Autism Resource Hub

Communication Access UK – Training and resources

Communication Access UK provides free training and practical resources to support inclusive communication for people with speech, language, and communication needs. This platform is ideal for individuals, teams, and organisations looking to improve accessibility and become Communication Accessible.

What’s available?

• Real-life stories from people with communication difficulties
• Downloadable handouts and posters (e.g. TALK prompts for face-to-face, phone, and remote communication)
• Easy-read guides and symbol sets
• Information on conditions that affect communication
• Guidance on applying Communication Access standards
• Free e-Learning training

To access the e-learning, you’ll need to create a free account via the main dashboard. The training is short, accessible, and designed to help you understand how to support people with communication needs in everyday interactions.

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Talking Mats – A tool for better communication

Talking Mats is an award-winning, evidence-based communication tool developed by Speech and Language Therapists. It helps people with communication difficulties express their thoughts, feelings, and preferences more clearly and confidently.

Who can benefit?

• People with learning disabilities, autism, dementia, stroke, or mental health conditions
• Children and adults who find it hard to express themselves verbally
• Professionals in health, social care, education, and justice settings who want to support person-centred communication

How does it work?

Talking Mats uses a simple visual framework: a mat, symbol cards, and a scale (e.g. “like / unsure / don’t like”). The person places symbols on the mat to show how they feel about different topics, helping them organise their thoughts and communicate more effectively.

Why use it?

• Encourages choice and control
• Reduces anxiety and frustration
• Supports shared decision-making
• Helps uncover views that might otherwise go unspoken

How to access it

To use Talking Mats, you need to complete their Foundation Training, available:

• Online or face-to-face
• With access to Digital Talking Mats, a web-based version of the tool
• Additional resources and symbol sets are available for trained users

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Comic Strip Conversations – Supporting social understanding

The Comic Strip Conversations resource (PDF only, 732KB), developed by the Neurodevelopmental Team at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), provides a visual tool to help children and young people explore and understand social situations and emotions.

What is it?

Comic Strip Conversations are simple drawings that use stick figures, speech bubbles, and thought bubbles to break down social interactions. They help individuals reflect on what was said, what was thought, and how people felt during a situation.

Who can benefit?

• Children and young people with autism, learning disabilities, or social communication difficulties
• Parents, carers, educators, and professionals supporting individuals who may struggle to understand or express emotions and social cues

Why use it?

• Encourages emotional awareness and perspective-taking
• Helps clarify misunderstandings in a non-threatening way
• Supports problem-solving and learning from past experiences
• Provides a visual and structured way to talk about feelings

Important disclaimer

This tool should only be used if you feel competent and confident, and where necessary, under the supervision of a qualified professional such as a Speech and Language Therapist or Psychologist. It is not intended as a standalone intervention for complex emotional or behavioural needs.

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Social Stories – Helping people understand the world around them

This resource from Suffolk Family Carers introduces Social Stories - short, structured narratives that explain everyday situations, behaviours, or expectations in a clear and reassuring way. Originally developed for children, Social Stories can also be highly effective for adults, particularly those with autism, learning disabilities, or communication difficulties.

What are Social Stories?

They use simple language and visuals to describe:

• What is happening
• Why it’s happening
• What the person can do in response

These stories help reduce anxiety, support understanding, and promote independence by preparing individuals for new or challenging situations.

Who can benefit?

• Children and adults with autism, learning disabilities, or social communication needs
• Parents, carers, educators, and professionals supporting neurodivergent individuals

How to use them

• The site provides free example stories that can be downloaded and adapted
• Stories should be tailored to the individual, using person-centred language and relevant scenarios
• Involving the person in creating or reviewing the story can increase its effectiveness

Important disclaimer

Social Stories should only be used if you feel competent and confident, and where necessary, under the supervision of a qualified professional such as a Speech and Language Therapist, Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), or Psychologist. They are not a substitute for professional assessment or therapeutic intervention.

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Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) intranet page – Staff access only

This internal Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) intranet page provides information for staff about the Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) service, including:

• Team contacts and referral guidance
• Resources on communication and swallowing (dysphagia)
• Links to training, policies, and easy-read materials

Please note this page is for GMMH staff use only and includes clinical resources and referral processes that require appropriate training and access.

