Feedback from our beneficiaries

Feedback from our beneficiaries

How our beneficiaries feel about the charity

Feedback on Thinking Autism Events

I must admit last weekend at the TA Conference was the first time in a long time that I felt like I really belonged. It didn’t matter how long I talked about autism, we were all truly interested in each other’s paths.

I am a parent who had a child recently diagnosed with autism when I came to know about thinking autism (happened to attend last face to face 2 days conference in central London- I think in 2017/2018). There was absolutely no support to understand and prepare myself for what I can and need to do for my child. All mainstream institutions made me drown. Coming to conference and meeting lots of other parents gave me a bigger picture and there was lots of help and advice available to start. This is a very helpful platform where parents get updated about what is available in bigger world to help our children and it’s not shutting the door at us which unfortunately is the situation otherwise. We are group of parents and trying to help to thrive and survive our children who have so much potential but systems are putting us down. I would fully endorse and support it. I am a Dr myself.

I have attended many TA conferences and events over the years. In my experience as a professional and as a parent raising a child with severe Autism, I have always found the speakers to be at the cutting edge of biomedical research. The research is always presented in context.
TA is a charity which puts families at the heart of what they do. I have never experienced an ‘agenda’ being pushed on me and like any community, there is a broad range of opinion and experience. I have always felt a warm welcome by the charity members to events and everything they do is underlined by compassion, empathy and understanding. They care. They have walked that same mile in my shoes.
It is through TA events that I first understood the importance of the gut and microbiome on the aetiology and outcomes of this condition. This advice was not available to us on the NHS. I transformed my child’s nutritional programme through my learning with TA, specialist nutritionists and other autism parents on the same pathway and his health and autistic symptoms have improved immensely. He has moved from being in distress and pain to comfort, full continence and health. It took years of enormous hard work but we got there. Without TA support in those early years after my son’s diagnosis at 2, I do not know how my family and others like us would have coped. They offer a lifeline to many, humanity in times of despair and above all, hope. Thank you TA.
I am a paediatrician and today’s talks really opened me to all the other research going on – beyond what I do in my clinical practice which is based on NICE guidance and is very narrow. This is the first time I have come to know of Treating Autism Conference as it was publicised on the RCPCH website. It would be good for more professionals to be aware of such conferences as often we are not aware of therapies that parents are pursuing.
Things like gut issues, seizures during sleep are not visible straightaway but TA conferences helped me to understand these.
Just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU for organising such an amazing event at Brunel University. I only discovered you a few months ago, and it was my first attendance at one of these events. The speakers were amazing, I felt honoured that they’d flown across the world to speak to us, I was inspired, I learnt a huge amount (or I realised what I huge amount I have to learn but how lucky I am to have had those horizons opened up to me), and it was very useful to speak to other professionals on stands, and other parents who are so much further ahead in their journey.
TA conferences lead us to other professional help which has improved the life of our ASD son and thus the whole family. We are encouraged to continue this journey with their support to help find ways of alleviating the symptoms of autism.
This weekend we attended [the charity’s] International Conference in Brunel University and were absolutely blow away by everyone present. From wonderful organisers who made us feel so welcome and inspired us with their selfless commitment to parents and cause itself; great speakers who made us think harder and closer to how we can combine some of their knowledge in achieving our goal in helping children thrive.
I am a GP and a mum of X a 7 year old non-verbal boy. This is my first conference and I am totally amazed and overwhelmed by the number of people here and the wonderful work people are doing for autism. I have learnt so much I will be back next time. Many thanks.
Since the first diagnosis I got, TA has been the only positive source of information in Britain about what is actually going on biomedically in autistic people.I have found it incredibly beneficial to attend their conferences and read linked scientific papers which have given me ideas about how to improve my son’s diet and get supplements which help his symptoms. And it HAS helped his symptoms. Taking him off Dairy and then Gluten provided such a respite from his tantrums that we never looked back. Since then we have managed to remove a burden of heavy metals in his body and build a better gut microbiome than the damaging one he had before (he actually had such persistent C-diff that he needed antibiotics.)
TA conferences provide wealth of information. Sometimes a childs self injurious behaviour can be related to gut issues, Aggressiveness can be due to allergic reactions etc. These information are not available with my doctor or in a text book. TA aim to educate the parents as much as possible.
Attending their conference has given me renewed courage and desire to do the best to address my child’s problems and the co-morbidities that come with autism.
Excellent conference! Table talks was an excellent idea. I came feeling alone not knowing anyone, by day 2 I couldn’t stop talking to all the people I’d met the day before!! I’m leaving with loads of email addresses and telephone numbers! …Thank you TA Team – your efforts to organise this and take the time to speak to us was greatly appreciated.
The work and commitment and generosity of those involved in creating a conference like this is unbelievable, thank you so much, I really appreciated this amazing opportunity and will continue to support your extraordinary and progressive charity and spread the word. Thank you so much.
I loved the Gutology workshop which I attended last week. For years I had been toying with the idea of using fermented foods for my son (now aged 12); but I was confused by the different names (kombucha, kefir, kvaas etc) and also thought I wouldn’t have the space to make them in my kitchen at home. Being able to see how these foods were made, and taste how they should taste, was so useful and gave me the confidence to set out making them on my own.
Prior to attending our first TA conference we had no idea or understanding of the issues our son was facing, physically and mentally. Experts who participated at the conferences have always provided information that allowed us to commence or modify existing therapies.
Thinking Autism has been incredible resource for our family. It has provided access to discounts and books regarding a healthy lifestyle for our children. They have organised conferences where fellow parents can meet and share experiences and the therapies are not dangerous but natural/ food based or things like communication methods to those who are non-verbal and help alleviate some of the suffering of these children who cannot voice their issues – medical comorbidities with autism such as gastro issues/constipation/food allergies and joint pain and nutrient deficiencies. parent and children lives have been transformed by the work they do–e.g meeting top medical researchers from all over the world including a Nobel prize winner who have conducted research about how to help our children. my son’s life has been incredible since we found out he had undiagnosed allergies and nutrient deficiencies and corrected these via these conferences and information- he lost all sensory issues, gastro pain, sleep issues etc
TA has in the past held very interesting conferences with renowned international speakers. They also provide a wealth of useful information to parents on joining.
I would like to explain here how much I value the organisation and all the work you do.
My very severely autistic son is 16. I first attended one of your conferences when he was 5, I’ve been attending them ever since. It’s given me a community and a support network. It’s fantastic to connect with likeminded parents and to feel there’s someone out there who cares and is going through the same stuff … and have fun together. And I love the learning during the lectures!

