Autism — overview

The UK National Health Service keeps a plain-language overview of autism written for the general public. It is calm, jargon-light, and framed around a public health system — a useful model for understanding what autism is and how a diagnosis and support can work, wherever you live.

What autism is The NHS describes autism as something that affects how people communicate and interact with the world. Autistic people may find social situations, change, and certain sounds, lights, or textures harder to manage, and may prefer routine and familiar things. Autism is not an illness or a disease. It means a person's brain works in a different way from most people's, and it is lifelong — autistic children become autistic adults.

Common signs The NHS lists signs that differ a little between younger children, older children, and adults, and between how they can present in boys and girls. In young children these can include not responding to their name, avoiding eye contact, not smiling back, getting very upset by unfamiliar tastes or sounds, and repeating movements or phrases. The page is careful to note that having some of these does not mean a child is autistic — it means an assessment may be worth exploring.

A note on girls The NHS overview highlights that autism can look different in girls, who may mask more, copy social behaviour, appear shy or quiet, and manage to hide their difficulties at school. This is one reason autistic girls are often identified later. If your daughter seems to be coping on the surface but is exhausted or distressed underneath, that pattern is worth taking seriously.

Getting a diagnosis The NHS sets out a clear pathway: speak to a GP or health visitor, who can refer you for an autism assessment carried out by a team of specialists. An assessment looks at how a person communicates and behaves across settings, often drawing on parents, school, and direct observation. Waiting times can be long, and the NHS is candid about that — it is reasonable to ask what support can begin at home and school while you wait, rather than treating a formal diagnosis as the starting gun. A diagnosis can bring relief, language, and access to support — and it does not change who your child is, only how well the people around them understand it.

Where to find support After a diagnosis, support might include help at school, speech and language or occupational therapy, and local or national autism charities. The NHS points to organisations such as the National Autistic Society for guidance and community. It also stresses small, everyday adjustments that cost nothing: warning before changes, quiet spaces to retreat to, and taking a child's sensory needs seriously rather than expecting them to push through. Whatever the local system, the principle holds: the point of support is not to make an autistic child appear less autistic, but to help them live well as themselves.

A calm first read If this is your first serious look at autism, the NHS overview is a good one to send to a worried relative — plain, unhurried, and free of jargon. It will not tell you whether your child is autistic, but it will help everyone around them speak the same calm language about what you are all noticing.