Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that affects how people see the world and how they interact with others.

Dr Mahfud Ben-Hamida, consultant community paediatrician with North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We know that children with autism see, hear and feel the world slightly differently from others.

“Autism is a spectrum; it can be mild and it can be severe. It tends to be a lifelong condition and it is not disease or illness.

“There is no vaccination and there is no cure currently for it. Quite often people with autism feel that it is part of their identity and part of their condition.

“The frequency of the occurrence of autism has been quoted differently and it is estimated the incidence of autism is one in a hundred.

“The reason why it is important to have an assessment for autism if you think your child is affected by the condition is that families and children can develop a better understanding of this condition.

“The child can avoid the risk of being isolated and developing mental health problems later on. It also helps to identify the child’s style of learning that he/she will need in the school establishment.

“It is not necessary that every child with autism will need an Education Health Care Plan but sometimes the style of delivering the knowledge needs to be adjusted and the teaching style might need to be slightly modified. With the right support, children with autism can do well at school”.

We accept referrals with sufficient evidence and concerns to the autism assessment; currently this is through the GP or from a School SENCO.

Usually the referral will get triaged by the community paediatrician who will send parents a questionnaire.

Parents have the opportunity to fill the questionnaire in over a few weeks and it is important for the questionnaires to be returned as it gives the Community Paediatrician a good understanding about the child.

After this parents and child will be invited to a consultation with the community paediatrician and this is to look for whether the child’s symptoms can be explained by Autism or other similar related conditions.

After that the community paediatrician will discuss with parents and child the outcome and agree a way forward.