I’ve found hope and inspiration by the amazing speakers: following a lecture by a biochemist from Calgary university hospital we managed to get faecal transplant treatment at the Evelina hospital (Guys and St Thomas’ hospital) for our son’s severe gut issues.By introducing the specific carbohydrate diet following a conference, we managed to stop our son’s absences and significantly improved his health and quality of life.

I have attended conferences and heard world class scientists talk about breaking scientific research about things like the importance of the microbiome which are now acknowledged to be part of mainstream health care.
We found much info on diet on TA conferences which had the biggest impact for my son. Also ensuring he had a good levels of nutrients on board. Helped us to connect with other parents at conferences.
TA is the most helpful charity I have ever come across for autism. It has put on amazing conferences and road shows. It is incredibly informative and educational. Its website and links are excellent. We have found the webinars to be excellent. I have not come across another autism charity that has helped us at all like TA has over the years.
The charity sources the most qualified conference speakers that are academics researching the most advanced findings in autism and its co-morbidities. The work they do is of the highest quality, and it is vital in helping parents understand that autism (and other neurological condition) can be helped and improved with the right biomedical intervention.
The information I have gathered from the charity’s conference speakers and from other parents has helped to improve my child functioning and wellbeing. In particular my child has benefited greatly for a gluten-free and dairy-free diet low in allergenic food, and from good-quality supplements tailored to her metabolic needs. I’d love to have an annual biomedical-only conference.

