Hub

East of England delivered by Essex County Council

Our Autism Central Hubs offer guidance to families, carers and personal assistants of autistic people. All of our sessions are run by Peer Educators. These are parents or carers of autistic people, who are happy to share their knowledge and experience with you. They offer group and one-to-one sessions to help you and other parents and carers find the information and services available in your area. Hubs may also run events such as workshops, drop-in sessions, coffee mornings or virtual meet-ups.

Autism Central is delivered in the East of England by Essex County Council in these areas:

Essex, Southend and Thurrock
Hertfordshire
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes
Norfolk and Waveney
Suffolk

Individual one-to-one sessions are available to book online:

Book a one-to-one appointment

Featured events

Virtual Parent/Carer Autism Drop in

An online meet up for parents and carers living in the East of England. Join us for a chat about anything autism related and ask questions.

Tuesday 07 January 2025

Sensory Processing and Autistic Experience

Online session looking at understanding and supporting sensory differences.

Thursday 09 January 2025

Understanding Autistic Overwhelm, Meltdown and Shutdown

Session discussing supporting the autistic person you care for with signs of overwhelm, meltdown and shutdown.

Tuesday 14 January 2025

Information and guidance about supporting your autistic child to learn to use the toilet.

Wednesday 22 January 2025

Emotionally Based School Avoidance and Autism

A session to look at strategies to support EBSA for autistic children and young people attending educational settings.

Friday 24 January 2025

Demand Avoidance

Information about demand avoidance and how to support, including questions around Pathological Demand Avoidance.

Tuesday 28 January 2025

Personal Budgets and Employing Personal Assistants

A session explaining personal budgets and how to go about employing personal assistants.

Thursday 30 January 2025

Understanding Autism

Our regular introductory session about what autism is and what it means to be autistic.

Tuesday 04 February 2025

A session for parents/carers discussing strategies to support sleep.

Thursday 06 February 2025

Autism and Mental Health / Wellbeing

A session for parents/carers discussing strategies to support mental health and wellbeing

Friday 07 February 2025

ARFID - (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)

A session for parents/carers to come together and discuss strategies for supporting someone with ARFID.

Tuesday 11 February 2025

Executive Functioning

Information about Executive Functioning (Planning, Preparation and Organisation) and how this might differ for autistic people.

Wednesday 12 February 2025

Virtual Parent/Carer Autism Drop in - February

An online meet up for parents and carers living in the East of England. Join us for a chat about anything autism related and ask questions.

Thursday 13 February 2025

Sensory Processing and Autistic Experience

Online session looking at understanding and supporting sensory differences.

Monday 17 February 2025

Holidays and Days Out

A session to discuss strategies for surviving school holidays and days out

Tuesday 18 February 2025

Supporting Play

A session for parents and carers on supporting play

Wednesday 19 February 2025

Understanding autistic overwhelm, meltdown and shutdown

Session discussing supporting the autistic person you care for with signs of autistic overwhelm, meltdown and shutdown

Thursday 20 February 2025

A session for parents and carers on sibling relationships and strategies to support their feelings and deal with potential challenges.

Friday 21 February 2025

Support for Autistic Adults

A session to discuss strategies for supporting Parents of Autistic Adults.

Monday 24 February 2025

Family Events and Celebrations

A session for parents/carers to come together and discuss strategies for dealing with family events and celebrations

Wednesday 26 February 2025