A post from Respect caught my eye at the end of last week, and in the run up to World Autism Awareness Day.
The Respect Young People’s team, who developed the Respect Young People’s Programme (RYPP), one of the first programmes for families experiencing child//adolescent to parent violence and abuse (CAPVA) in the UK, became aware of the high number of referrals from families where there was an additional diagnosis of autism, and worked with a research team and families to make adaptations that would make the programme more autism-aware, more accessible, more effective.
CAPVA can affect any family, but we know there is a high prevalence of young autistic people in RYPP caseloads. An analysis of RYPP cases in Swindon Youth Restorative Justice Service in 2018 found that 47% of their cases involves a young person with an autism diagnosis, and practitioners indicate that proportions may be even higher, representing as much as 60% of their caseloads.
This issue is also being reported by many other service providers, who find that the harmful behaviours in use may not always be a response to the direct experience of trauma, but instead from issues of communication, emotional regulation or anxiety; or indeed from a lack of information and support provided at the time of diagnosis. The adaptations needed to the original programme in order to make it more inclusive are not necessarily difficult to put into practice, and the additional positive outcome is that they can make the programme more helpful for all children and young people! So double win for the team and for families, whatever the drivers of the behaviour.
You can read the whole post here, on the Respect website, where you will also find more information about the RYPP as well as details of training and support offered to practitioners, Many thanks to Nik, Justine, and all the team for the work they put in to help practitioners provide a service that brings greater safety to families.
HOLES IN THE WALL 