Feedback on Information Thinking Autism shares

I have been a member of this charity for many years – attending the conferences, the roadshows , the Facebook ‘lives’ and making lifelong friends with other parents . The peer support had been invaluable to me over the years. We have also been able to access invaluable information which is not easily available elsewhere – this has enabled us to research and make decisions about what we can do to improve the quality of life for our son. I have also provided my GP with the information booklets produced by TA. One thing that I particularly appreciate about this charity is that it is run by parents of autistic children -giving many hours of their already busy lives voluntarily, by people who really understand the challenges parents face.
This charity has given me scientific information I can discuss with my child’s GP and neurologist to improve her care, and education strategies I can discuss with her teacher.
Our child now has normal digestion and only minor learning difficulties. All of this has come about because of changes we made to our son’s regime having learned of techniques and methods from TA.
I’m so happy that TA was there for me to turn to! I muddled through a very difficult period before I finally found TA online. In my city there were plenty of charities offering basic coaching for families with children on the spectrum, but nothing offered information and support for explaining what was happening, or addressing some of the root causes of difficulties in some people on the spectrum (such as co-morbid conditions). My son had a period of regression lasting two years. I felt overwhelmed because I could not understand why my 3-year-old was suddenly falling apart, being afraid of new places, becoming over-sensitive to sound, and behaving aggressively towards me. I wish that there was more advertising for TA, so that I could have found it much quicker (for example, as soon as concerns were raised that my child might have autism).
My son now sleeps through the night. That has been one of the biggest things. He is improving. He is severe, but his progress has been slow and steady. I cannot imagine where he would be if we hadn’t taken this route.
We are the parents to a 7 year old child with autism and have benefitted from Thinking Autism by connecting me to other parents who are in similar circumstances to us. Above all they made us aware of clinical trials by Dr Richard Frye on Leucovorin. My son has been taking this for 2 years now and we have seen an increase in receptive language and have now gained expressive language. We saw instant progress with gross and fine motor skills too. Without TA we would not have known that our son has Cerebral Folate Deficiency. This is a treatable issue which is normally covered by an ASD label. Our son’s cognition has increased and we thank TA with all our hearts which has enabled our son to be the best he can be.
I have been a member of this organisation for the last 7+ years and have always felt that the organisation has had the highest values and respect to all its members. Providing support, new ideas and information where many government agencies fail to do so. I have a severely autistic and epileptic adult son and some treatments we tried when he was young (gluten and dairy free diets) were dismissed and considered controversial, yet are now more acceptable. It also meant our son got out of nappies, had better eye contact and some speech returned. These diets significantly helped him. We also used the Ketogenic diet which helped his epilepsy – this was considered ground breaking at the time. His paediatric & epilepsy consultants were involved and in fact were pleased when we helped get funding for a ketogenic nurse in the local hospital.

All this would not be possible without sharing information and exploring other ideas with parents and members of the TA charity.

Your recently published article about Autoimmune Encephalitis has really strung a chord and we are now exploring whether our son might have AE, with help from the Evelina and GOSH. The article has inspired me to keep going, keep looking and find help for my son who suffers badly from uncontrolled epilepsy. You give access to cutting edge research by reputable researchers and doctors. Thank you so much!

