Fostering an autistic child

Tips for preparing to welcome a child

Gather as much information as you can about the child or young person as they move into your care, including as much as you can from the people in their lives who know them well. Things to find out include:

What is their routine?
What things are important to them?
What do you need to have in place or replicate?
Are there any triggers for anxiety?
Is there anything you need to avoid?
What are their dislikes?
What is known to help the child feel safe, calm and secure?
Food may be very important to the child (e.g. they may not eat anything red, they might like certain textures).
Do they have a sensory diet /daily activity plan?
Find out as much as you can! You will need to consider all of their sensory needs.

Other things to consider include:

Do not change too much too quickly
Do not throw anything away that belongs to the child when they come into your care.
Resist the urge to go out and buy loads of new things, it may be overloading for the child.
Give your foster child or young person space. They will need time to adjust to this huge change to their life.
Take a low-key approach and do not feel that you need to fill every moment of their time but do have some structure in place using your knowledge about them and what makes them feel safe and secure.
You should put in boundaries straight away as it can be very challenging and confusing to move the goal posts later
Expect the unexpected behaviours can change and be replaced with new behaviours. Anxieties can both increase and reduce.

For more advice on welcoming a child into your home, read our webpage here.

Supporting school

Choosing the right school is a huge decision, especially if the child is moving from a different area into your care and needs to change schools.
During the transition period, if you can visit the child’s current school, then do so.
Organise time to observe the child in class and time to speak directly with their teacher or anyone else involved in their education.
Research your local Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools, go online to read their Ofsted Reports and visit them. Visiting them is important as some schools will not consider a referral if you haven’t taken the time to visit them in the first instance.
Ask what autism training their staff have. What is the school’s experience of autism? Do they have capacity? Ask about the referral process. Ask as many questions as you can.
Contact the child’s social worker and virtual school head in the event of issues in relation to changing schools. All schools must have oversubscription criteria for each age group and the highest priority is usually given to 'looked after children', so ask to see the admission criteria.

We have a range of further information on fostering and education, as well as the support available for students with disabilities in school:

Fostering and education Disability and education

Useful pages

Supporting school

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