Why standard anxiety advice often fails
Autistic and children often have physiological anxiety — the nervous system fires before any thought. Talking-therapy first doesn''t work; regulate before you reason.
What helps first
- Lower the demand load (school, social, sensory)
- Predictability — visual timetables, "now/next" boards
- Co-regulation — your calm body lends them theirs
- Heavy work, swinging, deep pressure, weighted blanket
- Reduce screens before bed
What helps next
- CBT adapted for autism (look for autism-trained therapist)
- Exposure in tiny graduated steps, child-led
- Medication via (SSRIs) when severe
At school
Ask SENCo for: reduced timetable trial, key adult, exit pass, quiet space, no public reading aloud, advance warning of changes. Use our templates.
/ school refusal
If your child can''t attend, see our dedicated guidance — never use fines as a threat, push for EHCP assessment if persistent.