I help families all over the world. I always let my families in Europe know about the Thinking Autism organization. You are a great source of scientific information for our families who are new to the diagnosis. Your organization is there to help our families so they no longer feel alone.
Thinking Autism has given me links to scientific papers, research studies and news which have empowered me to address my son’s chronic constipation, anxiety and general low level poor health. I have felt empowered by this information to ask questions of medical practitioners and not be fobbed off with the easy answer that it is just part of autism. My son’s improvement in general health are proof that we don’t just have to live with it.
I have learned how therapies like cranio-sacral therapy may help with anxiety in all people but have seen very great results in allowing my son to be more relaxed and enjoy times of peace in a body which suffers from sensory overload.
The charity significantly helped our family by providing objective information on the different treatment approaches which are available to help improve the functioning of those with autism. No singular treatment type was promoted, but discussions around promising areas of research and feedback from other parents proved invaluable.
TA provides parents of affected children a place to join the dots, seek specific advice and research, and make connections that might otherwise take so much longer, if at all. And let’s be clear here, our interminable and chronic sleep deprivation, on top of the relentless fighting for rights an services for our socially disabled child or young adult, is exhausting, and renders most of us without the strength or clarity of mind to do all the research and make all the connections on our own. But we don’t have to, because Thinking Autism does this for us! It is a GODSEND! This is why I’ve been an appreciative member for as long as I can remember, and will continue to support the work of [the charity] in whatever way I possibly can.Sent with love and wholehearted gratitude to all my TA family of almost 20 years, for keeping me strong, focused, and with hope for a better future for all our kids, young and old.
We have always had good experiences with the members of Thinking Autism and always been made aware of therapies, opportunities and developments but no one has ever been pushy or tried to tell us what to do. The charity continues to support our family to this day with our son’s ongoing journey to adulthood. I am aware that many families have similar experiences to us as I have met many of them in person or virtually through thinking autism networking opportunities. Those families provide us with a lot of emotional support as they understand our situation. The people who run the charity are included in that as they too are parents of children with autism. for all of this we are hugely thankful.
I really appreciate having access to high-quality, life-changing information provided by Thinking Autism. The improvements that have occurred in our son over the past year as a result of his treatment have been transformational. This has allowed him to better cope with noisy environments, and to better participate in social encounters with other children and adults. His growing independence allows me to spend more time with his younger sibling, and also to talk to other adults when we meet up with other families (rather than having to supervise him extremely closely in a constant state of anxiety).
TA has helped with keeping me updated with latest research and ongoing trials. Alerting me to the medical issues especially the gut issues that affect kids with ASD. It led us to ensure we did regular stool tests privately which picked up a duodenal ulcer we would not have otherwise known about as my son (age 4 at the time) did not feel pain at that time and a visit to the GP resulted in him telling us the constant burping was due to swallowing air!
Thinking Autism is, unfortunately ahead of its time and as with all people or bodies who dare suggest an alternative they are hounded by people unwilling to admit that there are alternatives to the status quo. This charity has helped me and my daughter by giving us things to think about and we are grateful for that. Twenty odd years ago we listened at a conference to Paul Shattock explain about the problems with gluten and casein and we took his advice and removed those unnecessary proteins from our diet. At the time we were laughed at by the medical profession but we knew it was the right thing to do. Some 13 years later, when the NHS finally agreed to testing, it was confirmed that my daughter was indeed allergic to both those things. We are grateful that Thinking Autism brought this subject to our attention and wonder how much worse things would be for us had we not followed our convictions.

Incidentally, I used to suffer from terrible arthritic pain in my finger and knee joints at the age of 38 which completely disappeared when I too followed a gluten and dairy free diet and these have not yet returned 21 years later. So a huge thank you to TA for bringing Paul’s research to our attention. And of course now diets free if gluten and dairy products are so mainstream!!

Other physiological problems have also been helped greatly by following the research findings that Thinking Autism bring to the attention of parents such as the recent links between glucose metabolism and challenging behaviour. This has lead to discovering that my daughter has a rare genetic variant related to glucose metabolism. There is still a long way to go in terms of research and I am grateful that Thinking Autism are there to bring articles and findings to our attention.

TA has provided me with an immense amount of support. When my son was being diagnosed some of the members reached out to me on social media sites and encouraged me to get in touch and learn of ways to help my son. The virtual friendships which developed from this have been so incredible I would be lost without them. I have found myself strongly advocating TA to anyone I meet who is going through the diagnosis period! At a TA conference I saw [redacted] speak about her success with [redacted]. She has since helped both myself and my son and I am so grateful for this.

