Autism: What Next? turns two!

Can you believe that Autism: What Next? has just turned two?! We’re incredibly proud of the impact that this free, digital toolkit has had on individuals, families and communities in Australia and overseas, providing evidence-based information and support for those who need it most.

For decades, one of the most common issues in autism has been the lack of quality information and guidance available to parents of children or families and individuals seeking and receiving an autism diagnosis. Thrown into a world of Google, full of misleading and inaccurate information, people are left feeling helpless, confused and frustrated at a time when they are at their most vulnerable. They spend countless hours and funds seeking the best information and resources that should be readily available in one place.

Autism: What Next? ensures everyone has access to quality, evidence-based information and resources, empowering them to support themselves or their loved ones on the autism spectrum. It’s designed and developed by teams of people with lived experience, including autistic adults, parents/carer of children with autism and some of Australia’s leading clinicians working with autistic people.

Take a look at how Autism: What Next? has been used over the last two years:

What do users think?

It’s one thing to hear how great AWN is from us, but knowing what our users think is even more important. Check out some testimonials from parents, autistic adults and clinicians who’ve used our site:

Parents/carers

‘Gosh, I wish I had this give years ago. What an incredible resource it will be for so many families.’

'Our son was diagnosed [with autism] in July 2021 (he’s now four years old) and I can’t tell you how much time I’ve spent talking to people, staff and parents with people in the disability/health sector about how much something like [AWN] would benefit families, GPs and educators. I live in Gippsland, Victoria and we were very fortunate to find a paediatrician who diagnosed our son within our first meeting and she hand wrote what was basically a pathway for the next twelve months of our lives. GPs and hospitals here have no resources of local services, sources of information and guidance as to whereto direct families. No pathways at all! I can’t tell you what it would have meant for us to have this fantastic resource, with evidence-based information, guidance and direction. I just wanted to reach out and say thank you.’

Clinicians

‘We recently received your email introducing us to Autism: What Next, Australia's first go-to resource for people navigating an autism diagnosis. We absolutely love this new resource for not only families, but I think it will be a leading site for therapists and teachers to upskill and educate themselves more in understanding Autism.’

‘Wow!! What a website! So much rich info, this is going to be a life saver for so, so many families! Well done on such a fantastic job, look forward to directing newly diagnosed clients and family members to the website.’

Easy to navigate and nicely categorised to easily find what you are looking for. You guys have done an amazing job editing the interviews, having such diverse professionals all echoing the same ideas, will give parents comfort and confidence on the paths, they choose to follow. I also love all the parent interviews, especially Hitarthi’s, she really emphasised the importance of peer support from other families and highlighted the empathy felt by parents, between each other. Belinda H also echoed that beautifully!’

Our users

The vast majority of our users are based in Australia, but Autism: What Next? has also gained traction internationally. This toolkit has been used by hundreds of users in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. There have also been uses of AWN in non-English-speaking countries including India.

Our information

Autism is complex and no two people with autism will present in the same way or have the same experiences. Our toolkit covers each stage of the journey leading up to and following an autism diagnosis, and the questions and challenges that often arise along the way. Check out our most popular pages via the links below:

Knowing the signs: children and adults
Understanding autism: children and adults
Autism pathway
Autism in adults
First steps to a diagnosis: children and adults

Across our social media platforms, there have also been some pages that have been popular amongst autistic adults and parents/carer of autistic children. Tap on the links below to view them:

Our videos

We produced over 50 videos for Autism: What Next? to give users another quick and easy way to consume information and advice. These videos feature clinicians who are experts in their field as well as autistic adults and parents/carers of autistic children who have lived experience of navigating an autism diagnosis.

You can watch our most popular videos by tapping on the links below and you can access the full AWN video library via YouTube or Vimeo:

Where to next?

We want to thank everyone who has used and/or contributed to Autism: What Next? in some way. We hope the information, advice and support provided in this toolkit has provided you or someone you know with the guidance they needed to navigate the often challenging first year following an autism diagnosis.

You can visit Autism: What Next? by clicking here.