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Introduction to Signalong

Signalong is a key-word signing system designed to support spoken language and improve communication for individuals with speech, language, and communication needs, including those with learning disabilities. It uses signs derived from British Sign Language (BSL), but is adapted to be used in spoken word order alongside speech, facial expression, and body language.

How carers and staff can use the website

• Access free resources: The website offers downloadable materials such as themed sign packs, handshape posters, and videos. These can be used in everyday settings to reinforce communication and support understanding.
• Use in daily activities: Staff can integrate signs from the resources into routines, group sessions, or one-to-one interactions to help individuals express needs, feelings, and choices.
• Support learning and engagement: The materials include songs, visual aids, and activity-based signs that make learning fun and interactive - ideal for use in schools, care settings, or at home.
• Promote consistency: By using the same signs across different environments, staff and carers can help individuals build confidence and consistency in their communication.
• Training and development: The site also links to training opportunities for those who want to deepen their understanding and use of Signalong in professional practice.

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British Sign Language (BSL) SignBank

BSL SignBank is an online dictionary and learning resource for British Sign Language (BSL). It provides videos of signs used by deaf people across the UK, including regional variations, fingerspelling, and signs for everyday topics like colours, numbers, and place names. It’s designed to support learning, understanding, and consistent use of BSL.

How service users can use it

• Explore and learn: Individuals who use BSL or are learning it can browse signs by topic or handshape, helping them expand their vocabulary.
• Practice independently: The video format allows users to see signs in action, making it easier to learn at their own pace.

How carers and families can use it

• Support communication at home: Learn signs that help with everyday interactions, such as emotions, routines, or health-related terms.
• Encourage engagement: Use the site together with the person you support to build shared understanding and confidence in using BSL.

How staff can use it

• Improve communication: Use the site to learn and reinforce BSL signs relevant to your service users, improving day-to-day interactions.
• Plan inclusive activities: Incorporate signs into group sessions, care routines, or therapy to make communication more accessible.
• Support training: Use the videos and search tools to support staff development and Deaf awareness training.

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Using communication passport templates: A guide for carers and staff

Communication Passports are personalised tools that help individuals - especially those with learning disabilities or complex communication needs - share key information about themselves. They promote person-centred care by giving people a voice in how they are supported.

What the Communication Passport website offers

• A range of free downloadable templates in formats like PowerPoint, Keynote, Book Creator, and Canva.
• Templates include a title page, index, and up to 16 suggested content pages (e.g. likes/dislikes, communication style, health needs).
• Simple design with space for photos, graphics, and text, making it easy to personalise.

How carers and staff can use the templates

Download and customise:

• Choose the format that suits your setting (e.g. PowerPoint for editable digital use).
• Add the individual’s photo, name, and personal details.
• Use only the pages that are relevant—passports should ideally be under 20 pages.

Involve the individual:

• Wherever possible, co-create the passport with the person it’s about.
• Use their own words, preferences, and choices to make it truly person-centred.

Use in practice:

• Share the passport with all staff involved in the person’s care.
• Use it during transitions (e.g. hospital visits, new staff, school changes) to ensure continuity.
• Keep it updated as the person’s needs or preferences change.

Print or present digitally:

• Passports can be printed for physical use or enhanced with audio and animations for digital presentation.

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My Health Passport

'My Health Passport' is a simple, editable document that helps you share important information about your needs, preferences, and communication style with healthcare professionals.

How to use the health passport

Service users:

• fill in the passport before appointments or hospital visits
• share it with staff so they understand your needs quickly

Healthcare professionals:

• read the passport before providing care
• use it to guide reasonable adjustments and improve communication

Reasonable adjustments checklist

Reasonable Adjustments (RA) are simple changes that help make services fair and accessible for autistic people and those with learning disabilities. These adjustments are a legal requirement under the Equality Act 2010 and ensure everyone can access care and support without unnecessary barriers. Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides reasonable adjustment checklists for education, employment and healthcare. 

How can service users and families use this resource?

• Complete the appropriate checklist.
• Learn what adjustments you can ask for.
• Share your needs with staff so we can support you better.

How can staff use this resource?

• Identify barriers in your service and plan adjustments.
• Train your team on autism awareness and communication strategies.
• Embed RA into your policies and care pathways.
• Ask service users to complete a reasonable adjustments checklist prior to meeting or working with them. 