Feedback on Thinking Autism publications

Thinking Autism produced a fantastic document of cormorbid conditions which we were all guided to circulate within our communities and to our ASD children’s practitioners. The case was made that where our children are able to access appropriate medical care, their individual quality of life is significantly improved. We know, through lived experience, that this is the case. Once you start to work out the medical issues that no one is looking for, that makes the difference. My son went from a miserable lad to happy 90% of the time. Now if he falls down he knows he’s hurt himself and he has the language for it! I share your publication called Medical Comorbidities in Autism Spectrum Disorders. It is one of the best things that I have ever read about autism. It explains the medical issues associated with autism in a scientific yet concise and understandable way.
Thinking Autism has informative and well researched information to help with the various health issues that accompany autism as well as many other topics. Parents find it very hard to access good information on these topics.
Your index on comorbidities and pathways to seek treatments are invaluable. It is down to each individual and parent/carer to choose their way forward, and I have never felt that TA promoted one view or treatment above another. Having attended some events back in 2016 I found these to be hugely helpful in determining what was possible next in the early intervention programme I was establishing for my child with autism. TA’s mission is what I interpret of selflessly wanting to educate and raise awareness and they are doing so impartially as far as I can tell.

Quality of Life

I have been grateful for Thinking Autism for 10 years now! The people I’ve met, the information and contacts I’ve received, the research and studies I’ve had access to, and the developmental gains we’ve personally seen from some of the approaches we’ve taken as a result of those things, have made a hugely positive impact on our journey as parents of a child with Autism.

I’m the mother of a 9 years old in the autistic spectrum and Thinking Autism has provided me with an incredible source of information for holistic treatments to help my son. The charity is a wonderful local platform to be able to connect and liaise with other special needs parents and has provided over the year support and help. This has really been beneficial for my son and improved his overall well-being over the years. I’m really grateful to all volunteers who spend their own time to run the organization whilst dealing with the difficult job of parenting a child with special needs.

So what has Thinking Autism done for our family? (This is in no particular order as I might not send this email if I crafted it more). We have been saved from travelling this exhausting journey of parenting autism and trying to access acceptable healthcare and safe education, alone. We have met other parents on their journey – sometimes for long enough to build relationships with them. We have attended conferences, picking and choosing what we wished to learn more about. I have attended local gatherings with other parents. I have parented my son better because I have been pre-warned about possible areas of future difficulties. I have been guided to read books and articles. I have been encouraged to think and consider and explore options.I have been encouraged not to judge others. We all know that the efforts put in by each family and the money spent, is no guarantee of gains for our children.

Thinking Autism has supported us in our son’s journey with ASD and ADHD and high levels of food intolerance and at one point Borderline Anxiety Disorder. Our son is healthy beyond anything we could have imagined between the ages of 1 year old and 15 years old. My husband and I are still married. We have gained knowledge to better aid our parenting autism journey. Without Thinking Autism our son’s quality of life, our son’s future, our marriage and our life as a family of four, would all have been broken, battered and unrecoverable.

Our son has improved and been transformed from a non-verbal, non-toilet-trained, leaky gut child into a healthy mainstream grade 4 pupil. All of this results from efforts in diet and education that we learned from TA and practitioners associated with it.
My son lives in residential care; has numerous health problems alongside a diagnosis of severe autism and severe LD and challenging behaviour. He cannot make any significant decisions independently. We need your group as anything that would ease some of his difficulties would be very welcome. Unfortunately mainstream medicine is appalling at offering help or solutions and without the work of your organisation we would be left without hope. Finally I would like to say I fully understand the wish of individuals not be ‘cured’ but if they were living the life of my son they would soon change their minds.
Thinking Autism has been extremely helpful on my journey through autism with my daughter. She was diagnosed at an early age and the first couple of years were particularly difficult, as she had a lot of health issues in addition to autism. Thinking Autism helped me to find the right support for my daughter and the whole family, and as a result of interventions, my daughter is now leading independent and happy life. This probably would not have happened without the information and support from Thinking Autism team and the professionals that the charity put us in touch with.

I have appreciated the community of other parents who are living through the same difficulties, who cope with that by being as open minded as possible and taking every opportunity to learn.

I have been an amazing advocate for my son in all areas and feel that I have taken enormous strength from the knowledge that I am not alone.

Thinking Autism has been invaluable to us as a family in helping my autistic PDA son physically and mentally. Following up on the many autism articles that they have posted, I have achieved a better understanding of my son’s autistic traits which has enabled me to help him live a more comfortable, happier life.

