Understanding Your Autistic Child: A Family Guide to the First Year After Diagnosis

What Will You Learn?

• Explain what autism is, how it is diagnosed, and what the diagnosis means for your child's future in plain, confident language
• Recognise how autism presents in your specific child, including profiles that are often missed or identified late
• Identify your child's sensory profile and connect sensory differences to everyday challenges like mealtimes, transitions, and sleep
• Tell the difference between a meltdown, a shutdown, and a tantrum - and respond to each in a way that actually helps
• Understand how your autistic child communicates, including all the ways they communicate without words
• Design routines, environments, and daily rhythms that support your child's nervous system at home and at school
• Write down the right questions to ask professionals, schools, and support services so you can advocate effectively from the start
• Identify which supports, services, and funding pathways are available to your family and how to begin accessing them