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Autistic Space Framework

The Autistic Space Framework is designed to help professionals create environments that focus on physical spaces, social interactions, and service processes to ensure they meet the needs of autistic people.

Please note the link is for the full article however you can quickly refer to the images and tables in the text which summarise adjustments which could be helpful to put in place.  

Service users can use this to consider if any of these reasonable adjustments would be helpful, and to advocate for these to be in put in place when accessing healthcare. 

The Positive Birth Book – Visual Birth Planner

The Visual Birth Planner is an online tool that helps people create a personalised birth plan using simple, visual cards. It covers choices around environment, pain relief, communication, and cultural or sensory needs. Users can select preferences such as lighting, noise levels, and privacy, which can be especially helpful for autistic adults or those with learning disabilities who may have specific sensory requirements. 

How staff can use it: 

• Share the link with service users during pregnancy planning or antenatal sessions. 
• Use the visual cards as prompts in conversations to explore sensory needs and communication preferences. 
• Support individuals to complete the plan and ensure it is shared with maternity teams. 

How autistic people or those with learning disabilities can use it: 

• Choose cards that reflect their sensory and communication needs (e.g., “Low Light Levels,” “Quiet Please,” “Ask Permission”). 
• Create a clear, visual plan that reduces anxiety and helps staff understand their preferences. 
• Save or print the plan to bring to appointments or the birth setting. 

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Autistic Parents UK

Autistic Parents UK is a national, autistic-led charity, dedicated to supporting autistic parents throughout pregnancy, birth, and beyond. They offer a wide range of tailored resources, practical tools, and community support designed by and for autistic parents. There are lots of free accessible resources.  

What they provide: 

• Peer support  
• Webinars and live questions and answers
• Video library  
• Maternity passports and downloadable tools  
• Written and training resources    
• Community and advocacy  

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Maternity Passport

The Maternity Passport (created by Alexis Quinn and available via Autistic Parents UK) is a simple, printable document that helps autistic parents share their needs and preferences with maternity staff. 

It includes things like: 

• Communication preferences (e.g., speak slowly, allow time to process) 
• Sensory needs (e.g., quiet space, dim lighting, avoid strong smells) 
• Reasonable adjustments for appointments and birth 

How it can be used: 

• Parents fill it in and bring it to appointments or the birth setting. 
• Staff use it as a quick reference to provide autism-informed, person-centred care. 

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My Health Passport

'My Health Passport' is a simple, editable document that helps you share important information about your needs, preferences, and communication style with healthcare professionals.

How to use the health passport

Service users:

• fill in the passport before appointments or hospital visits
• share it with staff so they understand your needs quickly

Healthcare professionals:

• read the passport before providing care
• use it to guide reasonable adjustments and improve communication

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Neurodiversity and Maternity website - Suffolk and North East Essex Maternity and Neonatal Services

The Neurodiversity and Maternity – Suffolk and North East Essex website is designed to support neurodivergent adults throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period. It brings together easy‑to‑understand information, visual resources, and practical tools to help people feel informed and confident at every stage of their journey. 

Service users and staff can use the website to: 

• Access tailored education about pregnancy, birth choices, newborn care, and emotional wellbeing, written with neurodivergent adults’ needs in mind. 
• Explore visually accessible resources.
• Watch short videos that explain key topics and show real examples of what to expect in different maternity settings. 
• Find practical strategies for managing sensory environments, communication needs, and decision‑making during appointments, labour, and the early postnatal period. 
• Use the information to prepare for appointments, understand rights and choices, and plan for birth and beyond. 
• Support professionals to offer consistent, neurodiversity‑affirming care, with guidance on reasonable adjustments, communication styles, and reducing sensory overwhelm. 

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ND Birth Downloads

The ND Birth Downloads webpage provides a collection of free, easy‑to‑use resources designed to support neurodivergent -and particularly autistic - adults throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period.  

From this webpage, service users and staff can: 

• Access free downloadable tools, including the Reasonable Adjustments Toolkit and the Sensory Toolkit.  
• Use visually accessible infographics that prompt thinking about sensory comfort during labour, birth, and postnatal care 
• Share the toolkits during appointments, birth planning, and discussions with midwives or perinatal teams to help ensure personalised, autism‑affirming support. 
• Support staff in understanding how small adjustments - such as communication style, sensory adaptations, or environmental changes - can make maternity care safer and more inclusive. 