He is now 27 years old. At 3 he was unhelpfully diagnosed with ‘developmental delay’. He was able to read but unable to speak along with a lot of other presentations. Because of this meaningless and inaccurate diagnosis he was given an inappropriate and therefore educationally and socially damaging placement at nursery and school. On following up articles that Thinking Autism have shared from medical journals I was able to press for a more accurate and detailed diagnosis. His more accurate diagnosis is Autism, PDA, verbal dyspraxia, global dyspraxia, misophonia, sound and touch sensitivity, auditory processing disorder, visual processing disorder. Obviously, with this more accurate diagnosis we could pursue appropriate speech therapy, vision therapy (including tinted spectacles) and this also led to a more appropriate school placement.

Further to this and reading more articles posted by TA I have also become aware of the likelihood of an auto immune disorder. This meant that when he recently had severe and worsening symptoms of food poisoning, I was able to have an educated discussion with the A&E consultant leading to a prompt and timely prescription for antibiotics thus avoiding a hospital admittance.

Reading the many published articles on the likelihood of possible gut issues and consequential food sensitivities in autistics led to trying to avoiding certain foods with the result of him no longer suffering from his ‘drug resistant’ epilepsy (tried 3 different NHS meds with extremely bad side effects).

Thank you from me and my family for years and years of support received from your charity. I can honestly say our journey would have been very bleak without you.

My son is now a young adult with severe autism and I have a daughter with autism too. Each time we visit medical practitioners for ailments, illnesses and symptoms – of which there have been many over the years with both children – the medical practitioners have dismissed their illnesses with comments like “this is just autism”. And sent us home with paracetamol and ‘rest’.

My son especially has complex medical needs as well as his autism and mainstream medical treatments have been limited at best. With the support and knowledge we have received from yourselves and your friendly online community, we have seen tremendous health gains with both children. My son for example had severe gut impaction and was very skinny pale looking. The GP sent us home with advice that it was probably due to his autism behaviours. After speaking with other Thinking Autism families I realised that we should request an X-ray, which we did. This showed his gut was seriously impacted and this would have been very painful for him. He could not communicate this, had we listened to the GP we would have put it down to my son’s ‘behaviours’ and not pushed for an X-ray. There have been hundreds of examples of this relating to diet, supplements, therapy interventions etc. All of which have brought my son to a much healthier, happier and hopeful future.

Thinking Autism are ALWAYS my first port of call with problems. And we have never been disappointed with the support we have received. Please keep doing what you’re doing and making a difference in families’ lives. We are happy to support you in any way we can so you can continue to support families like us.

Autism is very isolating for all in the family. TA has been one organisation that understood and helped.
As a mum of a child with severe autism I felt very alone before I made contact with TA. Being able to connect with other families and learn from their experiences has been hugely beneficial in so many ways. I have made friends for life and their continued support and that of TA has been crucial in our family’s wellbeing.
I am just writing with my sincere thanks for the wonderful charity you have all worked so hard to create. Thinking autism has helped me and my family in so many different ways. In honesty without both the emotional support on the forums and being able to connect with other families going through the same struggles as me at the social events the isolation of autism would have been unbearable.

The educational resources provided by the charity have empowered me to make the right choices for my son and seek the support of professionals that have been able to optimise his physical and emotional his health.

Thinking Autism has always filled me with hope and positivity about the proactive ways Autistic children can be helped. This hope is what always kept me going on my darkest moments and it is this hope and belief that my son could be helped and then knowing how to help that had made him the happy healthy person he is today!! For that I will always be eternally grateful!

Our family has benefited hugely from the activities of the Thinking Autism charity. I write as the grandfather of an autistic young man, now 20 years old, who was diagnosed as autistic when he was 3. TA have organised regular conferences on autism, usually every other year, and my daughter and I have attended every one. The speakers have included professionals (some from overseas) who are involved in the diagnosis, treatment and care of autistic persons, and also parents who have spoken about their experiences in bringing up an autistic child.

TA have also produced informative booklets about autism aimed at various groups of professionals such as general practitioners, teachers, and care assistants, and literature on subjects such as co-morbidities in autism. For a long time GPs dismissed co-morbidities as “just autism”, and failed to treat an abdominal pain, which could be due to a bowel problem or even appendicitis, which my grandson experienced. He was lucky in that one of three consultants in A&E decided to keep him in hospital overnight (the other two wanted to send him home). The following morning a scan revealed an inflamed appendix, which when removed was found to be close to bursting! I think GPs are better informed today as a result of the activities of TA and other organisations.

