In September 2015, Cedar was awarded funding to develop an Autism service, for Children and Young People residing in the Western HSCT area, in partnership with the Children’s Autism Team in the Western HSCT (Trust). 

The aim of the service was to bring families together to learn, to facilitate a better understanding of a diagnosis of Autism and to reduce families isolation by including them in mainstream, community based activities. 

The service has fostered strong partnerships with the Children’s ASD team within the Western Trust and the trust have been funding the service since December 2020, referrals to the service come solely from the Western Trust.  

The service provides one to one intervention within the home or school environments, supporting children and young people to gain a better understanding of their autism and put in place interventions to enable them to manage day to day life. 

There are a number of children and young people requiring support to manage in school and schools are very supportive to Cedar staff coming in to work with the child. 

To showcase the impact of this service and the role that it has played in supporting young people we have outlined two case studies below that provide an insight into the work that the service provides to children and young people.                  

Case Study One

A young person we worked with in the Omagh area, aged ten, was referred to the service for support with understanding emotions, developing strategies to manage his emotions at home and in school.  

Work was initially taken forward in the family home and then progressed to weekly visits in school. The work focused identifying some of the difficult feelings he was experiencing and this impacted on his physical and emotional well-being.  

We explored how his thoughts, feelings and actions were all linked together and how he can recognise the physical and mental signs that he experiences when he starts to feel anxious and overwhelmed. Giving him the time and space to talk about difficult and uncomfortable feelings made it possible to break down barriers with him.  

We identified strategies within the school environment that made it easier for him to cope. These included creating a visual which provided an overview of what was taking place the week ahead. This gave him the chance to look through the upcoming week and highlight any positives or negatives he had coming up. He was able to discuss with others what was causing him concern, which then provided the opportunity to give him support in this area. He was also encouraged to take a break when he started to feel anxious or overwhelmed and practiced different physical movements, he could do to help regulate himself. We worked on how he could ask for help from his teacher, his classroom assistant and parents as this was sometimes difficult for him. 

“We cannot thank you enough for all the help, love and support you have shown not only (child’s name), but all of us, you go above and beyond every single day and we appreciate that more than we could every say. You have been by our side through some tough times, you never judge, you always listen and understand. These qualities make you not only brilliant at your job, but they are part of why you are such a special person.”

The positive relationship between Cedar, his parents and the school made it possible for him to make as such amazing progress. This holistic approach to supporting him was key to him making progress. Both school and home are going to follow on with strategies put in place with him to ensure his progress continues long after his support from he has ended. 

Case Study Two

A young person we worked with in the Derry area, aged nine, was referred to the service in November 24 for support with regulating their emotions and manage social situations at school. The SU has a medical condition of diabetes which is a recent diagnosis, and the family are managing the different barriers that to can present.  

At point of referral the child became a school refuser, and work was taken forward in the family home and focused on managing their emotions and being able to identify what made them feel anxious and feeling emotional. A range of strategies and resources including social stories, role play, visuals, modelling strategies and emotion charts were used in supporting the service user.  

Work was also taken forward with Mum during this period and work with mum focused on understanding of Autism and identifying useful strategies to the child when he was feeling distressed. A range of strategies and resources including the Autism Wheel v Spectrum, the benefits of routines and structures, correct language to use and tools for a positive mindset were used to support the parent. In addition to encouraging her to find time for herself so that she can recharge her batteries effectively.  

Work was also taken forward with the school during this time, acting as a bridge between home and school. The work aimed to help put measures in place that would best support the child getting back into school and thrive when they returned.  

The young person returned to school after the Christmas break and has been attending regularly ever since. They feel more secure with their emotions and is doing better in social situations. Their Mum has seen massive progress in her child and has been using the person-centred strategies to ensure the child can manage emotions both at home and school.  

“The impact that you have made to date has been massive for this child, he is so much more settled in terms expressing emotions effectively. The work you have completed so far has helped in all environments… the work you are undertaking with families really is appreciated by us all.”

They continue to engage with the service to ensure embedding of new routines and structures is successful. The young person continues to work on managing their emotions and expressing how they are feeling.  

To find out more about our services please click here Specialist ASD services | The Cedar Foundation