A BBC investigation has found that people are being inappropriately sent on parenting courses by social services because of confusion around the symptoms of autism.

Signs of Autism are vast but can include difficulty with interacting and playing with peers, having little or no eye contact with others, unusual body movements such as flapping hands, spinning or tapping, delayed development and not reaching milestones, not exploring surroundings or being curious and much more. Autism will affect young people in many different ways.

In Wales the Local Welsh Local government Association has stated that councils were looking to offer more support and were beginning to reform their services and that an Integrated Autism Service would be progressed to raise awareness and ensure better understanding and support is available.

Julie Burton is a solicitor from Bangor and spoke to the BBC about this issue and argued that parents are often accused of poor parenting or neglect when the fact is they need support as their child has autism, often not yet diagnosed. Julie is quoted as saying “…”I’ve lost count over the years of the number of parents that have been told it’s their fault in some way or another, that they’re not adequately parenting the child. They’re told all they need to do is adopt particular strategies from parenting classes and all their problems will be solved. But it’s missing the point – you can be the world’s best parent, but if you’ve got a child presenting with really difficult behaviours, no amount of amazing parenting, or parenting courses is actually going to address the root cause….”

Parents can find some young people with Autism do not like being touched, so having a bath/shower, or brushing their hair can be a battle. One young mother said “You feel there are eyes everywhere and everything that happens they will interpret through their own filter, they won’t try to understand it from your point of view, they don’t necessarily know about the autism, so living in that sort of situation there’s a daily fear of that happening.”

Many of our foster carers look after young people who have autism or are on the autistic spectrum. The specific and specialised autism training they receive from the agency helps them to support the young people in the most effective way possible. If you would like to foster for a progressive fostering agency that truly cares, then why not contact Sunbeam Pride on 01582 218 228.