My grandson has been transformed from a small miserable boy who cried a lot, didn’t speak, didn’t wear clothes, ate a very restricted range of food, didn’t interact with his parents or his sister who was two years older, to an adult who is able to cook his own meals, wash his clothes, and converse enthusiastically about his subjects of interest. His improvement is the result of the hard work of his dedicated parents, who applied what they had learned from the TA conferences and literature about the importance and benefits of a healthy microbiome and cognitive behavioural therapy. My grandson still has significant problems such as anxiety associated with extreme sound sensitivity.

I wanted to write to let you to know that Thinking Autism has been the single most beneficial charity or organisation for my son and my family over the many years of our difficult autism journey. Thinking Autism has been instrumental in bringing about profound changes in our lives.

Now approaching 25 years old, my son and I have been with you from the start. At Thinking Autism conferences, meetings, support groups and in reading the comprehensive information provided on your website and in other communications, I was able to read about the latest research; hear about simple, safe interventions which could be easily applied to alleviate his suffering, and I could engage deeply with others whose children were experiencing similar health issues to my son. I will never forget feeling of huge relief when a UK based charity focusing on the health and wellbeing of our children came into existence. Very little was offered to us by the medical establishment when my son was diagnosed with profound autism “it’s just autism, I’m sorry” “prepare for him to be institutionalised…” Thank goodness I didn’t listen to this advice! My son’s biggest issue – gastrointestinal symptoms which made him miserable and severely affected his behaviour – proved very amenable to various dietary interventions and nutritional supplementation, many of which have been successful over the years. These ideas were most often drawn to my attention by cutting edge scientific research presentations and parent experiences presented at the totally invaluable Thinking Autism conferences which I would previously have had to travel abroad to hear. My son is a living example of what can be achieved when underlying health conditions are addressed in profound autism. He is now a happy, calm, confident, practical young man living with autism successfully within the family, without pain or rage or disconnection – and the ability to deal with his own toileting needs. Thank you Thinking Autism!

Many things have impressed me over the years about this charity. Even while Thinking Autism grew in size and influence, your organization has remained doggedly true to its original aims and has not been side tracked by divisive politized issues – such as those surrounding vaccinations – thus avoiding controversial distractions. Bravo, you have kept your focus. I am also very happy you do not shy away from inviting top scientists to present their cutting-edge research at your conferences and inviting UK medical professionals to attend and engage. As the tsunami of autism diagnoses continues – and sadly the response from the medical profession remains decidedly underwhelming – we increasingly need more well-informed health care professionals in this country to focus on helping our children with the health issues common in autism. Thank you for going the extra mile to engage with health care professionals – we and our children need this!

I am writing to let you know how useful the Thinking Autism charity has been for me and my family. I have been a member for a number of years now and it is my favourite charity that I support. Their Roadshow presentations and face-to-face meet-ups, as well as their website and social media presence, have not only given me an opportunity to learn about different approaches how to help anyone with autism and how to improve their quality of life, but also they have provided a platform for us parents to meet other parents and hear each other’s experiences and also to meet different practitioners and enquire about the work that they do and chat about our kids’ particular issues.

I cannot even fully describe how much the support that Thinking Autism provided has meant to me over the years. It’s been a lifeline at times and their support has meant that I felt less alone and isolated when dealing with all the hardship that my child and our whole family have been experiencing as a result of different health difficulties we were faced with.

I would like to point out that my husband and I already had a lot of input about our daughter’s special needs from different doctors from well-recognised UK hospitals. However, the Thinking Autism charity, being run by parents for parents, gave us that much needed human touch side of things, the parents that are in the management and also the parents members provided us with so much understanding and many of them invested a lot of their time in trying to make our life easier by recommending the relevant specialists and nutritionists with a particular interest in the field of common comorbidities and their such dedicated input lessened our burden and helped us reach more adequate help in a faster manner, which enabled us to restore better quality of life all round for all of us. I cannot praise the work of the Thinking Autism charity enough.

