities – we understand, support and communicate.

Autismis a complex condition. The different ways in which it affects individuals are extremely complex and often difficult for those of us who are not autistic to understand – after all, we live in, and generally fit into society, and have theory of mind. People with autism often withdraw – from us, from society or from challenging (to them) situations. It is too easy to simply say that they “want time to themselves” when, in reality, they need others to understand why they are withdrawing and to provide them with the strategies they need to better cope with such situations. We, in Autism Solutions, are those “others” – we record, we analyse, we are innovative, we support and above all – we understand: individual autism.