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Book recommendations

• Autistic and Expecting: Practical Support for Parents-To-Be and Health and Social Care Practitioners by Alexis Quinn

Zero Suicide Alliance - Autism and suicide awareness training

The autism and suicide awareness training is a free online course co‑produced with autistic people to help anyone understand the link between autism and suicide risk. It shares real experiences from autistic individuals, explains some of the challenges autistic people may face, and offers guidance on how these challenges can increase suicidal thoughts. The training includes four scenario‑based exercises, practical advice, and further resources, and it can be completed at your own pace in up to an hour.  

How it can help service users:

• Increases safety and understanding
• Empowers help‑seeking
• Accessible and flexible

How it can help staff:

• Improves understanding of autism and suicide 
• Builds practical skills
• Supports safer practice 

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Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust Emotional Wellbeing webpage

The Emotional Wellbeing area of Autism Space provides clear, accessible information to help autistic people understand and manage their emotional and mental health. It covers topics such as autism and anxiety, self‑harm, suicide, depression, self‑neglect, bereavement, mental health emergencies, and self‑care. It also includes guidance on looking after mental health, mindfulness, avoiding crisis, and understanding different emotional experiences. 

Autism Space is designed as a reliable hub of advice about autism, with information created by specialists and shaped by autistic people themselves. It brings together a wide range of emotional wellbeing resources to help individuals, families, and professionals find the support they need. 

How it can help service users:

• Easy-to-understand explanations
• Practical guidance  
• Encourages self‑advocacy and self‑care 

How it can help staff:

• Provides clear guidance on key mental health topics relevant to autistic people 
• Offers structured information and signposting 
• Supports staff confidence for signposting to autism specific mental health resources 
• Helps staff promote proactive wellbeing

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Autism Adapted Safety Plan

Autism Adapted Safety Plans are personalised tools designed to help autistic people stay safe during times when they feel at risk of self‑harm or suicidal thoughts. They are based on standard safety planning but have been adapted using research and direct feedback from autistic adults, families, and professionals to ensure they are clearer, more accessible, and more relevant to autistic individuals.  

These plans include step‑by‑step strategies, examples, clearer instructions, and additional resources to help autistic people understand their own warning signs, identify helpful coping strategies, and know who they can contact when they are in crisis.  

How it can help service users 

• Breaks down safety planning into simple, clear steps
• Uses accessible language, examples, and visual supports,
• Supports personalised coping strategies
• Promotes autonomy and self‑advocacy

How it can help staff 

• Provides a structured, evidence‑based tool  
• Guides staff through supportive conversations  
• Enhances collaborative working 
• Builds staff confidence developing a plan with autistic people

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Neurodivergent Insights Safety Plan

The Neurodivergent Crises and Suicide Prevention Resources page provides a free resource created for neurodivergent people and clinicians offering affirming, autonomy‑centred support. It includes a downloadable PDF, crisis and suicide hotline information, and an important explanation of how different crisis lines operate - especially around issues of consent and the potential for non‑consensual intervention (such as police involvement). The page also highlights hotlines and peer‑support lines that do not involve emergency services without consent, alongside a broad list of crisis contacts across the U.S., U.K., and Canada.  

The resource acknowledges the additional risks and harms neurodivergent people may face, including trauma associated with emergency services, and offers alternative crisis‑support. 

How it can help service users

• Explains crisis options clearly 
• Reduces fear and uncertainty 
• Offers neurodivergent-affirming resources 
• Provides international support options

How it can help staff

• Builds awareness of diverse crisis‑support options 
• Supports trauma‑informed practice 
• Improves communication with service users 
• Provides a ready-made signposting list 

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My Health Passport

'My Health Passport' is a simple, editable document that helps you share important information about your needs, preferences, and communication style with healthcare professionals.

How to use the health passport

Service users:

• fill in the passport before appointments or hospital visits
• share it with staff so they understand your needs quickly

Healthcare professionals:

• read the passport before providing care
• use it to guide reasonable adjustments and improve communication