When I started my autism journey 18 years ago (my daughter was diagnosed at the age of three) I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to cope with my daughter. I was in a state of denial and felt very alone. Thinking Autism is a wonderful community of people made up of parents, professionals and others who have an interest in the field. Through the charity I was able to network with parents in a similar situation and was able to exchange ideas/information. These parents were and continue to be a source of strength and inspiration to me. They gave me hope at a time when I was in a state of despair.

The charity organises an annual conference, with speakers who are at the top of their game
I was able to connect with professionals and learn about various therapies, and approaches that would address the symptoms of autism and help my daughter progress.

The team at Thinking Autism also regularly share information regarding medical advancements/therapies that can be helpful for people on the spectrum. I am happy to say that as a result of the knowledge I gained, the connections I made and the consultations that I have had with various professionals over the years that my daughter has made huge progress.

She is now a confident young adult with a passion for theatre and music and loves to perform on stage. She is extremely popular at college and is a kind and compassionate young woman. There is huge progress being made in the field of autism and it is very hard to come across information and resources. Thinking Autism has been an invaluable source of this information. I am extremely grateful for the work that this charity does. In my opinion there is no other autism focussed charity that does the kind of work that they do. Thank you Thinking Autism!

Thinking Autism has been a wonderful help in my family’s struggle with autism. We have found help and encouragement, many friends, and enjoyed many very informative conferences, articles and posts of new discoveries. This is a brilliant Charity which we wish we had found at the beginning of our autism journey and have recommended to others.
The charity has helped hugely. My son was constantly ill which in combination with his autism made for unhappy times for our family. Now he is as healthy as your average child and I don’t think I could have got him to that place without Thinking Autism.
The charity is like an extended family for us. The members are fantastic at supporting one another and they understand what we’re going through and provide the advice and support we need. The conferences are amazing. I get to meet other families and find the quality of the speakers and the information they impart to be both inspiring and motivating. I would not have made it this far in such good shape if it were not for Thinking Autism supporting me along the way.
A true lifeline. Without TA as an ASD resource, our life is isolated and the future frightening. Being provided positive tools to help our kids and our selves gives us a belief we can make a difference for our kids, and all our futures. Thank you SO much to everyone involved xx.
I am very greatful to be a member of the charity, I am no longer feel isolate.
Thinking Autism is a lifeline for our family. It is our first port of call for any queries related to autism, for networking with other families and for information that is vital on our day to day living with autism. With Thinking Autism we feel valued, respected and that we are not alone. We owe Thinking Autism our greatest and deepest gratitude.
Without TA I don’t know where we would be as a family and I know that my son would still be ill and suffering. I am and always will be deeply grateful to you all!
Due to all the support from Thinking Autism over the years, my grandson is hugely healed and such an organisation is unique in this help for parents facing the heartbreak of a newly diagnosed child – they give HOPE in practical ways. There are now no other organisations giving this level of professional support.
I believe I have successfully recovered my child and this would not have been possible without the support that Thinking Autism provided me. It provided me with faith that there is an alternative to the view that Autism is merely a Psychological condition. I would not have found the Practitioner who has supported us on this journey without my initial contact on the Treating Autism website. For your help and support I will always be grateful.
Thinking Autism has given us hope that we can help reduce our child’s suffering and helped us find appropriate treatments for him. Our son’s autism symptoms have significantly reduced as a result of this access. The conferences get better every year and give us information about latest medical developments that just aren’t available anywhere else.
No other UK organisation, as far as I know, gives the kind of support to families affected by autism that Thinking Autism provides. I don’t know how I would have coped with my son’s issues without the help of Thinking Autism. It is a wonderful organisation.
Thinking Autism has literally been a lifeline for our family, providing much needed information to help make our autism kids lives be the best they can be. The conferences are particularly inspiring and informative and have given us direction and a feeling of empowerment and community in what can often feel like a very isolated existence. It helps to give us the strength to keep calm and carry on finding out answers and supporting our fellow autism families. Thank you so much to all the dedicated and amazing people who run TA, you are incredible people.