Mental health
www.bacp.co.uk – British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy – can provide lists of local counsellors and psychotherapists.
http://www.youngminds.org.uk/ - YoungMinds is the UK’s only national charity committed to improving the mental health and emotional well-being of all children and young people.
http://www.mind.org.uk/ MIND National Association for Mental Health
http://www.childline.org.uk/ is the free and confidential 24-hour helpline for children and young people in the UK. - ChildLine
Helpline 0800 1111 (free and open 24-hours)
http://www.bullying.co.uk/ - Help and advice for victims of bullying, their families and schools.
Support groups
The National Autistic Society website contains a comprehensive directory of local support groups.
Disability
www.mencap.org.uk
“Everything we do is about valuing and supporting people with a learning disability and their families and carers”.
www.cafamily.org.uk - Contact a Family is the only UK-wide charity providing advice, information and support to the parents of all disabled children. Also enable parents to get in contact with other families, both on a local and national basis.
www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk - for people to get an application from to apply for a disabled persons railcard. Proof of prescription for AEDs is needed to apply.
http://www.mygojo.co.uk/ - get the most out of public transport
www.skill.org.uk SKILL – the National Bureau for students with disabilities
www.dialuk.info - Dial UK is a national organisation that provides disability information and rights
www.adviceguide.org.uk - online Citizens Advice Bureau providing independent advice on rights.
http://www.nusonline.co.uk/ National Union of Students, has a section for disabled student s.
http://www.nasen.org.uk/ - National Association for Special Education Needs
www.phabengland.org.uk - Phab runs holiday clubs for disabled people
www.efds.net - English Federation of Disability Sport.
Other links
www.treehouse.org.uk
The TreeHouse Trust (TreeHouse) is the national charity for autism education, based in north London and founded in 1997 by a group of parents whose children had recently been diagnosed with severe autism. TreeHouse was established in response to the huge unmet national need for specialist education for children with autism. TreeHouse's vision is to improve, through education, the lives of children with autism and the lives of their families.
www.researchautism.net
Research Autism is the only UK charity exclusively dedicated to research into interventions in autism
“Established in 2003 as the Autism Intervention Research Trust, we carry out high quality, independent research into new and existing health, education, social and other interventions. Our goal is the improvement of quality of life and outlook for the individuals affected and those around them.
We have the active support of some of the world’s leading figures in autism and research. They have given freely of their time and expertise to work with us. We also work closely with our research sponsor, the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, as well as with the National Autistic Society.”
The website also contains a comprehensive A-Z directory of links to the most important websites relating to autism research and related issues;
http://www.researchautism.net/Links.ikml?l=A
www.autismsoftware.co.uk
Free, professional educational software, designed to help children and young people with autism.
www.autismandcomputing.org.uk
“Autism and Computing is a non-profit group. Its aim is to explore ways of minimizing the effects of a disabling society on people disposed to montropism. The theory behind Autism and Computing is a dynamical systems model of mind as an interest system. It is a theory about human beings, in which autism has a natural role as contributing to essential diversity. The model has illuminated some aspects of the autistic condition and yielded insights and suggested helpful approaches”
http://www.colour-se7en.co.uk/
“A point of reference on the World Wide Web for information on the subject of Asperger Syndrome and other Autistic Spectrum related disorders, while at the same time helping to create more public awareness on this little known and talked about subject.
Aspergernauts: Your universe for Asperger information
http://as-it.co.uk/
Support employment for people with Asperger syndrome.
http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/
This is a coalition of members of the autistic community who share the common goal of seeking acceptance for those on the autism spectrum; part of a global autism rights movement.
http://www.aspires-relationships.com/
Aspires is an online resource for spouses and family members of adults diagnosed with, or suspected to be on the autism spectrum.
http://autismawarenesscentre.org/
The Autism Awareness Centre believes that education is the key to success in assisting individuals who have autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), Asperger syndrome and other disorders such as Tourette Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). With numerous social, communication and behavioural intervention methods and the more recent field of biomedical interventions, it is important to keep parents and professionals on the leading edge of new information. By hosting workshops across Canada and providing resource support both in Canada and abroad, the Autism Awareness Centre is committed to ensuring information reaches all communities.
http://www.hyperacusis.org/
This site provides information about research and treatment of hyperacusis which is defined as an inability to tolerate everyday sounds. It is also defined as a collapse of the normal range of tolerance that is present in otherwise normally functioning ears.
http://www.awares.org/conferences/default.asp
An online conference giving direct access to over 60 experts in autism from all over the world.
http://isnt.autistics.org/
The Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical.
http://www.templegrandin.com/
http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/
http://wrongplanet.net/
Wrong Planet is the web community designed for individuals (and parents of those) with Asperger syndrome, Autism, ADHD and other PDDs. We provide a discussion forum where members communicate with each other, an article section with exclusive articles and 'how to' guides, a blogging feature and a chatroom for real-time communication with other Aspies.
Benefits and rights
www.direct.gov.uk – Information on public services, including information for disabled people including education, money and benefits, travel, motoring, employment.
www.equalityhumanrights.com -
Equality and human rights commission – for all information about rights, including information on disability rights and Disability Discrimination Act.
www.acas.org.uk - Advisory, conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) provide information for employers and employees.
The National Autistic Society
www.nas.org.uk
The NAS “champion the rights and interests of all people with autism and aim to provide individuals with autism and their families with help, support and services that they can access, trust and rely upon and which can make a positive difference to their lives”.
The NAS website has an enormous amount of information about living with autism and is very easy to navigate. Direct links to their information about education, therapies and interventions and benefits/welfare rights are listed below.
Information about education
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1066
Approaches, therapies and interventions
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=249&a=3798
Benefits and Welfare rights
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1560
www.think-differently.org.uk
Think Differently is the NAS campaign to think differently about autism
