Welcome

Why are you coming to see us? You are coming to see us so we can find out a little about you We want to know about the things you like and don’t like, what you are good at and things you find more tricky This will help us understand you and think about things that may be helpful for you It will also help us find out if you have autism

Why are you coming to see us? Everyone has strengths and talents and everyone has things that are more difficult for them Children and adults with autism can be really good at thinking logically or noticing details that other people don’t spot They can also get really good at things they enjoy and feel passionate about

Why are you coming to see us? Sometimes children and adults with autism have difficulty with things like making friends, chatting or become very worried when things change unexpectedly Knowing whether or not you have autism will help you, your family and teachers to find solutions for any problems that you may have

Where is the Centre for Autism? The Centre is in the University of Reading We are close to the Earley Gate entrance to the University on Whiteknights Road You can find an online map here: https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/whiteknights-campus-map-and- keys-2016.pdf

Where is the Centre for Autism? If you have driven to the Centre, you can park your car in Car Park number 26

Where is the Centre for Autism? Follow signs to the Psychology building which is in building number 62

Where is the Centre for Autism? This is the entrance to the Psychology building Come in through the two sets of doors

Where is the Centre for Autism? This is the waiting area. Its near the doors where you came into the building Please sit here and we will come down to meet you

Who will I meet at the Centre? You will meet two members of staff from the Centre. You can find out who from an email we sent about the appointment If you would like to know see their photograph and find about them, you can go to this link on our website: https://www.reading.ac.uk/autism

What’s going to happen? We will go into a room that looks like this one. We will start by introducing ourselves Then we will explain what we are going to do while you are here

What’s going to happen? You will stay in the room with one of the staff members and talk about what you like doing and things you find harder. You may also play some games and look at some books If it’s okay with you, there might be somebody else in the room too, a student who is learning about our jobs

What’s going to happen? Your mum, dad or the person who brings you will go into another room to talk about when you were little and to think about what you are like now Your mum, dad or person who brings you will be in a nearby room that looks like this They will not be far away from you

What happens next? We will then have a break for about 25 minutes. You can get a drink or snack in a nearby cafe if you would like After this we will get back together again for about 20-30 minutes We will talk about what we did together. You can us ask any questions you may have You might also have a chance to play some games while we chat to mum, dad or the person who brings you for a bit longer

We look forward to meeting you