About the service

After a diagnosis, you might have a lot of questions about autism and may want to seek more information in supporting your child’s needs.

Children’s needs also change over time and information and advice received when a child is younger may need to be updated to be relevant for the child or young person today.

Cygnet provides you with an opportunity to increase your confidence, knowledge and understanding practical solutions. If you join a group, it also gives you the chance to meet other parents and carers in a similar position.

Child holding parents finger

What is covered

  • Introductory session is a chance to meet the other group members and go through the aims and content of the programme. We will look at what we already know about autistic spectrum conditions (ASCs).
  • Autism and diagnosis – a chance to discuss the variety of strengths and challenges faced by children with ASCs and to consider your own journeys as parents.
  • Sensory processing – an in-depth look at the senses and sensory issues that can be faced by children with ASCs. We will look at ideas of strategies and resources to support this.
  • Communication – how communication can differ for children with ASCs and possible strategies and resources to support children with different levels of verbal communication.
  • Opportunity for parents to discuss topics of their choice.
  • Build your understanding of your child’s perspective and view on the world.
  • Develop practical strategies that can be beneficial to you and your child.
  • Direct you to relevant local support and resources and the opportunity to meet other parents and create a support network.
  • Understanding your child’s behaviour.
  • The opportunity to explore specific topics. For example, puberty, sexual wellbeing and relationships.

Practical information

We can work with you either online or face-to-face in a group and will adjust the time of the session according to the content. We can work with you individually for the first session if you would find this helpful before joining a group.

We recommend that you attend all sessions. You will gain a lot more from committing to all the sessions whether it is the group or the online programme. This is because each session builds on the one before.

If you are not able to attend a group, we can offer Cygnet individually, where we send you information each week and arrange a weekly call to work through this together before moving on to the next session.

You are welcome to attend on your own or with someone else who has a caring role for your child. Carers can be anybody with direct involvement with your child. For example, grandparents, uncles, aunts, shared carers or support workers from school.

Cygnet is delivered in a welcoming and informal style.

We are able to work with you in the daytime or evening.

We provide paper or digital copies of each session for you to keep, make notes and refer back to. We will also give you other resources you might need.

Our Cygnet facilitators see you as the expert on your own child, so these sessions are intended to be interactive.

The programme is delivered by fully trained practitioners from Cardiff Parenting Services.

Need help?

If you are not sure which support is right for you and your family, our advisors can help.

You can contact us by: